Controlled Fall: Collected Ski Stories

by Jackson Hogen

Overview

Controlled Fall: Collected Ski Stories is perhaps the most curious compendium of ski tales ever assembled. That they are the product of one brief career in ski “journalism” is perhaps frightening. The pieces assembled here – some slightly used by prior appearances in the pages of SKI and Skiing Heritage, some sparkling new - are categorized under such headings as Why We Ski, Thoughts about Equipment, and The Greg Stump Songbook. The selections range in style from brief meditations to howling yarns and include 24 unpublished lyrics and 7 recipes of cloudy provenance.

If you were raised properly, you know better than to mention price, so any of you who were raised properly may skip the remainder of this paragraph. The rest of you – I note you’re all still here – please read on. Unless you find a way to steal it, Controlled Fall will run you a mere $9.99. I know for a fact that SKI magazine wants ten bucks for a subscription (who says Jackson does no research?), and it doesn’t include a single article by Jackson Hogen. When compared to Controlled Fall and its 73 pithy entries, unfettered by bleating ads, adorned by glorious full-color photography, well, we don’t want to rub it in, but I trust you see that the book is a MUCH BETTER VALUE than the magazine, any magazine, take your pick.

Now that we’ve decided that Controlled Fall is a great, American way to spend $9.99, let’s see who else thinks so! Here are a few vividly imagined quotes from some of the famous people who could have or could one day in the near future read Controlled Fall:

“Jackson’s book puts the “self” in self-indulgence.” Jean-Paul Sartre

“Promise you’ll never tell anyone I booted off the lift.” Kim Jong-Il

“After I read Jackson’s book I raced out and got a penis reduction and now my back feels so much better.” Greg Stump

“Who the hell is Jackson Hogen?” Warren Miller

If you need more reasons than these to buy at least one copy of Controlled Fall, I’m not sure there’s much more we can do for you except refer you to Jackson Hogen’s breakthrough book on helping clown-punchers like you, Self-Help for Losers: Recipes for Life. Once you’re a Winner, you can come back and pick up your copy of Controlled Fall, and while you’re at it, Snowbird Secrets: A Guide to Big Mountain Skiing.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015142341
Publisher:	Jackson Hogen, Inc.
Publication date:	09/05/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

While it is mere conjecture to say so, the probability that there is another ski writer who was the last known winner of the George Award (for biggest butthead in the ski biz, while marketing director at Head), on the last team to win the Streeter Cup (a brand vs. brand ski industry race, won by now moribund Olin), wrote material for the last issues of Ski Business, Snow Country Business, Wintersport Business, Ski Tech and the first iteration of Mountain Sports and Living, designed a line of skis (for Scott) never sold in the US, composed hundreds of ski reviews for Snow Country Magazine and London Daily Mail Ski - none of which, mercifully, appear in Controlled Fall - and worked on four Warren Miller flicks and two Greg Stump productions largely without attribution, hovers near zero.

It only seems as though Hogen’s career laid waste to several cherished skiing institutions and decimated the fortunes of a handful of previously iconic brands. In fact, his ability to dilute the significance of any institution to which he associated his name began long before, during a colorful stint on the Probation rolls at Andover followed by a Yale degree capped with the establishment of the John E G Hogen Award for Distinguished Service to Hedonism. (We’re getting a little misty.)

Hogen’s short-form work, sometime humorous, always provocative, appears regularly at www.jacksonhogen.com.