Toller Cranston is insane.

Why, you ask? If you want the answer, you'll have to read Zero Tollerance - an Intimate Memoir By the Man who Revolutionized Figure Skating. In his own words, Toller tells us the story of his life - or perhaps we should say the stories of his lives, for the tales contained within these pages certainly seem too much for only one - in his own words, stopping along the way for random thoughts and reflections in colourful, vintage Toller-esque fashion.

Is Toller an athlete or an artist? An overhyped sensationalist or the greatest skater of his era? An egotistical, self-posessed maniac or a troubled, tortured genius? While reading his memoirs, I could never quite decide. From exotic tales of art on ice to dark recollections of a troubled time when he grew dependent on illegal drugs, Toller describes life the way he saw it, often exaagerating, but never apologizing for being who he is. His vignettes are fascinating, once begun, it is hard to put the book down. Even in moments when I was struck by the extreme self-glorification of it all, the words, and the way in which Toller uses them, drew me in to keep reading right through to the last page.

He may well be the weirdest, most eccentric, most egotistical skater - and possibly person - on the planet, but after reading Zero Tollerance, I have concluded that Toller Cranston is indeed a genius. A mad genius, perhaps ... but a genius nonetheless.