Icebreaker: The Autobiography of Rudy Galindo with Eric Marcus.

Rumor has had it that many male figure skaters are homosexual. Galindo was the first to declare his gay orientation; his sometimes startling candor is revealed throughout this autobiography: ""When I had sex for the first time, I didn't know I needed to practice safe sex.... you might find that hard to believe. But I was completely immersed in my skating."" The youngest of three children of a Mexican American family, with a father who was supportive but tyrannical and a mother who was periodically institutionalized, Galindo grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in San Jose, Calif. His elder brother, George, also gay, was banished from the house after he came out to his parents, served a prison sentence and eventually died of AIDS. A successful young singles skater, the author joined Kristi Yamaguchi to win the U.S. National Pairs Championship in 1989 and 1990, but she decided to go her own way in 1990. Galindo was devastated but, after many vicissitudes, including the death of his father, he triumphed in the singles, winning the U.S. National Championship and finishing third in the World Championships in 1996. Much of his success he attributes to the self-sacrifice of his sister, Laura; and with the help of Marcus, who collaborated last with Greg Louganis in Breaking the Surface, Galindo reveals his debt to her and to supportive friends. The result is a moving autobiography. (Apr.)