Bring up the subject of roller derby and most people think of sexy punk-rock broads plowing into one another in hot pants and fishnet tights. But did you know that the latest rockabilly revival is only one of many incarnations the derby has seen over its decades-long lifespan?

Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels tells the tale of game from the perspective of derby athlete Catherine Mabe. Mabe, better known in derby circles as Jayne Manslaughter, takes readers inside the world of roller derby, starting with its genesis more than 70 years ago. Derby was created by Leo Seltzer in 1930s Chicago, part of the Depression-era trend of marathons as entertainment. Unlike the short, intense bouts of modern-day derby, games in Seltzer's Transcontinental Roller Derby featured male and female participants skating continuously for 12-hour stretches.

In those days, skating with the derby was a full-time profession. Athletes traveled with Seltzer's show, receiving paychecks and a place to sleep. In return, they had to accommodate continuously updated rules and regulations, as Seltzer molded the sport to fit his vision. He added a banked track, to increase skater speed, and a point system, which encouraged direct competition. Though roller derby began as an endurance race, it quickly became focused on competitive strategy. The introduction of sanctioned player collisions was just one step on roller derby's route to becoming the full-contact extravaganza it is today.

Mabe follows the derby's growth in popularity, from televised bouts to Hollywood films featuring the sport to its all-female revival in the 1990s. Along the way, she takes time out to focus on some of derby's more memorable personalities, past and present. The late Ann Calvello, the "Demon of the Derby," was known for both her wild antics and her athletic prowess. Modern derby dames, like Michela "Dahmernatrix" Dai Zovi and Carolyn "C-Roll" Kunkel, also are spotlighted to talk about both their love of skating and about their activities in "real life." It's interesting to know that derby skaters by night are, by day, everyone from housewives to busy professionals to stressed-out college students.