The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Review

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The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team ReviewMore than just an underdog-achieves-greatness story, this book is a revealing look at the elements that went into that incredible victory in Lake Placid. Little is glossed over, and both Herb Brooks and several players are examined in detail. Brooks is not portrayed as a saint, but his genius in creating a team and a system to win gold shines through.
The Russians are not treated as a bunch of villains, but instead are shown to be just as human as the American boys. The political climate of the time obviously made the victory that much sweeter, and Coffey does an excellent job of setting the victory against that backdrop.
As a hockey fan, it's difficult to think of a greater moment than watching the players and crowd go crazy as those final seconds ticked away - for many of us, it still gives us chills 25 years later. This book does a wonderful job of honoring one of the great moments in American sports history.The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Overview

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The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey Review

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The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey ReviewThis book provides an interesting, scholarly, and quite readable trip down memory lane, an especially enjoyable stroll for fans of the great Canadiens teams of the 1970s. While it is ostensibly aimed at those who wish to know the background to the 1975 New Year's Eve classic, Soviet Red Army vs the Montreal Canadiens, Mr. Denault's book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the history of Soviet hockey, or an interest in the evolution of the NHL in the 1960s and 70s, or is a fan of the les Habitants. This book covers in some detail the beginnings of Soviet "professional" hockey, from the coaches and the Soviet scheme to the heavy-handedness of the Soviet hierarchy. The author takes us behind the scenes of Canadian hockey in the 50s and 60s, the farm system, the evolution of the draft, and the impact of the WHA on salaries and the style of play. Throughout Denault contrasts the disparity in Soviet and Canadian hockey organizations and the reluctance of Canadian coaches to even consider an alternative to their rough and tough, individualistic brand of hockey, doubtless a consequence of the contrasting political and social realities in the respective systems. Some may quibble at the detail that Mr. Denault provides early on, but he does lay out the many concurrent trends in hockey and in sport in general at the time. And his approach sets the stage for vivid descriptions of the 1972 Summit Series between the NHL and the Red Army, and the 1974 series in which the new WHA vainly attempted to repeat the NHL team's success. Numerous personalities are brought to life, from Sam Pollock and Fred Shero, to Ken Dryden and Larry Robinson. On the Soviet side we are introduced to its ground-breaking coach Anatoli Tarasov, and presented compelling portraits of Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov and many others. The Game, the climax of the book, comes rather late in the proceedings, but to be fair, there is only so much that one can describe about a 60 minute sporting event, even a momentous one. The real story, we learn, is mostly prologue. When at last Mr. Denault brings us to the storied Forum to witness the game, he helps us re-live those exciting events through an elegant prose that is equal to the beauty and purity of the game itself. Despite the broad scope of the work and a few editing oversights, I enjoyed the book very much, and recommend it to all fans of the great game of hockey.The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey OverviewThis game wasn't about money, points, or trophies. Instead it was played for pride, both personal and national. It was a confrontation twenty years in the making and it marked a turning point in the history of hockey.On December 31, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in the NHL, hosted the touring Central Red Army, the dominant team in the Soviet Union. For three hours millions of people in both Canada and the Soviet Union were glued to their television sets. What transpired that evening was a game that surpassed all the hype and was subsequently referred to as "the greatest game ever played." Held at the height of the Cold War, this remarkable contest transcended sports and took on serious cultural, sociological, and political overtones. And while the final result was a 3-3 tie, no one who saw the game was left disappointed. This exhibition of skill was hockey at its finest, and it set the bar for what was to follow as the sport began its global expansion.

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Messier Review

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Messier ReviewMessier the player is one of those guys I always loved to hate, but it's so rare to find a hockey book that's actually WELL WRITTEN I had to pick this up. Klein and Reif's previous books always excelled in that way, operating on a level way above most sports authors, and Klein, solo here, does not disappoint. Impressive research gets you as close to the reclusive Moose as you'll ever get, and reveals a more complex, appealing figure than I expected. Exhaustive, but never exhausting. A smoothe, engaging, colorful read. Highly recommended.Messier OverviewJeff Z. Klein takes us beyond the headlines and statistics. We meet a Mark Messier who is not only a leader and warrior, but a contemplative student of philosophy, a tireless community figure and a man who leads a complex emotional life.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Hockey: A People's History Review

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Hockey: A People's History ReviewIf you're a hockey fan with an appreciation for the history of the game, *this* is the book you need to read... Hockey: A People's History by Michael McKinley. This both entertained and educated me, and brought the history of hockey alive in a way I've never seen it before.
Contents: Prologue; The Temple and the Chalice; Gold After Silver; Blood and Champagne; The Dustbowl Dream; A Cool Medium; Us and Them; The Soul of a Nation; Hope and Betrayal; The Winter of Our Discontent; Reclaiming the Game; Acknowledgements; Index
This is a coffee-table companion book to a CBC series of the same name. Not living in Canada, I can't say I've seen the series. But if it's anything like the book, it must be outstanding. McKinley goes back to the beginning of the game we know as hockey, back to 1875 when the first game was played in Montreal. Many other variations of the game existed before then, but generally speaking, this is when the game started in its modern form. Lavishly illustrated, he works his way up through time, from the birth of the Stanley Cup to the lockout season of 2004-2005. In between, you learn about the great names of the sport who often are just names attached to trophies unless you know the history... Hobie Baker, Frank Calder, Conn Smythe, and many others. The stories of teams put together to challenge for the Stanley Cup, back in the day when it was up for grabs to just about anyone. There's even coverage of the Portland Rosebuds, who challenged the Montreal Canadiens in 1916. Junior and women's hockey also figure prominently in the story, so whatever your particular interest niche is for the game, you'll find it in here.
I remember a few years back when my kids attended a hockey camp in Penticton, British Columbia. The final day included a game played in the city arena that was home to the Penticton Vees. It's an old-time barn, with plenty of memorabilia from years gone by. But until I read this book, I didn't realize just how big a deal that team was. That team went over to Germany in 1955 and beat the Russian team for the World Championships, and was the toast of Canada in the midst of the Cold War tension of the time. Walking through the arena, you could almost feel the ghosts of history, the thousands of games that had been played there. It's hard to explain, but hockey in Canada is more than just a sport, it's a national identity and obsession.
I don't know that I've spent as much time lingering and savoring a book than I did this one. It's a pleasure to read, and will add immensely to your understanding and respect of the game.
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The Best Game You Can Name Review

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The Best Game You Can Name ReviewOK- I read Tropic of Hockey back when it came out and loved it. So, in describing why I have waited nearly two years from the time "The Best Game You Can Name" was published to get around to reading it, I can only summon the images from Cameron Crowe's masterpiece "Singles" when Campbell Scott's character Steve greets the long-awaited Kyra Sedgwick with, "What took you so long?"
Well, I can only plead the fifth on that, but I LOVE this book. Bidini's style is easy to enjoy- his words flow, coming from the heart, and he weaves a good deal of musical and cultural references througout.
But it's the hockey- oh, the HOCKEY that keeps you on target and turning every page without slowing down. Bidini deftly navigates between anecdotes from his own Toronto Morningstars amateur club to the first-person accounts of former NHLers who speak openly and candidly of their playing days and experiences.
This is a rich narrative- some of Bidini's talking points and references will be lost on more than a few, but when he gets down to the brass tacks: the hockey- he's definitely on his A-game.
There are so many outstanding stories told here, and they keep getting better as the book goes on. I loved former Boston Bruin Walt McKechnie's tale of a young rookie named Dave "Tiger" Williams literally fighting to make a Toronto team and Maple Leaf great Darryl Sittler's warning to McKechnie, which he thought nothing of until Williams blackened one of Terry O'Reilly's eyes. "Gee, Taz-" says McKechnie sitting in the dressing room between periods. "Sittler said that the kid had gotten in a fight per game since the preseason started." Replies O'Reilly: "He'll have two tonight."
That's just magic. As a die-hard B's fan growing up near Boston and worshiping O'Reilly and his Big, Bad Bruins (Al Secord was my first REAL hockey hero), these are the stories I never got enough of when I thirsted for whatever information I could get my hands on, and eagerly awaited every issue of The Hockey News.
Bravo, Dave- this is a GREAT book. And it is my honor to accord this work with a 5-Star rating that is well-deserved. This is must-reading for any true hockey fan...you'll want to go out and lace up the skates immediately after reading just one chapter. Unfortunately for me- that will have to wait, but rest assured. When I return stateside and get back out on the ice, I'll be thanking Dave Bidini for helping bring some of my passion for hockey back.
Baghdad
02-06-08The Best Game You Can Name OverviewBidini returns to the game he loves bestIn 2004, Dave Bidini laced on his skates and slid onto the ice of Toronto's McCormick Arena to play defence with the Morningstars in the E! Cup tourney. While thrashing around the ice, swiping at the puck and his opponents, Bidini got to thinking about how others see the game. Afterward, he set off to talk to former professional players about their experiences of hockey. The result is vintage Bidini — an exuberant, evocative, highly personal, and vividly coloured account of his and his team's exploits, interwoven with the voices of such hockey heroes as Frank Mahovlich, Yvan Cournoyer, John Brophy, Steve Larmer, and Ryan Walter.All aspects of the game are up for grabs in The Best Game You Can Name — the sweetest goals, the worst fights, the trades, the off-ice perks and the on-ice rivalries, not to mention the rotten pranks. Bidini and the former players offer sometimes startling observations about the fans, coaches, owners, other players, and the huge rush of being on the ice, stick in hand, giving everything you have to the best game you can name.From the Hardcover edition.

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Baseballissimo Review

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Baseballissimo ReviewBaseballissimo is one of those books you probably won't find at the bookstore, mainly because they wouldn't know what section to put it in. I only found it because of amazon's amazing "recommended for you" feature. It put together the fact that I enjoy memoirs, baseball, and Italy, and found a book about all three.
Baseballissimo is by Dave Bidini, a Canadian author. A surprisingly high percentage of the offbeat and intriguing books that I come across are by Canadian authors. I don't know how it works exactly, or what the income tax rate must be in Canada to subsidize such a program, but apparently the government actually pays authors to write books. They paid Bidini to take his family (wife, toddler, and infant) to Nettuno, Italy for six months so he could follow the local baseball team, the Peones for a season, and write a book about it. He says his choice was between baseball in Italy or wrestling in Newfoundland. Doesn't sound like a tough choice to me.
Bidini sits in the dugout and sometimes warms up with the Peones, an amateur team in one of the several Italian leagues. He gets to know the players and gives them all nicknames. He finds out how baseball came to be so popular in Italy (American GIs introduced it during World War II). He and his family become temporary residents of the small town of Nettuno near Anzio and about an hour's drive south of Rome. Bidini gets in touch with his roots - his grandparents were immigrants to Canada from Italy. He reminisces about how baseball has always been a part of his life. And he follows the Peones from pre-season training to the exciting season finish against Palermo.
Sometimes you get the feeling that Bidini cares more about the game than the Peones do. They're a good team, but it's just amateur baseball, and they all have day jobs and girlfriends and lives. Bidini's pushing forty and the manager, although still fit and athletic, is in his sixties. The players, mostly in their twenties and in a country where soccer is king, are sometimes late for practice, or are more interested in the fantastic pre-game snacks they've brought. Since this is Italy, there are no hot dogs and sunflower seeds. It's homemade pizza, smooth espresso, and sugary pastries. Sure, the players want to win, and they go all out when they play. But to them it's just a game. Little do they know.
Baseballissimo OverviewIn the spring of 2002, Dave Bidini set off for Nettuno, Italy, with his wife, Janet, and their two small children, in search of his favourite summer game, baseball. Nettuno was his destination because this town, south of Rome, has been the baseball capital of Italy since 1944, when the game was introduced by the American GIs who liberated the region. Bidini wanted to spend time in a town where everyone is as nuts about the game as he is, and in Nettuno, they love the game so much that they hand out baseball gloves and bats to children taking their first communion.For six months Bidini followed the fortunes of the Serie B Peones, Nettunese to the core. At the same time he was also learning about his own heritage, having spent his youth vigorously ignoring his Italianness. The result of his summer in Italy is vintage Bidini: a funny, perceptive, and engrossing book that takes readers far beyond the professional sport to the game that people around the world love to play.From the Hardcover edition.

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Putting A Roof On Winter: Hockey's Rise from Sports to Spectacle Review

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Putting A Roof On Winter: Hockey's Rise from Sports to Spectacle ReviewI have read many books that detail the history of the great game of Hockey, but none was better written than this book. Mr. McKinley tells the history in a way that is easy to follow and entertaining to read. Where many of the hockey history books are confusing to follow, this one is a joy to read. I have read through the book twice already and will surely revisit the book many times in the future. Highly recommend!Putting A Roof On Winter: Hockey's Rise from Sports to Spectacle OverviewThe first indoor hockey match took place in 1875--and since that fateful date, the sport has occupied a central place in North American life. Here are the gods and villains of the game, those whose exploits won cheers, drew forth curses, and sometimes even elicited tears. Their tale, skillfully combining character and incident, traces hockey's changes from its amateur days to the moment when pros skated on artificial ice to the exciting and significant Canada-Russia summit series. Meet hockey's greats, like Cyclone Taylor and Newsy Lalonde; the glory teams of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s; the powerful owners; and the tragic players, like superstar Howie Morenz, dead at 35. You will come to understand the power of this poetic, violent, and gloriously improvisational sport.

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