I'm taking a look at Breakaway, by Tal Pinchevsky.

This is one of the most interesting hockey books I've ever heard of, let alone read, and I was almost ecstatic when I saw it on the shelf at my local book store. I’d read reviews of it, and was looking forward to it.

This book is about the early, heady days of some well known Eastern European hockey players and their journeys to the west, and ultimately to the NHL. It reads more like a spy thriller than a hockey book in many respects. I think that's why it commanded so much of my attention.

From the 1970s and Vaclav Nedomansky, to the early 1980s and the Stastny brothers, the cloak-and-dagger methods of getting these players from Communist countries into places like West Germany or Austria are almost Bond-ish in a way.

You have to remember that for many of these players, especially the Russians of the 1980s, they were considered superstars and property of the government. Great Russian players like Fetisov, Larionov, and Kasatonov were treated like royalty, and had the best of the best at their fingertips. In a time where simply having the basics in your kitchen was difficult at best, these men had everything; some of them even had cars. But they were willing to give it all up to play in the NHL.

You see the behind-the-scenes methods of General Managers and their “associates” moving heaven and earth to stay one step ahead of the secret police; in one case the player in question walked into a shopping mall with a GM, and then literally hightailed it out another, darkened door, leaping into a car that took off, just feet ahead of the authorities.

I highly recommend this book, not only as a hockey book, but because of the intrigue. These players went through hell in many cases, and so did their families. But because of their trailblazing efforts, the NHL is now well-stocked with international players, and a kid from Russia is able to simply say that he is headed to the NHL, and not worry that the KGB or anyone else is going to haul him off to Siberia.

Link to Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9781118095003-0

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Breakaway-Curtain-NHL---Hockeys-Escapes/dp/1118095006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357672219&sr=1-1&keywords=breakaway

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breakaway-tal-pinchevsky/1111010625?ean=9781118095003