Since I've gone and spent my birthday money at Powell's Books in Portland, OR... I now have a hockey book or two that I can start reading to review.
I can promise that it will be happening soon. I've got a couple of interesting titles that should be coming soon, probably within a week or so.
So stay tuned to see what I've got cooking. In the mean time, Happy Holidays, and Merry Christmas.
Cheers!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
First, let me apologize to my readers for not getting my review up sooner. Fighting bronchitis is never fun, and having to rest takes time away from reading.
That being said, let's take a look at Empire of Ice, by Craig Bowlsby. Now, first of all, this book is set around the turn of the century, in the heady days of the early 1900s. Hockey has a completely different look to it; goalies don't drop to their knees to make saves, players play the entire game, and there's a seventh man on the ice, a position known as a Rover.
The book is laid out pretty straightforward. Each chapter covers a season. The ups and downs, franchises that start, fail and move, everything. Player movement, around this league, as well as players brought in from "back east, in what is the precursor of the NHL."
Each season is detailed with important moments and games. There are plenty of stats to look at as well. There is also a detailed playoff look for each season, with those stats listed. Finally, the chapter concludes with the Stanley Cup playoff, a West meets East affair, with the best team from the Pacific Coast league, meeting up with the winner from the east league, the NHA, and eventually the NHL.
American teams make their mark on the league, with the Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds being the first United States-based team to challenge for the Stanley Cup, and the Seattle Metropolitans the first U.S. team to win the Cup.
All in all, I'd definitely call this a wonderful read. The history alone makes it fun and interesting, while the way that the game adapts over time is also fun to see. You can literally see the game changing as the chapters go by.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Pacific-Hockey-Association-1911-1926/dp/0969170564/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355197501&sr=1-6&keywords=empire+of+ice
I am indebted to Mr. Bowlsby, the author, for sending me a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. Thanks!
That being said, let's take a look at Empire of Ice, by Craig Bowlsby. Now, first of all, this book is set around the turn of the century, in the heady days of the early 1900s. Hockey has a completely different look to it; goalies don't drop to their knees to make saves, players play the entire game, and there's a seventh man on the ice, a position known as a Rover.
The book is laid out pretty straightforward. Each chapter covers a season. The ups and downs, franchises that start, fail and move, everything. Player movement, around this league, as well as players brought in from "back east, in what is the precursor of the NHL."
Each season is detailed with important moments and games. There are plenty of stats to look at as well. There is also a detailed playoff look for each season, with those stats listed. Finally, the chapter concludes with the Stanley Cup playoff, a West meets East affair, with the best team from the Pacific Coast league, meeting up with the winner from the east league, the NHA, and eventually the NHL.
American teams make their mark on the league, with the Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds being the first United States-based team to challenge for the Stanley Cup, and the Seattle Metropolitans the first U.S. team to win the Cup.
All in all, I'd definitely call this a wonderful read. The history alone makes it fun and interesting, while the way that the game adapts over time is also fun to see. You can literally see the game changing as the chapters go by.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Pacific-Hockey-Association-1911-1926/dp/0969170564/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355197501&sr=1-6&keywords=empire+of+ice
I am indebted to Mr. Bowlsby, the author, for sending me a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. Thanks!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Two important things to keep in mind for all of my readers.
First, and very important... I want to give a special shoutout to Gregg Drinnan at the Kamloops Daily News. He personally arranged for me to receive a copy of Sudden Death to review. I am indebted to him for this generous action, and want to thank him publicly. Thanks!
Second, Thanksgiving is almost upon us here in the United States. I, like many in the country, have more than one holiday to attend because of family and/or friends. I will also, like many, be travelling out of town to go to at least one of these dinners.
This means that I won't even start a new hockey book until after the holidays. I just wanted to keep my readers up to date...
Happy Thanksgiving, and I'll see you all on the other side, so to speak.
First, and very important... I want to give a special shoutout to Gregg Drinnan at the Kamloops Daily News. He personally arranged for me to receive a copy of Sudden Death to review. I am indebted to him for this generous action, and want to thank him publicly. Thanks!
Second, Thanksgiving is almost upon us here in the United States. I, like many in the country, have more than one holiday to attend because of family and/or friends. I will also, like many, be travelling out of town to go to at least one of these dinners.
This means that I won't even start a new hockey book until after the holidays. I just wanted to keep my readers up to date...
Happy Thanksgiving, and I'll see you all on the other side, so to speak.
Today, I'm reviewing Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current
Broncos by Leesa Culp, Bob Wilkie and Gregg Drinnan.
Junior teams across Canada regularly drive thousands of miles by bus every season to get to games, and the Broncos were no different on December 30th, 1986. What happened that day changed the team, the city of Swift Current, and all of junior hockey. The bus would end up going off the side of the road partway on the journey to Regina, after hitting a patch of ice and skidding one way then the other, and when it finally came to rest on the right side, two players were underneath, and two more had been thrown out of windows.
Leesa Culp was getting a ride home for the holidays, and happened to be one of the first people to the wrecked bus. In fact, she held the hand of one of the players while the life drained from his face and body. Bob Wilkie was a defenceman for the Broncos, and was on the bus during the accident. Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News.
With that in mind, the book unfolds with the tragedy, going into some detail with former players thoughts on what had happened to them all. The time at the hospital as everyone was treated, and finally realized the scope of the tragedy before the. The book slowly moves on to the memorial and the decision by the Broncos coach, Graham James, and the organization to continue the season. Ultimately, the Broncos would go on and win the 1989 Memorial Cup, an amazing turnaround from just two and a half years prior.
There is also a 3-chapter section on Graham James, the coach and general manager of that team. Much has been written by other people about what he did to people like Theoren Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy, and I won't go into that here. However, Sheldon was a member of the Broncos at that time, and what happened to him would eventually be told in greater detail in Sheldon's book, Why I Didn't Say Anything.
Since this was published in 2012, there is updated information on James as well. In addition, there is a brief "Where are they now?" for each of the players that survived the bus crash.
All in all, this book is a wonderfuly written piece about a tragedy that brought a team closer together. I would highly recommend it as a memorial to the players that were lost, as well as to the team that persevered.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1459705440/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0C3PWFY49KCX9HNSAGHP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
Barnes & Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sudden-death-leesa-culp/1110840125?ean=9781459705449
Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781459705449-0
Junior teams across Canada regularly drive thousands of miles by bus every season to get to games, and the Broncos were no different on December 30th, 1986. What happened that day changed the team, the city of Swift Current, and all of junior hockey. The bus would end up going off the side of the road partway on the journey to Regina, after hitting a patch of ice and skidding one way then the other, and when it finally came to rest on the right side, two players were underneath, and two more had been thrown out of windows.
Leesa Culp was getting a ride home for the holidays, and happened to be one of the first people to the wrecked bus. In fact, she held the hand of one of the players while the life drained from his face and body. Bob Wilkie was a defenceman for the Broncos, and was on the bus during the accident. Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News.
With that in mind, the book unfolds with the tragedy, going into some detail with former players thoughts on what had happened to them all. The time at the hospital as everyone was treated, and finally realized the scope of the tragedy before the. The book slowly moves on to the memorial and the decision by the Broncos coach, Graham James, and the organization to continue the season. Ultimately, the Broncos would go on and win the 1989 Memorial Cup, an amazing turnaround from just two and a half years prior.
There is also a 3-chapter section on Graham James, the coach and general manager of that team. Much has been written by other people about what he did to people like Theoren Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy, and I won't go into that here. However, Sheldon was a member of the Broncos at that time, and what happened to him would eventually be told in greater detail in Sheldon's book, Why I Didn't Say Anything.
Since this was published in 2012, there is updated information on James as well. In addition, there is a brief "Where are they now?" for each of the players that survived the bus crash.
All in all, this book is a wonderfuly written piece about a tragedy that brought a team closer together. I would highly recommend it as a memorial to the players that were lost, as well as to the team that persevered.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1459705440/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0C3PWFY49KCX9HNSAGHP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
Barnes & Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sudden-death-leesa-culp/1110840125?ean=9781459705449
Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9781459705449-0
Friday, November 16, 2012
I've finally finished what I'd consider to be a challenging read: The Game, by Ken Dryden. I have the 20th anniversary edition.
Dryden's credentials are without question: 6 Stanley Cups in 8 years with Montreal, including a run of 4 in a row in the late 1970s.
This book covers various facets of his career, in seemingly random order. In fact, a person could make the argument that he bounces around the league, his career, and all of hockey in a random fashion. However, everything he writes, from the big paragraphs to the simplest sentence, is with purpose and meaning.
Dryden takes the reader through his career, looking at it from the last of his playing days. He talks about his college days, the year he took off to go through his law schooling in Toronto, family.
But you can see things from a perspective that few outside the hockey world will ever see. He talks about the ups and downs of his teammates, legendary coach Scotty Bowman, and countless Hall of Famers that he has seen and had the chance to witness in his days.
Later in the book, he actually shows us one of his games, from pre-game routine, all the way through each period, the intermissions, and finally the end of the game. He even looks at the history of the game, the changes that have been made in the last century, as well as comparing and contrasting the Russian style of game versus the Canadian. He talks briefly about the WHA and it's effect on the NHL, and how salaries began to spiral up and up.
This is considered one of the greatest hockey books of all time, and I would have to agree. I don't think I can compare it to any other book, because it is in depth in so many areas. I would definitely rate this book a 10.
This is NOT the type of book you're going to just blow through in a couple hours. Be prepared to sit back and relax and allow the book to draw you in. I promise you, it will be worth it.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Ken-Dryden/dp/0470835842/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353098059&sr=1-4&keywords=the+game
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/game-ken-dryden/1100295218?ean=9780470835845
Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780470835845-0
Dryden's credentials are without question: 6 Stanley Cups in 8 years with Montreal, including a run of 4 in a row in the late 1970s.
This book covers various facets of his career, in seemingly random order. In fact, a person could make the argument that he bounces around the league, his career, and all of hockey in a random fashion. However, everything he writes, from the big paragraphs to the simplest sentence, is with purpose and meaning.
Dryden takes the reader through his career, looking at it from the last of his playing days. He talks about his college days, the year he took off to go through his law schooling in Toronto, family.
But you can see things from a perspective that few outside the hockey world will ever see. He talks about the ups and downs of his teammates, legendary coach Scotty Bowman, and countless Hall of Famers that he has seen and had the chance to witness in his days.
Later in the book, he actually shows us one of his games, from pre-game routine, all the way through each period, the intermissions, and finally the end of the game. He even looks at the history of the game, the changes that have been made in the last century, as well as comparing and contrasting the Russian style of game versus the Canadian. He talks briefly about the WHA and it's effect on the NHL, and how salaries began to spiral up and up.
This is considered one of the greatest hockey books of all time, and I would have to agree. I don't think I can compare it to any other book, because it is in depth in so many areas. I would definitely rate this book a 10.
This is NOT the type of book you're going to just blow through in a couple hours. Be prepared to sit back and relax and allow the book to draw you in. I promise you, it will be worth it.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Ken-Dryden/dp/0470835842/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353098059&sr=1-4&keywords=the+game
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/game-ken-dryden/1100295218?ean=9780470835845
Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780470835845-0
Sunday, November 11, 2012
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