Hockey Book Reviews.com

A final bit of house keeping to end the year of 2008. The winners of the Wiley/Hockey Book Reviews.com Open Ice giveaway are: Finnegan Forrester-Webb of Toronto, ON Cornelius Hardenburgh of Somerville, MA Gregg Drinnan of Kamloops, BC Mike Pinzuti of New York, NY Doug Norris of Denver, CO Congratulations!

I just learned of another 2008 title. Author Don Marks and small Winnipeg Publisher J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing combined to give us a look at the history of Native hockey players in their 280 page book They Call Me Chief: Warriors on Ice . Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters The book tells the fascinating stories of native athletes who overcame tremendous obstacles to star in the National Hockey League. Native athletes like Fred Sasakamoose, the first Indian to play in the NHL. Reggie Leach. Bryan Trottier. George Armstrong. Ted Nolan. I have not read the book, but it is a chronicle of how these Native players had to battle not only racism but culture shock and isolation amongst other obstacles to success. None other than Don Cherry writes the book's foreword. I learned of the book courtesy of a CBC Radio podcast . Host Robin Brown interviews author Don Marks on her program The Inside Track. You can listen to the entire podcast here .

Chapters.ca is now offering Gare Joyce's inside look at the world of hockey scouting for just $4.99 Future Greats and Heartbreaks reveals a life long passion of studying and analyzing sports drafts, a passion that many fans share. For some fans it is all about hope. Hope of what is to come. For others, like Joyce, it is about academics, which in the sports world doesn't always have a place. You can read my original book review , or click on the following link to directly buy Future Greats and Heartbreaks for just 5 bucks!

Merry Christmas from Greatest Hockey Legends.com and Hockey Book Reviews.com !

Are you looking for that last minute Christmas Gift for your out-of-town friend? Too late to deliver that book you though they might like? Give them a subscription to The Hockey News ! You can order it online via Amazon, and have news of the gift delivered immediately to their email inbox. They will start receiving their subscription shortly afterward. You can always order Amazon gift certificates too!

I once had my publisher tell me hockey books just don't sell very well. I wonder how he explains 5 of the top 10 best selling books in all of Canada are hockey books. Well, 4 and 1/2. I'll explain. Topping the list, for the third straight week, is Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers . It's not a hockey book really, but it does open with a fascinating chapter about hockey. Gladwell takes a look at what makes ultra-successful people ultra-successful. To no one's surprise Don Cherry's Stories and Stuff is a best seller. "Grapes" has spent 6 weeks in the top 10, 3 at #1 and 3 at #2. Honoured Canadiens , the joint effort of the Montreal Canadiens and the Hockey Hall of Fame, comes in at #3 this week. It has climbed quite nicely in recent weeks and has spent the last 4 weeks in the top 10. Rounding out the top ten is Hockey Night In Canada: My Greatest Day by Scott Morrison. Morrison interviews some 50 hockey greats about their most memorable, though not necessari

I spent a lot of time reviewing some 40 plus hockey books here at HockeyBookReviews.com . Making your online purchases via my links offsets costs of running my free websites. Look at it this way: If you like my work, and you think it's worth buying us a cup of coffee, then shop Amazon or Chapters via my links. I'm going to keep doing my work for free because I love doing this, but I'd greatly appreciate your support! Black And Gold Black Ice Canada On Ice Dominant Dany Heatley Don Cherry's Stories and Stuff Good, Bad, Ugly: Rangers Good, Bad, Ugly: Flyers Habs Heroes Hockey Now! Hockey's Top 100 Honoured Canadiens Ice It Down Ice Warriors IIHF Top 100 Legendary Stanley Cup Stories Meaning Of Puck Montreal: 100 Years Of Glory My Greatest Day Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems NHL Guide & Record Book Official NHL Hockey Treasures Open Ice Patrick Roy Reflections 2008 Road To Hockeytown St. Michael's College Saving Face Slap Shot Original Shooting From The Lip Then

In honour of being named the top hockey book of 2008 , publisher HB Fenn is giving away 5 copies of Jack Falla's Open Ice: Reflections and Confessions of a Hockey Lifer . This contest is open exclusively to the readers of HockeyBookReviews.com . All you have to do email me with the subject line "Open Ice." That's it! It's the easiest contest ever. I will draw the lucky 5 winners and announce it on Christmas Day! Best of luck, and have a very Merry Christmas!

This story is courtesy of BayToday.ca Kinsmen Club of North Bay News Release The Kinsmen Club of North Bay is pleased to announce that it has joined other Kin Canada clubs across the nation in selling an exclusive hockey book that will benefit local community projects and cystic fibrosis research. Greatest Moments in Canada Hockey History is a soft cover commemorative book that recounts Canada’s 50 all-time greatest hockey games and its unforgettable heroes throughout the country’s storied hockey history in NHL, junior’s, women’s and Olympic competition. The Kinsmen Club of North Bay hopes to sell the 144-page book to members of the community over the next few months. "With the purchase of this book, you are helping Kin Canada raise funds for community projects and to fund research and treatment programs for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF),” says Mike Croghan, chair of the Kin-CCFF Liaison Committee.

Oh there is just something absolutely wonderful about flipping through a book. As amazing as the internet's potential is, and despite all of the challenges facing the publishing industry, I do not think that will ever change. Take for example IIHF Top 100 Hockey Stories of All-Time , a joint project of the International Ice Hockey Federation and HB Fenn. As part of the IIHF's 100th anniversary celebrations, IIHF.com counted down the 100 top international hockey stories from their past century, 1908-2008. Every day for over three months they slowly revealed their choices. It was a taxing read, at times boring, easy to forget and painstakingly drawn out. Now they put the exact same text and many of the same photos into a 180 page book, and voila, a whole new, and much improved, experience is born. The book is well laid out and attractive. It is a little small to be termed a coffee table book, but it is an enjoyable and fun book to pick up and flip through. The mix of black and w

Ho hum, Brian McFarlane has another book out this year. You think I would absolutely love Brian McFarlane. And I do, really. The guy has churned over 50 hockey books, most of them about hockey history. Anyone who has read my work for any length of time knows my two favorite things are hockey books and hockey history. In fact, my approach is very similar to his, and that is no accident. Over the years McFarlane has definitely helped to create my love of hockey, as I devoured many of his titles. But, and you knew a but was coming, somehow I no longer pay enough respect to McFarlane of his work. Why? Because I've read too many of his books, and they tend to be formulaic and repetitive. That is an unfair assessment of any single book of his, especially his new book Legendary Stanley Cup Stories . It is an excellent book, so long as you are not overly familiar with McFarlane's work. You can take any of his books and you will find his work to be entertaining, informative and well wor

December 2nd, 2008 was a big day for Dany Heatley. Not only was his current team, the Ottawa Senators, taking on his old team, the Atlanta Thrashers, but he was unveiling his new book. Hockey Canada, Fenn Publishing, and McAlpine Sports Management combined to produce Dominant Dany Heatley . The book is authored by Heatley himself, with the help of noted author Lorna Schultz Nicholson. This group has done this before, also featuring Martin Brodeur in 2008 and Cassie Campbell , Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby in previous years. These books, all priced in the $10-$15 range, are inspirational stories aimed at young readers. Written in the first person, Heatley takes readers through a personal and heartfelt story about one of the best players in all of Canada today. He talks about his youth, the importance of education, his love of scoring goals and playing hockey and his love of Team Canada. He does brush by his tragic car accident that killed his best friend, Thrashers teammate Dan Snyde

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So Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is the best selling book in Canada as Christmas approaches. The book even knocked Don Cherry out of top spot. So what's it all about? And how is it connected to hockey? Author Malcolm Gladwell poses a rather interesting question : why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and important lives, while most never reach their potential? Gladwell asserts that superstars are not generally propelled by superior genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of famous outliers like Mozart and Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky." But before examining Mozart or Gates, chapter number one is d

The time has come to announce the HockeyBookReviews.com Top Ten Hockey Books of 2008. #1. Open Ice: Reflections and Confessions of a Hockey Lifer Author: By Jack Falla. Publisher: Wiley Buy The Book - Amazon - Chapters Open Ice is a brilliant collection of heartwarming and witty essays about hockey. The brilliance of the book is the author's effortless ability to make each individual essay flow from one into another. He accomplishes this using highly personal and reflective look back at hockey and of life. Each essay is part of the author's personal journey. The late Jack Falla was truly one of the few literary gems of the hockey writing world. Through Falla's journey we learn that the key to learn about hockey, but more importantly about life. Full Book Review - Also See: Interview With The Late Jack Falla #2. The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory Author: D'Arcy Jenish. Publisher: Doubleday Canada Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - A

Here's a run down on some of the 2008 hockey books that I did not receive reviews copies from their respective publishers. You should be aware of these titles too, presented below in no particular order: Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne by Bob Showers. At the conclusion of the 1992-1993 NHL season, the Minnesota North Stars franchise was moved from Bloomington to Dallas. Twenty-six years of hockey was erased. In Minnesota North Stars, that legacy is restored. Through vintage photos, official team stats and the wonderful storytelling of Lou Nanne, this book captures the rich and colorful history of the North Stars. Hockey Tonk: The Amazing Story of the Nashville Predators by Craig Leopold with Richard W. Oliver. Since becoming an official franchise of the National Hockey League in May 1998, The Nashville Predators have gained an incredible amount of regional and national attention. In Hockey Tonk , owner Craig Leipold and Richard Oliver take readers on a

For the first time in 5 weeks, there is no (Don) Cherry on top of the Globe And Mail non-fiction bestsellers list . Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff has been knocked out of the number one slot by Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success , a book which includes a lot of sports, including, according to ESPN , a lot of hockey. Specifically, Gladwell wonders why most Canadian NHL hockey players are born in January. Meanwhile, Honoured Canadiens moves up the list one spot to number six, making it the most popular Habs title amongst an impressive crop .

Are you looking for a quality gift to place under the Christmas tree for the hockey-loving boy or girl in your life? Look no further - Hockey Book Reviews.com has the lowdown on the top hockey books for kids for Christmas 2008. Just One Goal by Robert Munsch, Illustrated by Michael Martchenko. HockeyBookReviews.com Full Review Perhaps the world's most prolific children's author has dreamed up an amazing story about a little girl who loves hockey. She builds the community a rink on the frozen river, but her team never wins. She's determined to score her team a victory, even as the thawing rink presents great danger It does not get better than this - Hockey and Robert Munsch! | Amazon.ca - chapters.indigo.ca - Amazon.com | The Hockey Tree By David Ward, Illustrated by Brian Deines HockeyBookReviews.com Full Review This highly acclaimed book from 2006 makes it's paperback debut in 2008. The Hockey Tree is a great story about a father, son and daughter enjoying Canad