Hockey Book Reviews.com

On the Friday, April 24th, 2009 Prime Time Sports podcast (audio link), popular show host Bob McCown made reference to two possible book projects. McCown, who penned the popular McCown's Law: The 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments back in 2007, may have a book out in 2009. On this particular project he gave no hint of the topic, and, in typical McCown sarcasm, little hope that the project is even started. Given publisher deadlines, if McCown is telling the truth about not starting the project yet, there is no chance of a book coming out in 2009. McCown then mentions a different book project coming out in fall 2010. He describes it as a coffee table style book which will commemorate his popular radio show's 20th anniversary.

Everyone who grew up in Canada knows the classic book/short animation film The Hockey Sweater . As great as Roch Carrier's story is, it would have gone for not without Sheldon Cohen's brilliant illustrations. Now you can own more than just the book or dvd. You can own original pieces of artwork for the book by Mr. Cohen. For those of you who may wish to share in the film's legacy, I have chosen 72 pieces of original artwork from my personal collection to share with avid collectors. The majority of production art is archived at the National Film Board of Canada, leaving only this limited amount for public access. Check out Cohen's website http://thehockeysweater.blogspot.com/

Sometimes I like to leave a book or two on my coffee table in hopes that a buddy will thumb through it and start up conversation about the great game. I have found a perfect title to accomplish just that as the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs begin. New author Phil Schlenker sent me his first book Let's Talk Hockey: 50 Wonderful Debates today. It is one of the earliest releases of 2009! Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Amazon.com Schlenker weighs in on 50 of hockey's hottest topics. Gretzky vs. Lemieux. Fighting or no fighting. The greatest goalies, the best trades and the best players not in the Hall of Fame. So on and so forth. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by text. It was a fun page turner written by an obviously passionate and knowledgeable hockey fan. My concern was Schlenker's book comes on the heels of a similar book by Bob McCown. McCown is a very popular and well spoken radio show host in Toronto and syndicated across Canada. I knew who he was, and I knew his crede...

We've talked about this before . The e-book is very much going to make serious headway in the book landscape in the coming years. Before we really see the boom take place, we need to see a victor in the technology battle. Sony has the Sony Reader while Amazon has the Kindle . You can buy either or both via the previous links. Amazon.com has recently opened up the Kindle Store , including a number of hockey books. Here's a look at what is available: Notable Titles : The Game by Ken Dryden The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team by Wayne Coffey Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein Brodeur: Beyond the Crease by Martin Brodeur with Damien Cox Between the Lines: Not-So-Tall Tales From Ray Scapinello by Ray Scapinello Splendid Is The Sun: The 5,000 Year History of Hockey by George and Darill Fosty Hockey Stories On And Off The Ice by Dan Diamond and James Duplacey Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage...

Last month I began looking ahead at the class of 2009 in terms of hockey book releases later this year. Here's a couple more titles, courtesy of The Hockey News. Currently scheduled for an October 27, 2009 release is The Pursuit of Hockeyness: 99 Things Every Hockey Fan Needs to Do In Their Lifetime . There really is not of information about this 225 page trade-paperback as of right now. But it is safe to assume we will see things like going to the Hockey Hall of Fame, see a live game at Madison Square Gardens, visit Montreal, and play shinny on a frozen pond. With some nice photography, I think this book has some potential. Pre-Order: Amazon.ca - chapters.indigo.ca - Amazon.com Also scheduled for release on Oct. 27th is THN's Puck Funnies: Hockey Humour, Hilarity and Hi-Jinx . Again, there is very little information out right now, other than it is an identical 225 pages and a trade paperback. Pre-Order: Amazon.ca - chapters.indigo.ca - Amazon.com THN and Transcontinen...

Sir John A. MacDonald. Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley. Two men equally important in the history of Canada? Okay, not quite, not in history's eyes anyways. MacDonald, of course, was Canada's very first Prime Minister, masterfully undertaking the difficult task of nation building despite the influence of at least three major cultural backgrounds and an enormous geography to work with. He really is one of the 10 greatest Canadians. That's tough to match. But Lord Stanley's impact on Canada is far more important than most of us realize. We all know him as a man born into privilege, who worked his way up the road paved with gold right to the governor general of Canada post. There he donated a $48 trophy that, in no direct thanks to Stanley himself, became far more important than he ever was. Well, authors Kevin Shea and John Jason Wilson set out to clear up this myth. In their book Lord Stanley: The Man Behind the Cup , the duo look deeply into his life and career, specificall...

Every so often someone comes out with a Stanley Cup compendium. It may be from the NHL itself, or the Hockey Hall of Fame, or an unaffiliated project from one of the major publishers. Regardless of who is behind the projects, the books tend to be quite formulaic. They look back at Stanley Cup playoffs past, either year by year or era by era. They are dominated by a wide range of black and white and color photography that really steal the show. More often than not it is a good thing that the photography dominates, because the texts in these books tend to gloss over the years and eras with the briefest of summaries. It kind of has to, because it would take several volumes to truly chronicle the Stanley Cup's history. But still, the writing is too often pedestrian. That was certainly not a concern with 2001's Quest For The Cup: A History Of The Stanley Cup Finals , arguably the best book of this genre ever produced. Buy The Book: Amazon.ca | chapters.indigo.ca | Amazon.com Key P...

Pictured above is a pretty rare book. "Stanley Cup" by Larry Bortstein was first printed way back in January 1973 and was sold for just $1.50! I picked this book up in a used bookstore on Vancouver Island. I can't remember where exactly, but I am certain I paid more than the original cover price. Inside the Stadia Sports publication are a number of interesting if dated stories: The All Time Stanley Cup Team; The Greatest Cup Teams; Never Say Die Leafs Pull A Cup Miracle; Non Stars Scale Heights In Cup Drama; The Ice Ran Red With Blood; The Curse of Muldoon; and Today The Stanley Cup, Tomorrow The World. I found this book buried in my collection the other day and the cover has inspired me to run a special Stanley Cup books feature here at Hockey Book Reviews.com . Starting tomorrow I will begin reviewing older but usually still available books dedicated to the Stanley Cup.