Hockey Book Reviews.com

2012 has been a very good year for hockey books. There have been some high quality releases, particularly in the biography genre. But it was not until now that I found one that truly stood above the rest.  Coach: The Pat Burns Story  is the best hockey biography of the year. Buy The Book -  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com Pat Burns was one of the great NHL coaches. He worked with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, and seemed always to enjoy instant success. He capped his extraordinary career by coaching the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup victory in 2003. Cancer--his third bout--finally claimed him in 2010, aged 58. Rosie DiManno, the notable Toronto Star columnist, knew Burns well. She has written a revealing and heartfelt account of his life, warts and all. From his fatherless childhood to his years as a police officer to his glorious NHL years and his valiant fight against cancer. Her ...

Derek Sanderson's story is almost unbelievable. The Theoren Fleury of his day, Sanderson had it all. Hockey stardom and celebrity. He was fast on the ice and faster off of it. He was hockey's playboy of the 1970s. He played hard and partied harder. At one point he signed a contract that made him the highest paid athlete in the entire world. More than Pele, Dr. J, and Bobby Hull. Not long after signing that contract he lost it all. Alcohol and drugs drained him of his money. He was sleeping on park benches and under bridges in Central Park, even begging for money for a short period of time. Somehow Derek Sanderson had hit rock bottom. Sanderson, with the help of friends and family, got back on track and put his life back in order. It is an admirable story that Sanderson has been telling for years. Finally he has brought it to bookshelves everywhere in  Derek Sanderson: Crossing the Line . Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Sanderson enlisted the writing...

NHL stars don't get much bigger than Keith Primeau. The 6'5" and 220lb behemoth was a mountain of a player, driving hard through the defense, imposing his hulking physical advantage at will. The former NHL all star was a rare combination of size and skill. He was seemingly unstoppable.  Except he was. And the resulting damage is scary. Primeau suffered 4 documented concussions. Like so many NHL heroes, he kept rushing back to return to the ice, unaware of the long term brain damage he was inflicting upon himself. By the 4th concussion suffered early in the 2005-06 season he was unable to come back. A year later he retired. Hockey's giant was slain by hockey's giant problem - concussions. Now Primeau is determined to make sure this giant problem is no longer swept under the rug. The 15 year NHLer wants to make sure no player - be it in the NHL or the local recreational league - rushes back from a head injury. He has made it his purpose in life to educat...

Authors Richard Leblanc and Stewart Richardson have teamed up to bring us a promising biography of Hockey Hall of Famer Aubrey "Dit" Clapper. Did you know that there have been 10 players in hockey history who had the mandatory waiting period for induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame waived? There was no denying the rightful inclusion of Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk, Dit Clapper, Red Kelly, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. Wait a minute - one of those names sounds a bit off. Every modern fan should be well aware of these ten hockey greats, and for the most part all are. Except for Dit Clapper. Who the heck is Dit Clapper? Clapper was one of the greatest NHL stars of the early years. He was an All Star both as a forward and on defense. He helped the Boston Bruins win three Stanley Cup championships. He was the first player to ever play 20 seasons in the NHL. He was often dubbed "The Lou Gehrig of Hockey." ...

The critically acclaimed Dave Bidini is back with a new hockey book dedicated to the 1972 Summit Series' 40th anniversary:  A Wild Stab for It: This Is Game Eight from Russia . Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Published by ECW Press, Bidini offers a brief look at the 1972 Summit Series. The small book is only a little over 100 pages long, but Bidini makes each and every page worth the purchase price. For the 40th anniversary of what was arguably the single-most important sporting event in Canadian history, the writer shepherded Canadians of all backgrounds—artists, athletes, politicians, and pundits—shared interviews, anecdotes, and memories of September 28, 1972. People like players from both Team Canada and Team USSR. People like political cartoonist Aislin, who actually tried his best to get arrested in Moscow. People like Russian women who fell in love with the bombastic Phil Esposito. People like internet sensations Arthur Chidlovski and Den...

"Breakaway reads like an international political spy thriller. A must-read for fans who want to know about the history of the game, who some of the great European players were, and the development of the global game as we know it today." That's how former NHL general manager Mike Smith expertly sums up Tal Pinchevsky's great new book  Breakaway: The Untold Story of Hockeys Great Escapes Buy The Book -  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com The book tells the story of many of hockey's famous players who had to defect from behind the Iron Curtain to play in the National Hockey League. These brave souls left behind their families and the world as they know it to come to a completely foreign land to chase a dream. When I first learned of this project more than a year prior to it's publication date, I must admit it skyrocketed to the very top of the my most anticipated book release list for 2012. I have always had a fascination with every aspect ...

Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Jerseys  is a celebration of the Hockey Hall of Fame's collection of the best jerseys and sweaters worn in the game.  Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com The brand-new, never-before-seen photographs of each jersey are paired with in-game action images and player profiles detailing the significance of the jersey and the impact of the player on the league. The selection of near 100 jerseys from star players ranges from the rare and seldom seen, like Hall of Famer Rod Langway's high school championship jersey, to the most famous of garments, like Wayne Gretzky's last-ever jersey. The photography is great and, as is always the case with Hockey Hall of Fame book releases, the glossy presentation is second to none. But author Steve Milton really makes this book into a gem with his interesting player profiles. Many of the players names you will recognize - Gretzky, Howe, Richard, while others you will not - Bobbi-Jo Slusar, ...

Much to the chagrin of many of the dinosaurs in the mainstream media, every once in a while a new media blogger can make it big. The dinosaurs will have you believe the bloggers are writing anonymously in their underwear from the basement of their parents house. The truth is that these dreaded bloggers often have as much knowledge and insight (or, depending on the individuals, lack of both) as much of the mainstream media. In the hockey world, no one has broken the snubbed blogger barrier better than Sean McIndoe. Better known online as "Down Goes Brown," McIndoe has combined an astute sense of humour with an innate understanding of hockey on and off the ice to create the hilarious hockey blog empire . He has expanded it to Canada's national newspaper - the National Post. And now he debuts his very first book - The Best of Down Goes Brown Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com In this era of social media everyone - mainstream media very much included...

There are a lot of great stories to be told from the Detroit Red Wings organization over the past 50 years. Dr. John Finley, the Red Wings team physician from 1957 through 2003, is one of the few people who can say he has had complete access to the team over the past five decades. Now Finley has compiled his favorite stories in the all new book  Hockeytown Doc: A Half-Century of Red Wings Stories from Howe to Yzerman . Buy The Book:  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.ca Book Description Reflecting on nearly five decades with the Detroit Red Wings, Dr. John Finley takes sports fans far beyond closed doors and into the trainer’s room where cuts were bandaged, broken noses were reset, sore muscles were rubbed out, and casts made for broken bones. In this stellar memoir, Dr. Finley recounts his experiences with the stars on the revitalized Red Wings franchise in recent years, including Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom, as well as heroes of previou...

Hockey Canada and author Lorna Schultz Nicholson are back at it with their hit new children's book series called Puckster. 2012 sees the friendly polar bear  Puckster  star in two paperback titles:  Puckster's First Hockey Tournament  and  Puckster's New Hockey Teammate . Buy The Books:  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com The series of 4 books, all illustrated beautifully by Kelly Findley, debuted in 2011 with  Puckster's First Hockey Game  and  Puckster's First Hockey Sweater . Puckster is Hockey Canada's mascot. These books are aimed at hockey's youngest fans, hoping hook Canada's youth on both the love of hockey and the love of reading. At just $6.99, it is the perfect small gift for the young hockey fan on your Christmas shopping list.

“I have been asked a million times what went through my mind when that puck slid into the goal. I have answered it a million times, but I will tell you one more time now what I even said to myself out loud when that puck went in the net - Dad would have loved that one." Canadian hockey hero Paul Henderson is releasing his memoir. Written with Roger Lajoie, Henderson's book is cleverly titled Paul Henderson: The Goal of My Life . Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Plenty has been written about and even by Paul Henderson over the years. His heroic goal in the 1972 Summit Series immortalized him in hockey and even Canadian history. Yet this book had the potential to be by far the best piece ever written on Henderson's life. That's because he has gone through a lot since that famous night in September 1972 - from alcoholism to finding god to reinventing himself to battling Leukemia. He has become a hero beyond the hockey rink, and his insights on ...