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Showing posts from October, 2013

Mark Howe, Pierre Pilote, Keith Magnuson, Bob Plager Join Bobby Orr On Bookstore Shelves

Much of the hockey book hubbub these days is about  Bobby Orr's autobiography, Orr: My Story . But Orr isn't the only former NHL defenseman who is the subject of a book in 2013. Here's a look at some others: Gordie Howe's Son: A Hall of Fame Life In The Shadows Of Mr. Hockey by Mark Howe (with Jay Greenberg)  -  Growing up in the shadows of a famous father can never be easy. But when you are an aspiring hockey player and your father is the greatest player the game has ever known, it must be a dark, dark shadow. Mark Howe, with the help of Jay Greenberg, tells us all about that shadow, his dad Gordie Howe, and his own Hall of Fame life in hockey in his autobiography. Buy The Book:  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com   Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story by Pierre Pilote with L. Waxy Gregoire and David M. Dupuis. When the ghosts of hockey's past reminisce about the 1960 Chicago Blackhawks, they almost always focus on superstars Bobby

Original Six Dynasties: Detroit Red Wings by Bob Duff

" Original Six Dynasties: The Detroit Red Wings " is the first in what I hope is a series of hockey books to showcase vintage photographs from the sport's golden age. With nearly three hundred images ranging from 1942 to 1967, "The Detroit Red Wings" shows you Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuck, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, and other legends in their prime. The photos really do steal the show. When I sit down to actually read the book, I quickly get lost in the great imagery time and time again. The photos are black and white, which offers a great feeling of the time period. Many of the photos I have never been available to the public, making this a must have for hockey fans. The text is written by Bob Duff, currently the sports columnist for the Windsor Star since 1988 and a regular contributor to "The Hockey News." He essentially writes captions for each photo, but most of the captions are lengthy. This adds so much more value than most coffee table books

Bobby Orr: My Story

Bobby Orr may be hockey's greatest player. He is also incredibly shy and fiercely protective of his image. So when news broke that he was coming out with his own autobiography - Orr: My Story - I was not too excited by it. Buy The Book:  Amazon.ca  -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com Said Orr in a Boston Globe  interview   "I'm like most people in that over time I've wanted to write down my thoughts, make sense of many things I've seen, and share some things I've learned. Having played in the National Hockey League doesn't make me a better person than anyone else but it does mean that I've met some interesting people and been through some experiences I think are worth putting on paper. This moment in my life seems the right time to do just that." For those of us who have followed Orr over the years, you know this is very much Orr's story as he wants it to be told. There is not much earth shattering material in this book, aside from an interes

Sports Illustrated's Number Four Bobby Orr

There has been much hullabaloo over the past numbers of days about the release of Bobby Orr's autobiography, Orr My Story . But it is not the only new book on Orr to be hitting store shelves this month. In 2012 Sports Illustrated released an interesting collection of magazine articles over the years on Wayne Gretzky . In 2013 they follow the blueprint with Number Four Bobby Orr Buy The Book: Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Starting with his jump from the Oshawa Generals to the NHL's Boston Bruins, Sports Illustrated began in-depth coverage of the career of Bobby Orr, a player who remains, over thirty years after his retirement, one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Orr's autobiography may be the preferred choice for some, as it is his story as he tells it. However long time Bobby Orr observers know that Bobby is an incredibly private man who has been fiercely protective of his image. His own book will surprise no one as the squeaky clean story th

Peter Mansbridge Interviews Bobby Orr

Canada's top newsman Peter Mansbridge of CBC's The National sat down with Bobby Orr, arguably Canada's top hockey player. It is  a rare gem of an interview  as Bobby opens up about many topics. A major reason for the interview is Bobby Orr is releasing his autobiography this week.  Buy The Book:  Amazon.ca -  Chapters  -  Amazon.com

The Best, Worst And Biggest NHL Trades Of All Time

Veteran hockey writer Andrew Podnieks has teamed up with up-and-rising Rob Del Mundo (of TMLFans.ca fame) to give us the new book "The Best, Worst, and Biggest NHL Trades of All Time." At $12.99 this 240 page book is going to be a hit. Buy The Book - The book is available exclusively at  Chapters/Indigos stores in Canada and websites . Shipping is available throughout Canada and the United States. What a great trip down memory lane. For me, and many fans of my generation, the trades that rocked my world the most were the Gretzky to LA and Lindros to Philadelphia trades. To the authors credit, they didn't get too crazy re-hashing these two trades. Yes, they are among the most important moments in the history of the game, but their coverage has been largely exhausted. The authors don't allow any trades to dominate the book. While the Gretzky and Lindros trades jump to mind immediately, the authors certainly do not forget about Brett Hull or Doug Gilmour leaving

Between The Pipes By Randi Druzin

This is Jacques Plante. Plante literally changed the face of hockey, but deserved far more recognition as an innovator than that. No one had as a big an impact on the world of goaltending than Plante. We all know he was a quirky loner, with his love of knitting well known. But did you know when visiting Toronto he absolutely refused to stay at the Royal York hotel, the finest hotel in the city that the Habs always stayed at? I had no idea. This poor fellow is Gump Worsley: While in New York he once quipped that the team that gave him the most trouble the Rangers. We can see why here! Did you also know that Gump was an excellent and avid soccer player? Neither did I. This is Ron Hextall. Hexy was a third generation NHL great who revolutionized the way goaltenders play the game. He was also one of hockey's great villains. Did you also know Martin Brodeur, about as nice a guy as ever played the game and who is featured in the book himself, grew up idolizing Hext

Hockey Books In The News

Here's a look at some hockey books in the news this week: Of Pucks and Prime Ministers What is the worst part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's book about hockey? - That is just one of the questions (and title of the article) that MacLean's magazine's Scott Feschuk cheekily looks to answer. Questions such as how anticipated is this book? Feschuk concludes, "It’s probably more accurate to say that people are “awaiting” the book in the same way they “await” things like Coldplay albums or the bus—with an indifference tinged by faint curiosity. Or perhaps I’m naive and throngs will flock to Chapters at midnight, dressed as their favourite characters. (Dibs on Skene Ronan of the Renfrew Creamery Kings!)" I think that short passage gives you a hint of why you should Feschuk's article. It's not much of a real book review but it is an entertaining, light read poking lots of fun at Canada's favorite sweater wearing - and now hockey book writing -