Hockey Books

leave well enough alone, and write your own books; your other ones have been good, why do this?

I believe the reason sports fascinates us so much is not do to the game but the people who play the game, and how the "game" effects the rest of the world. Mr. Pierce provides that much-needed insight into sorts. He pushes beyond the box scores to bring reader to the heart of sports.

In this collection there is a wide range of topics and sports covered, each with Pierce's attention to detail and sharp wit. He goes from the back roads to the inner offices to find the stories behind the sports. He handles each subject with care, and though he may not handle each person or more appropriately ego with care it is done only to breathe reality into the Hollywood and marketing of sports.

Pierce has a writing style that is refreshing and each piece has its own flavor. Sitting down with his book is almost like sitting down with a collection of different authors. While Piece does have his own style he does not let that interfere with writing the story they way it needs to be written. He does not try to shoe horn events or people into his style instead he lets his subjects pick the tone and the pace, and he adds the frame and the lighting for us to better understand them.

But please do not take my comments about Pierce style to mean that his work is heady or inaccessible. In fact its quite the opposite, after all this is a man who likes to sit in the bleachers with a paper cup of beer in his hand and cheer loudly for the home team. Instead I offered my comments to point out that this book is not just for sports fan, but also for people who enjoy stories.

I believe the reason sports fascinates us so much is not do to the game but the people who play the game, and how the "game" effects the rest of the world. Mr. Pierce provides that much-needed insight into sorts. He pushes beyond the box scores to bring reader to the heart of sports.

In this collection there is a wide range of topics and sports covered, each with Pierce's attention to detail and sharp wit. He goes from the back roads to the inner offices to find the stories behind the sports. He handles each subject with care, and though he may not handle each person or more appropriately ego with care it is done only to breathe reality into the Hollywood and marketing of sports.

Pierce has a writing style that is refreshing and each piece has its own flavor. Sitting down with his book is almost like sitting down with a collection of different authors. While Piece does have his own style he does let that interfere with writing the story they way it needs to be written. He does try to shoe horn events or people into his style instead he lets his subjects pick the tone and the pace, and he adds the frame and the lighting for us to better understand them.

But please do not take my comments about Pierce style to mean that his work is heady or inaccessible. In fact its quite the opposite, after all this is a man who likes to sit in the bleachers with a paper cup of beer in his hand and cheer loudly for the home team. Instead I offered my comments to point out that this book is not just for sports fan, but also for people who enjoy stories.

There are 30 pieces here. Take one a day, save some for your flight delay, or read them all at once. Here are some favorites:

"Soul on Ice," where Pierce's sentences swoop like chittering bats in the soft night to scoop up another tasty adjective, only to halt in mid-air for the kill: "Community is virtually lost to sports today. A team does not rise within a city. It is laid upon it ..." Plus the history of the Ojibwe.

"The Snake-Handling Pole Vaulter," which is every bit as funny and quirky and charming as the title, until the end.

The racism in the distinction between "smart" ball player and the one with "natural ability," and how Larry Bird and Magic Johnson messed with this.

And how Magic Johnson sentenced Earvin Johnson to exile and possibly to early death.

"The Man. Amen" is notorious, and important, and not funny. It is the Tiger Woods piece, where Pierce ripped the façade of sainthood off the golfer. This chapter should carry a graphic-language disclaimer. And for that very reason, every journalism student should read it.

Other celebrity interviews include Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Deion Sanders. Even better are the talks with the unknowns: Bob Marley's son the linebacker. Wolfman the lottery-winning traveling wrestler. The golf pros who teeter on the edge of fame and fall back to the other side. The corkball players.

There are not a lot of women here. But "Two Tough Mothers" features two women who are not softball pitchers or soccer goalies, but who play hardball. And get in trouble for it.

As alluded to, Pierce quotes both the foul-mouthed and the well-mannered athlete accurately. But if teachers and parents are comfortable that, this is a fine book to give to the student whose intellectual high point of the day has been ESPN's Sportscenter. And give it to those who know who Dickie Beardsley is, and what happened to him, and to those who don't.

Overall, I was diappointed with this book. The
main focus was on drills and I wasn't aware
of it. The drills in it are great. They have
many drills for each individual skill.
However, the text wasn't that good. It seems
like it was written from an ice hockey
player's view point. There was little
consideration for the difference between
roller and ice hockey.

Also on page 20 the author deals with the main characters frustration and rage at a fellow team mate by having the main character remove his skate and use his skate blade to cut the teammates forehead. "Smiling down at him, I lightly move the skate blade across his forehead. A very thin line of blood appears, a trickle starts." Overall, I was extremely dissappointed in this book and strongly suggest it is not the type of literature for our kids. There are many other excellent hockey books out there that skate circles around this one.

Denis Brodeur has photographed the Montreal Canadiens for several decades, so all of the pictures were taken at The Forum and a few at the Molson Centre(Bill Ranford). It is no secret that Denis' son, Martin is one of the finest goaltenders in the game, and the father pays his son a nice tribute in the book.

This book a must-have for any hockey fanatic and features photographs of goaltenders hard to find anywhere. Where else will you find Gilles Gilbert, Daniel Bouchard, Rick Wamsley and other lesser-known, but succesful netminders in the same book? Brodeur's photos have captured the spirit and flamboyance of the position and is a tribute to everyone who has ever put on the pads and gone "between the pipes" in the great game of hockey.

Also, the pictures are of average quality. Brodeur does have some phenominal shots of goalies over the years, but these pictures are not art quality, rather documentary. I would like to see a book that focuses on the art of goaltending and the people behind it rather than a somewhat plain approach than was taken here. Nonetheless, it still sits on my coffeetable and starts a conversation or two.