Ice Hockey Books

It's absolutely asinine that this book was not among "The Top 100 Sports Books Of All Time" compiled by the staff of Sports Illustrated Magazine. It is a must read, you do not need to be a hockey or sports fan to enjoy this read, it is the "Ball Four" of hockey books. Don't miss it, if you can find it !

Although I'm not a NY Ranger's fan by any stretch of the imagination, this book is a long forgotten classic and a must read for every hockey fan. "Ratso", (Larry Sloman) did a great job in profiling the NY Ranger players on and off the ice and he is able to insinuate, instances of sexcapades and drug use among the players and still protect their privacy, he takes us behind the scenes of the Manhatten party life with celebrities, models and hockey players. I was able to find this book in an old inner city library sometime in the late 70's, early 80's. The chance of you finding it now are slim and nil, but if you do get a hold of it, I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

I've owned this book for over 20 years, and I still pick it up from time to time to read it . .it is honestly that interesting and compelling. In no way would I consider myself as being a New York Ranger fan whatsoever. That being said, when I had finished reading this book, I found myself at times actually rooting for the Rangers in the playoffs based on the writing skill of "Ratso" Sloman. It is that good. If you can only read one hockey book in your lifetime, read this one.

As JHRay has already mentioned ... it's funny how rbettendorf could review this book and find such information as: personal bios of Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, and Mike Richter as well as the rangers winning the Stanley Cup in 1994.

This book was published in 1981. Mess was in Edmonton and Richter and Leetch were still in high school my friend.

On the off chance that anyone else is searching for this book, the other review posted is not a review of Sloman's book. As you can see, this book was published in 1982, years before the cup win in '94...

Sloman's book is about the late 70's and early 80's. He is friends with several Rangers, and writes about his experiences with them.

For a SERIOUS hockey fan, a great book. For a casual fan, probably a pass.

BTW, Sloman has been on Howard Sterns show many times.