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Hockey History Books

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TheDevilMadeMe said:
The forum search is unfortunately disabled until hfboards finally gets a system upgrade. It's a real shame for those of us who frequent the history section, but it is something that will be fixed.
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I'm really hoping it's fixed by the time the next ATD rolls around. It's unfortunate that it's not here for the minor league drafts, but I think the ATD without the search function would really hinder the progress and knowledge we've uncovered so far.
 
I found "Hockey on two continents" by Peter Stastny to be an absolutely marvelous read. Gives an insight into both north american and Slovakian hockey.
 
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If You Can't beat 'em in the alley: The Memoirs of Conn Smythe with Scott Young. Great read, very entertaining and gives you a look at the old school mentality of the NHL. you can get a copy on amazon.com used for almost nothing
 
One of my favorite books is Cyclone Taylor's book. It really gives you insight on how hockey was played in his days, and he talks about what it was like growing up in the 1890's-1900's era. He also gives great insight on old time players like Art Ross and others. The one part that I liked was when he talks about going to see Ty Cobb play in like 1905. It was just a very fascinating book to me.
 
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seventieslord said:
I dare you to show me a link anywhere on the net where this book is for sale.
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I guessed it was written in Slovak. With a google search I was able to find a link to a facebook page about what I suspected is a book with that title. Google Translate confirmed that. Now with the Slovak title, I found a single used amazon listing here. For $100.

And then here's a Slovak site with a whole bunch of listings. For notable less than $100, but in Europe.

Here's another listing on a Czech site.

What do I win?
 
Sureshotte said:
Didn't see a recommendations thread, but please link if there already has been one.

There seems to be a general lack of hockey books around (compared to other sports), but it would be nice to hear of any gems that you've read.

So far, I've only finished Theo Fleury - Playing With Fire; an insightful and honest account of the man; a truly troubled guy who went through some pretty hard times. Worth the read.

Current getting through both The Greatest Stories Ever Told and Bob Probert - Tough Guy. The former has some great short stories and articles (particularly liked the one about Richter). The latter, as you might imagine with a guy like Probert, is similar in vein to Theo's, although I find it interesting how little he goes into some pretty important life situations. Perhaps he just didn't want to talk about them.

I also picked up Patrick Roy's book on the cheap due to Borders going into liquidation, so I have that up on the chopping block.

Lastly, I picked up this beauty off eBay last year:

nhl94cover.jpg


It doesn't really give any groundbreaking advice (I used to play NHL '94 in leagues), but it's a really nice book to flick through. Easily my favourite sports game of all time.
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Here are a couple;

1. 'War on Ice" by Scott Young - goes through Canada in international hockey from 1954-74.

2. "The Game" by Ken Dryden

3. "Hockey, The Way it Is" by Brian Conacher

4. "The Forgotten Summit" (had to throw this in - it is my book on the 1974 Canada/Soviet Summit series.)

Craig Wallace
 
Iain Fyffe said:
I guessed it was written in Slovak. With a google search I was able to find a link to a facebook page about what I suspected is a book with that title. Google Translate confirmed that. Now with the Slovak title, I found a single used amazon listing here. For $100.

And then here's a Slovak site with a whole bunch of listings. For notable less than $100, but in Europe.

Here's another listing on a Czech site.

What do I win?
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You would have won a finder's fee if you had showed me that it was written in English too :(
 
TBH, I wasn't the biggest fan of "The Game". Heard a lot of hype for it on here, so I guess I built it up too much. Good book for sure, but not my favourite hockey book. I've read Playing with Fire, which was almost terrifyingly honest, Bob McKenzie's book is funny and a pretty light read. My all time favourite though, which I'm re-reading right now, is Future Greats and Heartbreaks, by Gare Joyce. He spends a year as a scout for the Blue Jackets in 2006-7, and documents EVERYTHING. its excellent, and very well written.

As for fiction, since I was a kid I've loved Scott Young's books: Scrubs on Skates, Boy on Defense, and Boy at the Leafs Camp. Trilogy about a high school team in Winnipeg in the 50's I think, with a focus on a few particular players. Excellent books. I haven't read them in years, but I'm sure I'd still enjoy them
 
Net Worth
The Power of Two (Carl Brewer)
Game Misconduct; Alan Eagleson & the Corruption of Hockey
Offside; The Battle for Control of Maple Leaf Gardens
Gross Misconduct; The Spinner Spencer Story
Remembering Tim Horton; A Celebration
Heaven & Hell in the NHL (Imlach)
If You Cant Beat em' in the Alley (Conn Smythe)
Eddie Shore & that Old Time Hockey
The Doug Harvey Story

and for a brilliant bit of fiction using real names & players; Salvage King, Ya
 
I've heard the The Game of our Lives by Peter Gzowski (the story of the 80-81 Oilers) is an excellent book.
 
I found some info on a book on this site that some people might find interesting. It's called Accessed Denied: Forgotten and Future Heroes Of Hockey's Hall of Fame. Doesn't seem like a deep read and not sold in-stores yet so I might pick it up at the library or browse in a bookstore if it's worth being a keeper. This post has some info on it:

http://www.hockeybookreviews.com/2012/11/accessed-denied-forgotten-and-future.html

access_denied_kullas.jpg


I bought a book called Stanley Cup Fever by McFarlane which I'm enjoying, kinda general though. Atm looking online to find his 50 yrs of hockey book to see what that one's like.
 
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mY favorite is The Game of OUr Lives by Peter Gzowski.

For fun, fast reads, the Esposito Book, the Tiger Williams one, etc are a good time. Some of the Gretzky books are okay, the Tim Horton one was pretty good. Cracked Ice was pretty good and I can't normally stomach Fishcler. I read one on Brian Spencer that was pretty good. Roy MacGregor wrote one about fathers and sons in hockey, that was engaging.

I will go off the mainline view on Dryden's The Game. I have said this before, but will say it again. It is the most self-absorbed piece of melancholia I have ever read. It tries so hard to be cereberal and poignant that it misses the story of one of hockey's great clubs that its bright goaltender could have spun..

I think (and I'm not trying to be obnoxious) that readers have heard for so long what a great book it is and what a smart guy Kend Dryden is, that they convince themselves it was some sort of revelation, when really it's just a bunch of hockey stuff turned into marshmallow when he tried to make it so damned smart. Just tell the story, folks. It's hockey.
 
Found an ebook online called a "The Official Illustrated NHL History" by Pincus from 2010. If anyone wants it then PM me, I'd put the link up but not sure if it's allowed. Nice general hockey history, just what I was looking for.
 
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