A final bit of house keeping to end the year of 2008.
I just learned of another 2008 title. Author Don Marks and small Winnipeg Publisher J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing combined to give us a look at the history of Native hockey players in their 280 page book They Call Me Chief: Warriors on Ice.
Are you looking for that last minute Christmas Gift for your out-of-town friend? Too late to deliver that book you though they might like?
Canada On Ice
Kinsmen Club of North Bay
News Release
The Kinsmen Club of North Bay is pleased to announce that it has joined other Kin Canada clubs across the nation in selling an exclusive hockey book that will benefit local community projects and cystic fibrosis research.
Greatest Moments in Canada Hockey History is a soft cover commemorative book that recounts Canada’s 50 all-time greatest hockey games and its unforgettable heroes throughout the country’s storied hockey history in NHL, junior’s, women’s and Olympic competition. The Kinsmen Club of North Bay hopes to sell the 144-page book to members of the community over the next few months.
"With the purchase of this book, you are helping Kin Canada raise funds for community projects and to fund research and treatment programs for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF),” says Mike Croghan, chair of the Kin-CCFF Liaison Committee.
Oh there is just something absolutely wonderful about flipping through a book. As amazing as the internet's potential is, and despite all of the challenges facing the publishing industry, I do not think that will ever change.
Of course, plenty of hockey arguments will arise as you and your pals debate the top 100. What is the greatest story in international hockey history? The Miracle On Ice in 1980? Henderson's heroics in 1972? The Soviet domination of the World Championships? One of many Olympic games?
That is an unfair assessment of any single book of his, especially his new book Legendary Stanley Cup Stories. It is an excellent book, so long as you are not overly familiar with McFarlane's work. You can take any of his books and you will find his work to be entertaining, informative and well worth the read. Legendary Stanley Cup Stories
is no different. Many of the greatest stories, myths and legends are expertly retold by McFarlane. Stories like that of the Silver Fox's taking to the nets, Mel Hill's sudden death heroics, Bill Barilko's triumph and tragedy, the Rocket Richard Riots, Bobby Baun's broken leg goal and Messier's Manhattan transfer.
Hockey Canada, Fenn Publishing, and McAlpine Sports Management combined to produce Dominant Dany Heatley. The book is authored by Heatley himself, with the help of noted author Lorna Schultz Nicholson.
So Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is the best selling book in Canada as Christmas approaches. The book even knocked Don Cherry out of top spot.
#2. The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory
#3. Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems
Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne
by Bob Showers.
by Craig Leopold with Richard W. Oliver.
Since becoming an official franchise of the National Hockey League in May 1998, The Nashville Predators have gained an incredible amount of regional and national attention. In Hockey Tonk, owner Craig Leipold and Richard Oliver take readers on a fascinating journey from the birth of the Nashville Predators to the planning and execution of the team's inaugural season. From their first game in October 1998 before a sell out crowd of more than 17,000 to games being played today, the Nashville Predators have drawn a total of more than a million fans to their games. This book goes behind the scenes to describe not only how the Predators got and kept so many fans so fast, but also how they became one of the NHL's most successful expansion teams in just one season. Fans and business people alike will be interested in this amazing story.
By Johnny Bower and Bob Duff.
As a youngster, Johnny Bowers father told him if he worked hard every day and put passion into his profession, it would pay off in the long run. It was good advice, especially the part about the long run. Bower toiled in hockeys minor leagues for more than a decade, waiting for his chance at the big leagues and it wasnt until he was 33, an age when most players are winding down their careers, that he finally debuted in the NHL. Expected to be a stop-gap measure for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bower instead became an institution in the city, tending goal for the club for the next 12 seasons, backstopping the Leafs to four Stanley Cups, the last one coming when he was 42-years-old. Bower appeared in four NHL All-Star Games, won two Vezina Trophies, and earned enshrinement to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Bower was 45-years-old when he played his last NHL game on December 10th, 1969, becoming the first player in NHL history eligible to collect his pension while still on the active roster of a league club. Bowers story is more than just a tale of a man who defied Father Time and rated among the greatest puckstoppers of all time. Its about a boy who grew up in the small northern Saskatchewan town of Prince Albert, listening to Foster Hewitts call of Hockey Night in Canada on the radio, dreaming that someday he could emulate Frank Brimsek, the famous Boston Bruins goalie nicknamed Mr. Zero.
by John Gilbert
The U. S. hockey team's victory at the 1980 Olympics was a "Miracle on Ice"--a miracle largely brought about by the late Herb Brooks, the legendary coach who forged that invincible team. Famously antagonistic toward the press at Lake Placid, Brooks nonetheless turned to sportswriter John Gilbert after each game, giving his longtime friend and confidant what became the most comprehensive coverage of the team. This book is Gilbert's memoir of Brooks. Neither strictly biography or tell-all expose, Herb Brooks is the story of an extraordinary man as it emerged in the course of a remarkable friendship. Gilbert, writing for the Minneapolis Tribune, first met Brooks during his coaching days at the University of Minnesota, whose hockey program he resurrected in the 1970's. The two became fast friends, and here, for the first time, Gilbert relates anecdotes--his own and former players'--that illuminate Brooks' oftentimes hard-nosed coaching methods, his dramatic successes, and his incomparable character.
by Doug Lennox
As Canadians, we all think we know hockey inside and out, but Doug Lennox, the head referee of Q&A, delivers the score on everything from All-Stars to Zambonis and stickhandles the skinny on who wore the first mask in hockey, how the term hat trick originated, and just where hockey was invented. Along the way, you’ll discover all sorts of fascinating things about the giants of the game, from Jean Beliveau and Sidney Crosby to Gordie Howe and Alexander Ovechkin.
The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame
by Martin C. Harris. by Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlanes Legendary Stanley Cup Stories is a fun and fascinating collection of some of the most memorable moments from hockeys glory days as seen through the eyes of one of the games most celebrated and respected broadcasters. Brian McFarlane spent his professional career as the face of hockey, calling games and interviewing its many greats. He continues to be one of hockeys most knowledgeable insiders and was credited during his working days as always providing a fair, accurate, and always respectful account of each game, the players, the teams, and its officiating. Through his experiences, he witnessed and was part of many of the most exciting, pivotal, and humourous events of hockeyin particular those which were part of Stanley Cup history. Brian McFarlanes Legendary Stanley Cup Stories, is also unique by what it is not. It is not simply a book of statistics or lists about the Stanley Cup. Nor is it a greatest moments collection told from someone elses memories. It is a first hand, behind the scenes account by a man that lived it. It is McFarlane at his best, doing what he does so well and that is telling candid and colourful stories. Brian was in the backrooms, the dressing rooms, and the boardrooms and has gathered a lifetime of his most enjoyable and interesting moments into this must have volume for all fans of the game.
by Andrew Podnieks and Anthony Jenkins
To some hockey players, the number on their sweater is especially significant. It is as essential to the spirit of the player as is his childhood, his upbringing, or the skill that got him to the NHL. The Little Book of Hockey Sweaters Vol. 2 offers the inside story from professional hockey players, both past and present, on the numbers they selected to wear on their backs. Compiled by bestselling author and sports journalist Andrew Podnieks, with illustrations by The Globe and Mail ’s Anthony Jenkins, The Little Book of Hockey Sweaters Vol. 2 is a follow-up to the hugely popular original, which covered such hockey greats as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In this second volume, also a must-have for hockey fans and trivia buffs, they dig deeper, and find more stories about well-known players—from Bobby Hull to Darcy Tucker—for whom the jersey number represents a key part of their identity.
Beckett Hockey Card Price Guide: And Alphabetical Checklist
by Tim Trout
has been knocked out of the number one slot by Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success, a book which includes a lot of sports, including, according to ESPN, a lot of hockey. Specifically, Gladwell wonders why most Canadian NHL hockey players are born in January.
Just One Goal
by Robert Munsch, Illustrated by Michael Martchenko.
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By David Ward, Illustrated by Brian Deines
This highly acclaimed book from 2006 makes it's paperback debut in 2008. The Hockey Tree is a great story about a father, son and daughter enjoying Canada's great game on a frozen lake. But they run into a problem when their puck falls into an ice fisherman's hole. Have no fear, dad has a plan to keep the hockey going, but he needs the kids to help him find the perfect tree - The Hockey Tree
by Mike Leonetti, Illustrated by Greg Banning
After misfiring in 2007, Mike Leonetti returns in 2008 with his annual children's hockey history title. In Wendel and The Great One he mixes hockey history with the story of a boy who is trying to figure out what it means to be a leader. He turns to his heroes, Wendel Clark and Wayne Gretzky, to discover how to be the best captain he can be.
Xtreme Hockey
- Stephen Cole authors this flashy and colorful title aimed at 6-12 year olds.
Peril at the World's Biggest Hockey Tournament
- The long-awaited addition to a series that has sold one million copies.
, by Eric Zweig
A spin off from 2006's Hockey Trivia for Kids
, Eric Zweig offers another pocket book packed full of hockey stories, pictures and cartoons. If you have a seriously hockey infatuated youngster on your Christmas list, this book will keep them entertained and educated with fascinating factoids that will make them the hockey expert of their school!
Veteran hockey author Mike Leonetti returns with the fifth edition of the popular Hockey Now!
franchise.
by Paul Romanuk
For 20 years now broadcaster Paul Romanuk and Scholastic have been churning out his Hockey Superstars series. It must be a big hit with the kids to have run this long. I know the books drew my attention 20 years ago when the series first started.
One of his most popular series of books is the hockey-themed Slapshots. There are four titles in all, starting with Slapshots #1: The Stars from Mars
and progressing through Slapshots #2: All-Mars All-Stars
, Slapshots #3: The Face-Off Phoney
, and Slapshots #4: Cup Crazy
.
SpongeBob's Slap Shot
- SpongeBob amazes an ice-hockey scout with his skills while sweeping up the Krusty Krab, and he soon finds himself playing professional hockey! But when he realizes whose team he is playing for, and who he must play against, SpongeBob starts having second thoughts. Does he really have what it takes to be an ice-hockey superstar? Hockey enthusiasts and SpongeBob fans alike will delight in this full-color, sports-themed story, ideal for young readers between the ages of 4 and 8.
Inside Hockey!: The Legends, Facts, and Feats That Made the Game
- Keltie Thomas is an experienced children's author, also authoring How Hockey Works
. In this book Thomas introduces lots of hockey history to the newest generation of puck fans. Good job!
The Farm Team
- For fifty years the animals on Stolski's farm have played their hearts out for the Stolski Cup -- the dream of every hockey team all over the northland. And every year the Farm Team has lost to the nastiest, smelliest, snarlingest bunch of varmints ever to don skates -- the Bush League Bandits. As soon as the puck drops for this year's playoff game, the Bandits, playing as dirty as ever, take an early lead. A Bandit porcupine named Needles starts ramming Farm Team players, while the weasels slash and spear. But the Farm Team's goalie Big George blocks some tough shots, while Billy the goat and Vera the goose net three goals to tie things up. Then the Bandits bring in a bruiser of a substitute player so big and mean that these plucky underdogs could be in for a serious mauling. From the award-winning team of Linda Bailey and Bill Slavin and packed with on-ice action and laughs, this is the picture book hockey fans of every age have been waiting for.
We shoot We score! Hockey Sticker Stories
on ice Kids will love learning all about hockey positions, rules, penalties, game food, and other fun hockey facts as they add stickers to every spread.
