Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend: by Grant Fuhr with Bruce Dowbiggin

Grant Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend by Grant Fuhr with Bruce Dowbiggin. Random House
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Grant Fuhr played in 1018 games in NHL career. Add all the junior, All Star and international games, and it must be pretty hard to choose a top ten most memorable games from such a storied career. 

But that is what Grant Fuhr has done in his new autobiography, Grant Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend.

Not surprisingly his NHL debut, his 1-0 shutout win in Game 1 of the 1984 Stanley Cup final en route to Oilers first Stanley Cup victory top the list. So is the dramatic 1987 Canada Cup.

“You have Mario on the side and Gretz with the puck,” Fuhr said in a recent interview. “There’s no two better players in the game to have with a chance to win a hockey game. Wow, I had the best seat in the house to watch it.”

The book is written with Bruce Dowbiggin. It is a typical jock-autobiography, with Dowbiggin turning hours of interviews into a retelling Fuhr's career. But I really enjoyed how they allowed Fuhr's unedited comments to jump in regularly, adding a lot value to the text.

For all his accomplishments, Fuhr had some blemishes in his career, namely his suspension from the sport due to cocaine use. Dowbiggin pursues it and Fuhr is very open about it, wanting readers to realize everyone mistakes, but you can overcome these shortcomings.

Fuhr, who also had to deal with racial issues, says he is completely comfortable with his past and with who he is now. It is a good message from one of hockey's good guys - a message maybe all young hockey stars should read.

From The Publisher: GRANT FUHR was the Hall of Fame goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers, and the first black superstar in the National Hockey League. He is now a role model and fundraiser for charity, inspiring young goalies around the world. Fuhr plays golf at the professional level on the pro Stars Tour, starring with ex-professional athletes who benefit charities by their activities.

Hockey Hall of Fame Book Of Trivia by Don Weekes

Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Trivia
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The Hockey Hall of Fame has put a good number of high quality books over the past few years. They always fill the glossy pages with brilliant photography and interesting sidebars filled with information. And they always fill get a top writer to fill the main content of the book.

So when the Hockey Hall of Fame decided to release a book of trivia they went after hockey's trivia king - Don Weekes.

Weekes has put out more hockey trivia books than I can count. The man has this down to a science. He knows how to create a book for every level of hockey fan, whether they are new to the game and learning about it's fantastic history, or an expert who is tough to stump.

Hockey Hall of Fame Book of Trivia is no exception. It is a perfect Christmas gift for any hockey fan.

 From the publisher: Unique facts and little-known data for the fervent fan.

Hockey Hall of Fame Trivia features the most distinguished and influential men and women who have ever played the game, policed the ice or called the shots from the bench and the boardroom.

In his latest book hockey trivia guru Don Weekes, who has written more than 20 hockey-trivia books, has created 160 unique questions and eight trivia games that chronicle the members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Here are some of the challenging questions:

Superstars Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk wear sweater numbers honoring which Hall of Fame member?
How many of the five Canadian skaters who were on the ice when Darryl Sittler scored the climactic 1976 Canada Cup-winner later became Hall members?
Which modern-day player entered the Hall of Fame having scored the highest percentage of his team's total goals in one season?
Which NHL 500-goal-scorer waited the longest for Hall recognition after his retirement?
Fully illustrated with 300 images, Hockey Hall of Fame Trivia will enlighten novice fans, challenge die-hards and provide fun for anyone of any age interested in hockey and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in Toronto honors and preserves the history of ice hockey and those who have made outstanding contributions and achievements in the development of the game.

The Last Hockey Game by Bruce McDougall

The Last Hockey Game
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From The Publisher: On May 2, 1967, Montreal and Toronto faced each other in a battle for hockey supremacy. This was only the fifth time the teams had ever played each other in the Stanley Cup finals. Toronto led the series 3-2.

But this wasn't simply a game. From the moment Foster Hewitt announced "Hello Canada and hockey fans in the United States," the game became a turning point in sports history. That night, the Leafs would win the Cup. The next season, the National Hockey League would expand to twelve teams. Players would form an association to begin collective bargaining. Hockey would become big business. The NHL of the "Original Six" would be a thing of the past.

It was The Last Hockey Game.

Placing us in the announcers' booth, in the seats of excited fans, and in the skates of the players, Bruce McDougall scores with a spectacular account of every facet of that final fateful match. As we meet players such as Gump Worsley, Tim Horton, Terry Sawchuk, and Eddie Shack, as well as coaches, owners, and fans, The Last Hockey Game becomes more than a story of a game. It also becomes an elegy, a lament for an age when, for all its many problems, the game was played for the love of it.

Joe's Note: Ripe with description that brings many of hockey's characters from the past back to life, McDougall's book The Last Hockey Game is an interesting look at how hockey has changed through the lens of just one hockey game - the final game of the 1967 Stanley Cup final.

It's an interesting undertaking by McDougall. This book, which is in part play-by-play of one game but in part a history of an era gone by and a study of the after-effects to this day, feels more like a baseball book. That is a huge compliment. Everyone knows baseball is blessed with great literature. Hockey books get a bad knock, but there certainly is a gap in the number of quality books out there. Bruce McDougall closes that gap a little bit with The Last Game.

Larry Robinson: The Great Defender with Kevin Shea

The Great Defender: My Unexpected Hockey Odyssey by Kevin Shea. Fenn/MS. Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com

Joe's Note: Hockey fans are so lucky to have Kevin Shea as part of our literature world. He has a real gift for finding his subject's voice and then presenting it to the reader in such a welcoming way. From the moment I cracked the spine of Larry Robinson's autobiography I was eager to read more and more. The pages turn so fast when Shea is writing. It is a breezy, fun read about one of the greatest hockey players of all time.    

From The Publisher: Legendary Canadien and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Larry Robinson takes readers rink-side in this highly anticipated and poignantly told memoir. 

Larry Robinson spent 20 seasons playing in the NHL -- seventeen with the Montreal Canadiens and retiring from the game after his final 3 seasons with the LA Kings. His great size gave his teams an incredible presence on the blue line and a tremendous defender in front of their net. But he was more than just big. He was agile, he could score and he played a style that provided both offensive and defensive strengths. 

For his effort, Robinson was twice recognized as the NHL's top defencemen and his contribution helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup six times during his tenure with the team. Never afraid to drop his gloves and play a physical game, Robinson is and will forever be regarded as one of the NHL's greatest defencemen. 

In The Great Defender, Robinson relives his road to the NHL and the unexpected NHL journey that has lasted over 4 decades. He has enjoyed the good fortune of playing with greats, including Ken Dryden and Guy Lafleur to coaching the greatest of all--Wayne Gretzky. His successes as a player and coach are well-documented and in his memoir, hockey fans will now enjoy the opportunity to experience the odyssey of this legendary player as seen through his eyes, lived through his emotions, and told through his voice. Robinson's story is one of triumph and will leave readers cheering for the man fondly nicknamed "Big Bird." 

In the process of writing this book, bestselling sports writer Kevin Shea interviewed many of Robinson's teammates, colleagues, players and family members and spent countless hours with Larry himself to capture a fascinating picture of one of hockey's greatest careers.

Changing The Game by Stephen Laroche

Changing the Game: A History of NHL Expansion by Stephen Laroche
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From The Publisher: The complete history of the growth of the National Hockey League. Changing the Game: A History of NHL Expansion by Stephen Laroche celebrates an often-overlooked aspect of hockey history. The book provides comprehensive coverage of the NHL’s spread across the North American market in the 1920s along with the memorable expansions that began in 1967. Relive some great and painful moments from the debut seasons of forgotten teams such as the Montreal Maroons and California Seals along with fan favorites like the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. Every first-year NHL roster is covered and nearly 100 players share their memories of playing for hard-luck clubs.

Joe's Note: The book surprised me a bit in that it focuses more on the original expansion rosters rather than the process and story behind the establishing of the franchise and the market. It lacks a true comprehensive history (Laroche gives each team about team about a brief three page summary) but let's not forget the hope and magic of every new sports team lies in the cast of cast-offs who become local legends. Think Michel Briere in Pittsburgh or John Vanbiesbrouck or Scott Mellanby in Florida or Orland Kurtenbach in Vancouver. Stephen Laroche does a real nice job of capsulizing each player's first season, often highlighting a key goal or play in that team's inaugural season. Laroche includes as much commentary as he can from the many interviews with the players as possible, giving this book a real personal connection.

Stephen Laroche (follow him on Twitter) is known as a hockey card expert. He currently is an editor and author of Beckett Hockey magazines (and basketball, too) and previously co-authored the neat book Got 'Em, Got 'Em, Need 'Em: A Fan's Guide to Collecting the Top 100 Sports Cards of All Time with Jon Waldman. Laroche is a skilled writer but also a very interested hockey historian. I hope this book does well and helps him branch out in the hockey writing world. Plus with lots of talk of the NHL expanding by as many as four teams sometime this decade, it is a timely read.

Duck With The Puck by Greg and Quinn Oliver

Greg Oliver has been emerging as a new and prolific hockey book writer in the last couple of winters. Now he's got his young son writing hockey books, too.

Here's a quip from the About The Author section: The life of author Greg Oliver and his wife Meredith changed dramatically once their son, Quinn, came along in November 2006 to mess up their Toronto home. Ever since he learned to read by age three, Quinn has wanted to write a book like his Dad. Well, here is the result.

Dad and son have combined to create Duck with the Puck. I have been reading A LOT of children's books lately - hockey related and otherwise. Having two year old twin nephews allows you to enjoy such treasures in life. Duck With A Puck will definitely be in my nephews over-grown library the next time I see them.

It's about a duck named B.D. who is happiest when winter arrives. Then he becomes the greatest hockey star in his wild world. He outskates raccoons, dekes snowmen and scores on bears. B.D. is a star not just of the pond but of pages. Kids are instantly drawn to him.

Dad and son, with the happy stylings of illustrator Annette Balesteri, have come up with a wonderful book. I suspect this is not the last time we will hear from Quinn Oliver, either.

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The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro

The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro
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From The Publisher: The Hockey Saint is a graphic novel about friendship, fame and what we sacrifice for ambition and success.

Twenty one year old Jeremiah Jacobson is the world's best hockey player, but he wasn't prepared for the frenzy and scrutiny that came with that title. Tom Leonard is an average college sophomore - just a guy trying to find his place in the world as he sorts through issues that are both very real and seemingly insurmountable.

Through a chance meeting, these two strike up an unlikely friendship. Their bond is tested when Tom discovers that his idol isn't as perfect up close as he seems from afar. With Jeremiah living a little too much in the moment and with his past catching up to him, will Tom be able to help him before it's too late?

Joe's Take - This is a neat project in that I don't think I've ever seen a hockey book in the form of graphic novel before. Keep in mind it is more novel than hockey book, thus hockey is not the centerpiece here. Instead it focuses on the relationship between college student/fan Tom Leonard, our protagonist, and the world's best hockey player Jeremiah Jacobson. Despite not having much in common it would seem, they inexplicably are drawn to each other by a chance meeting and form the quickest of friendships. However that friendship is ultimately put to the test.

I won't reveal any more of the plot than that. There are a few good messages in the storyline, such as showing a superstar such as Jacobson as a human being, and that not everything is always as it seems. And sometimes friends have to make tough decisions to help each other out.

It's a little squeaky clean in regards to how quickly the characters' relationships develop so quickly, but it is a good read for the teenager in your family. I can see a series developing here so if this book sells well I wouldn't be surprised to see a spin-off or a sequel in the future.