Hockey: A People's History | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Mckinley
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Category: Book
List Price: $45.00
Buy New: $29.70
You Save: $15.30 (34%)
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 331659
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 9.6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0771057695
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.355
EAN: 9780771057694
ASIN: 0771057695
Publication Date: September 19, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
Lavishly illustrated, beautifully designed, impeccably researched, and wonderfully written, Hockey: A People’s History is the altogether irresistible companion book to the CBC-Television series of the same name, airing in Fall 06. A must-have for every fan!
Hockey is not just Canada’s national game, it is part of every Canadian’s psyche, whether we like it or not. Watching it, playing it, coaching it, and talking about it are up there with eating on the list of the top ten things Canadians do most. In the first half of the last century it mirrored our increasing confidence as a nation and in the last years of the 1900s, which saw an aggressive but unsettling expansion of the game south of the border, it reflected our growing wariness of American influence on Canada.
Hockey: A People’s History, like the ten-part CBC series it accompanies, tells the story of this breathtakingly fast game from its hotly contested origins, and the surge in its popularity after 1875, when it was first taken inside, through the rise and fall and rise again of women’s hockey, the sagas of long-lost leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey League and, more recently, the World Hockey Association, to the present day and the first-ever lockout of players by the one remaining league. In that time, while play has changed only slightly (every generation of Canadians has complained about the growing violence of the game) hockey itself has been transformed from a rough and ready winter sport to a business worth many billions of dollars, played by millionaires.
But Hockey: A People’s History is not a business story, rather, it is the story of the men and woman who helped make the game what it is today.
It also tells the story of all the great moments in hockey: not just the unforgettable 1972 victory against Russia, but victories no less glorious at the time, such as the Leafs’ previously unheard-of third consecutive Stanley Cup in 1949. Through its lavishly illustrated pages skate the players, the coaches, the owners, many of them still legendary, too many of them almost forgotten. They are the reason why Canadians have stayed true to the game.
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| Customer Reviews:
A Great History March 8, 2007
William J. Ring, Jr. (Beverly, MA USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Having been a Hockey buff for just over 50 years, I found this volume to be the most comprehensive and complete treatment of the subject that I have read over the years, having read several. It reveals some information not generally known to those not in the "industry". I found this book to be a fascinating, don't want to put it down read. My congratulations to Michael Mckinley.
A beautiful book that brings the history of the game alive... February 28, 2007
Thomas Duff (Portland, OR United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
If you're a hockey fan with an appreciation for the history of the game, *this* is the book you need to read... Hockey: A People's History by Michael McKinley. This both entertained and educated me, and brought the history of hockey alive in a way I've never seen it before.
Contents: Prologue; The Temple and the Chalice; Gold After Silver; Blood and Champagne; The Dustbowl Dream; A Cool Medium; Us and Them; The Soul of a Nation; Hope and Betrayal; The Winter of Our Discontent; Reclaiming the Game; Acknowledgements; Index
This is a coffee-table companion book to a CBC series of the same name. Not living in Canada, I can't say I've seen the series. But if it's anything like the book, it must be outstanding. McKinley goes back to the beginning of the game we know as hockey, back to 1875 when the first game was played in Montreal. Many other variations of the game existed before then, but generally speaking, this is when the game started in its modern form. Lavishly illustrated, he works his way up through time, from the birth of the Stanley Cup to the lockout season of 2004-2005. In between, you learn about the great names of the sport who often are just names attached to trophies unless you know the history... Hobie Baker, Frank Calder, Conn Smythe, and many others. The stories of teams put together to challenge for the Stanley Cup, back in the day when it was up for grabs to just about anyone. There's even coverage of the Portland Rosebuds, who challenged the Montreal Canadiens in 1916. Junior and women's hockey also figure prominently in the story, so whatever your particular interest niche is for the game, you'll find it in here.
I remember a few years back when my kids attended a hockey camp in Penticton, British Columbia. The final day included a game played in the city arena that was home to the Penticton Vees. It's an old-time barn, with plenty of memorabilia from years gone by. But until I read this book, I didn't realize just how big a deal that team was. That team went over to Germany in 1955 and beat the Russian team for the World Championships, and was the toast of Canada in the midst of the Cold War tension of the time. Walking through the arena, you could almost feel the ghosts of history, the thousands of games that had been played there. It's hard to explain, but hockey in Canada is more than just a sport, it's a national identity and obsession.
I don't know that I've spent as much time lingering and savoring a book than I did this one. It's a pleasure to read, and will add immensely to your understanding and respect of the game.
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