Customer Reviews

Cracked Ice

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If you buy this book, as I did, expecting it to be what it was supposed to be ("An insider's look at the NHL"), you're pretty much out of luck. I knew nothing of Stan Fischler before I started Cracked Ice and finished the book knowing far more than I coud ever have wanted. This is "me journalism" at its worst -- do we really need to be told time and time again at great length how he prepared for a TV interview, where he stood in some building waiting to catch an NHL bigwig and how much he, Stan Fischler, is respected in the game? Half way through the book I found myself muttering "Shut up already". The only exception to the self-serving litany is a powerful chapter detailing the severe heart problems which strike down Fischler's teenage son and the warm-hearted reaction from friends (and adversaries)in the game. But I cannot believe the publishers could not have found an editor capable of whipping this overblown diary, this notebook, into something resembling a decent product. The book focusses largely on the overthrow of former NHL supremo John Ziegler and the travails of the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils. If like me you wanted some insight into why the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets moved south, you're out of luck again. What is most frustrating about Cracked Ice is that Fischler obviously does have the contacts within the game and has a huge amount of knowledge. When he resists the urge to tell you how wonderful he is, the author comes up with the goods and gives us real insights into the dirty deals, botched PR exercises and the other ailments of the game. I only wish this book had come with a warning about Fischler's oversized ego.

I'm afraid the previous reviewer does Stan Fischler a disservice, because if he doesn't know who he is prior to picking up the book he's setting himself up for a disappointment. Fischler happens to be one of the most knowledgable men about hockey but he also happens to be New York based and reports on the Islanders and Devils so you would have to expect that he's going to focus chiefly on his own strengths. Devoting space to the moves of Minnesota and Quebec would be like asking a Quebec writer/broadcaster to devote equal space to the travails of the Islanders and Devils. And while as a Ranger fan Fischler's anti-Ranger bias has annoyed me for years at times, he is a knowledgable insider and the best hockey author I know of. This book is worth reading.

The book, Cracked Ice: an Insider's Look at the NHL, was ok in my opinion. It was more like a news story or a flashback than a real story of Stan Fischler's experiences. I did like how it expressed the emotions of the people during certain parts though. An example would be how Stan invited hockey players to his son's hospital to help him forget, or just wait, for a heart to be transplanted in him. Stan expressed his feelings somewhat and how he dealt with it. The book also included how the Canadians felt their national sport, hockey, was being alienated and americanized. The book was a good read, but only hockey and sports enthusiast would probably like it.