Fury: Inside the Life of Theoren Fleury [Hardcover]

Andrew H. Malcolm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1997

On one level, this is the personal story of Theoren Fleury, the diminutive captain of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. On another level, this book examines how a pro athlete comes to be famous, and what it means. It is a story about commercialism fed by adulation, about power and riches and the presumed and real virtues of the star players who acquire them. On yet another level it is about what Ken Dryden called simply “The Game.”

Theoren Fleury received global recognition during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey by single-handedly winning two games for Canada and then by playing in his first All-Star Game in the following winter. Physically, Fleury is the smallest player in the NHL, yet, so intense is he, so quick, so skilled at faking and scoring, and so undaunted by the over 400 pounds of onrushing defencemen that routinely bar his way, that his coach and teammates have chosen him to be team captain. He is now a millionaire. He is also an intriguing combination of country boy, quick-witted city kid, ruthless pro athlete, father and family man, and reluctant, soft-spoken but sharp-tongued media hero.

In Fury, Andrew Malcolm follows Fleury through an entire hockey season. Yet this is more than a fan’s inside look at a major hockey star: it is also an intriguing, revealing, funny, and exciting look at Canada’s game by a gifted reporter and award-winning writer.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Veteran reporter Andrew H. Malcolm profiles the dualistic nature of hockey--its beauty and brutality--as embodied by the NHL's smallest player, blank-toothed Theoren Fleury. Fury is a thorough, moving account of the Calgary Flames's lovable and feisty all-star that puts the reader on the ice and in the locker room of a sport that usually chews up players of Fleury's size. The former New York Times Canadian bureau chief knows his setting intimately--whether it's the roar of the crowd during a professional game or the deep silence of an abandoned ice rink somewhere out on the Ottawa plains. And with a mixture of curiosity and empathy, he investigates the driving force that allows a 5-foot, 6-inch, 160-pound man to compete in a rink full of larger, hard-charging adversaries. Besides chronicling a season with little Fleury and the Flames, however, Malcolm also portrays the enduring culture and tradition that is North American hockey. The result is a thoughtful understanding of--and appreciation for--the scrappy Theo Fleury and the deeply woven Canadian hockey obsession.

Review

“The best hockey biography of the season.”
–Globe and Mail

“As told in Fury, Theo Fleury’s life story represents a dramatic hockey tale. Fury tells anyone who reads it why hockey is growing so fast and why it is The Coolest Game on Earth.”
–NHL Commissioner Gary B. Bettman

“Malcolm’s unique reporting and writing skills take all of us – non-sports fans too – inside the life of a professional athlete and his team for a fascinating glimpse of human nature on the rampage.”
–Peter C. Newman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart; First Edition edition (November 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0771056559
• ISBN-13: 978-0771056550
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,694,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots missing, September 19, 2007

By 

Jerry Graff "Jerry" (Thornton, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fury: Inside the Life of Theoren Fleury (Paperback)

It's too bad the author didn't wait a few more years to write this, because he missed all kinds of drama that Fleury encountered after its publication, including his suspension from the NHL for drug problems, another divorce and brawls playing hockey in Ireland.
The author could have dug a little harder, too, into Fleury's messed up family and the speculation widely throughout the NHL that he might have been victimized in several ways by authority figures in his junior career.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fury: Fleury and the Calgary Flames, June 13, 2002

By 

StrippedAGear "Axey" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fury: Inside the Life of Theoren Fleury (Paperback)

Parts of this biography focus on Theo's childhood development and his opening years with the Calgary Flames. I say 'parts' because it also spends a great deal of time discussing how various parts of the Flames organzation runs, with chapters devoted to the people behind the scenes. While the book doesn't concentrate completely on Fleury, I still felt it was informative in bringing me the whole picture regarding the things that affect his daily life (travel, practices, autograph hounds, injuries, and such). In a few years, I'd like to see this author revisit Fleury and write about his days with the Avalanche, the Rangers, and the 2002 Winter Olympics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gretzky pal, April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fury: Inside the Life of Theoren Fleury (Hardcover)

I bought FURY a while ago and hadn't gotten around to reading it. But then I saw Wayne Gretzky at his retirement news conference say how he would have liked to play with Theoren Fleury. I got out the book and spent all night reading it. It was one fun book about sports, about an interesting guy and what it is really like inside a real pro sports team. Now that Fleury is playing for an American team it's easier to follow his play--another 40 goal season. Thanks to whoever wrote this book for an interesting read. I learned so much. And it was fun doing it.