Customer Reviews

Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a must read for all sports fans! Or for that matter, anyone who has ever wondered why fighting is, and always has been, part of the game of Hockey. This book gives the reader a rare glimpse into what it is like to be a professional hockey fighter. A true "gun for hire".

It shares with you all the intimate details of being a minor league roughian. Such as the long bus rides, from one mill Town to the next. And some of the dialoge between the two combatants prior to their bare knuckled duels.

It is also the true story of a person pursuing, and acheiving a dream. Doug Smith did not start skating until he was 19! Only a few years later he was playing professional hockey. He got there by working hard and punching hard. And he never lost his sense of humor along the way.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes sports, comedy, and seeing someone acheive their dreams.

I'm an avid hockey fan and I have a library of tapes that have fights from Behn Wilson and Dave Shultz to Bob Probert and Tony Twist. This is an excellent book and its prompted me to seek out tapes of guys like Frank Bialowas and of course Doug himself. I remember talking to Doug at the Mall in Hanover with some of my friends about the best goons in the business and the dynamics of how the role was to be played. Doug explains it vividly, humbly and honestly while at the same time making it seem like the ultimate adventure in this book. This is a must-read for all hockey fight fans or just hockey fans in general. Great book fellas and thanks for living out one of my fantasies Doug.

It's pretty cool that Ron Delorme posted here by the way!

I have to disagree with the last review from "Hanover" who thought this book was "not worth the money". I have read numerous hockey books and this one is a jewel. There are no books to my knowledge that give such an in depth look at the lifestyle of a minor leaguer who is literally fighting for his job every game. GOON has opened my eyes to the pressures and dedication it takes to successfully achieve a dream that nobody feels you can.
Last reviewer; being from the hometown of the author, its sounds as though you have a personal issue with him...were you one of his victims on the ponds ??

Having played in Canadian junior hockey for one season in the mid eighties I recognised a lot of "inside hockey quotes". The book was fun to read and gives you a pretty good inside look in the world of minor hockey leagues. The book also shows how the east coast league developed from a "cocktail" league to a professional organisation. I recommand everybody, but specially (former)hockeyplayers, this book.

I wasn't expecting a lot when I ordered this book but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The story is very interesting and the author doesn't miss any details. It's a must have for any "old time" hockey fan's library.

Wow, just like you wrote in the book about the jealousy in your hometown, and "Reader from Hanover" proves it! I must admit, I probably wouldn't have liked you much either back then, but if you were a choir boy I don't think you would have been able to write this book in the first place. My only complaint is that the book wasn't longer.

I bought this book on the recommendation of a friend, and now I'm recommending it to all the guys I play hockey with. It's like reading the movie Slap Shot, except this book is more graphic and revealing. I'll never watch another hockey game the same way again!

If you like hockey fights and fighters, buy this book, Doug takes you along for the ride of your life. I've reat The Hammmer and Tiger's book but this one is by far the best.

Most entertaining hockey book I ever read. This should be a movie. It could be better than Slap Shot!

As a hockey wife, I was intrigued by this book. I am not a huge hockey fan, yet I couldn't put the book down. I really enjoyed reading it through my wincing at the vivid descriptions of fights, surgeries and the aftermath of each. I too think that the reviewer from Hanover may still be licking old wounds and not practicing his spelling.