Customer Reviews

Hockey: A People's History

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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.

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.

OK, so you watched the series on CBC TV and do get Alan Thicke interviewed (that's CBC for ya!) so that says a lot. Anyway, although there is a ton of great stuff in this book, I feel there is a HUGE disconnect between how hockey is experienced in Eastern Canada where they seem to fear "America" and here on the West Coast of B.C. where it simply is not that big a deal beyond the usual uneducated ignorant anti-Americanisms.

The stuff on how hockey developed in the women's game, in the former Czechoslovakia and how it was somewhat popular in Europe post-war was fascinating, but there is still way too much hubris and navel gazing on the importance of things like the Gretzky trade. Sure it was great in opening up hockey to a wider audience in the U.S. but, honestly, I could have cared less he got traded from "Canada" as he killed the Canucks year after year and finally the Oil would not be a dominant force. Face it, outside of Edmonton most hockey fans hated that smirk on Sather's face, the whole singing on the bench mocking the Kings in '82 and the arrogance of the Oilers. Great team...not really well loved though outside the Albertan capital.

I mean, #99 still could represent Canada so I never understood why it was such a blow to Canada deal that (ooh, horrors!) he got traded to El Lay. After all, some of Canada's greatest players played their entire careers in the U.S. (i.e., G. Howe, Yzerman, Orr, both Espositos, Bossy, Brodeur, S. Stevens, D. Potvin, Clarke, M. Lemieux, etc., etc.).

Like all things CBC and "Canadian" hockey related when they try to make things more mindblowingly dramatic than they should be, they miss the boat more times than not.

This is a great history of hockey book that was a fantastic bargain for a like-new coffee table book.

This is an absolute must have book for any devoted hockey fan. Not only does the book cover early history, it covers little known facts that are often overshadowed by popular belief. It is a very comprehensive guide and makes a great companion to the video series or as a one-timer history lesson on hockey.