Customer Reviews

Remembering Herbie: Celebrating the Life and Times of Hockey Legend Herb Brooks

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

 

 

I've had this book since it was published, and still find myself drawn to it. It's not a "masterpiece" from an editorial perspective, but the reflections and memories of the people who knew Herb Brooks, and understand what he meant to the game, are worthy of any true hockey fan.

I have previously purchased a Ross Berstein book ("Gopher Hockey by the Hockey Gopher") and found that to be an entertaining read. Not so with this offering

All Berstein seems to have done is find some of Herb's friends, turned on his tape recorder and then transcibe their comments, verbatim. The print is too small, the words and thoughts are redundant and the small paperback has the look and feel of a self-published work, which it is.

The range of interviewees is tiny compared with the breadth of Brooks' life and all the interviews sound the same. There were a few pictures of young Herbie the player. Those are fairly interesting, but I found myself a little disappointed with this offering.

In the book, author Bernstein notes that he writes 5 books a year. It shows. His books are poorly written: full of irritating grammar and spelling mistakes and lacking even the most basic story development.
It's a shame Brooks wouldn't play the big NY publisher game--get an agent and find a talented ghost writer to work with on a memoir--or work with an established sports journalist on a well-researched, thoughtful biography. This book is just a collection of random thoughts from Brooks' friends and family. Many of them say interesting things, but without a persistent interviewer to ask the follow-up questions, few of the anecdotes yield much new insight.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Author brings to life many interesting aspects of Brooks. What a great book.