Too Many Men On The Ice [Paperback]

Joanna Avery (Author), Julie Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Through research, interviews, and profiles, this book tells the story of 100 years of women's hockey. Endorsed by the Canadian Hockey Association Too Many Men On The Ice will inspire budding Haley Wickenheysers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Joanna Avery and Julie Stevens combine interests in women's hockey to convey a historical reference guide to modern women's hockey in Canada and the US, while also detailing it from an international and Olympic perspective. The victory of the US women's hockey team in the Nagano Olympics was viewed as spectacular and unexpected, compared to the US men's colossal failure. Yet despite coming just after the book was published, if one views it in terms of the struggle described in the book, it is representative of the upcoming state of women's hockey today. Remember, Canada also played outstanding women's hockey in the Olympics as well.If one was to view the material in the book from a historical perspective, we would see the "Olympic moment" for the US as an eleven year assault from the creation of USA Women's Hockey (based on the breakthroughs accomplished by the Title IX legislation requiring equal opportunity and funding for women's athletic teams in colleges and universities). In Canada, a series of legal decisions in the 1980s allowed for the establishment of Team Canada in 1990.Avery and Stevens profile numerous players and coaches and administrators as well. The Olympics definitely put the focus on women's hockey to the point that there is active discussion as to whether forces in Canada and the US could create a "women's version" of the NHL.The key is that the system created be active and working in both the US and Canada. Junior and midget leagues teach players-both male and female-from age 8. Girls are now permitted to play with boys in developmental hockey until ages 12-13. Funding has improved, tournaments and leagues are created, and newspapers and television have added more coverage.Through the historical perspective the authors provide, however, it is clear this was not always the case. Pre-1960 attitudes among men in the US and Canada implied "women shouldn't play hockey." Even though women did play hockey informally as early as 1880, and some colleges had teams in the 1920s, and high schools earlier still, there was not the general support for organized women's hockey we have seen since 1972. Only by categorizing the legal fights women have gone through to achieve the equal opportunity of 1998 can one see how it was possible to reach this day.Hockey is now international-men's and women's. Women stress they should remain close to the league and Olympic men's concept, and work hard to create even greater opportunity by 2002 and the Salt Lake City Olympics. With the successes at Nagano, we can certainly hope for the best. Avery and Stevens are to be congratulated for a well-written, historical book filled with rosters, charts, tables and index. It is a pleasure to read texts as enthusiastic as this, as well as informative. -- From Independent Publisher

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Raincoast Books, Polestar (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189609533X
• ISBN-13: 978-1896095332
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,046,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well intentioned but superficial., May 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Too Many Men On The Ice (Paperback)

Given that this is virtually the ONLY book in existence concerning women's ice hockey, I'd give this book a 5. The authors and publisher deserve plaudits for writing about this subject. On the downside, this book, when compared to objective standards of quality and editing, stands in need of improvement and could have benefited from further refinement. One example: One entire chapter is devoted to just one woman from the sport (out of many that could have been chosen) who blathers on and on and on about her views of ice hockey. (Who cares?) This chapter of the book reads as if the two writers just set a tape recorder down in front of the person and then typed everything she said verbatim. If I wanted to read a magazine interview, I could have gone elsewhere such as reading women's ice hockey stories and interviews in some of the hockey trade journals. A book is supposed to be a SYNTHESIS of various points of view. I appreciate the two authors showing me their raw interview material but this kind of self-promotion by one individual female ice hockey player belongs in an appendix at the BACK of the book, and NOT in a book chapter. Certainly everyone would agree that this kind of monologue by one single female ice hockey player SHOULD NOT HAVE CONSTITUTED AN ENTIRE BOOK CHAPTER! C'mon! Let's do some of our own writing and research. And what qualifications does this person have to presume to speak for the entire sport anyway? Second point of criticism: While the story of women's ice hockey is in part a story of sexism and the struggle between the sexes, I think the tone of the book and the title could have been less adversarial and resentful toward the existence of men's ice hockey. "Too Many Men on the Ice" makes it seem like a zero sum game. Can't men as well as women play the sport? The title suggests not. In fact, the title and the tone of the book suggest that there are "too many men on the ice" playing the sport to the exclusion of women. This is not what wome! n's ice hockey is about. There should be enough room in the sport for both men and women to play ice hockey. This isn't a war between the sexes. Women just want to be recognized and granted equal rights to train, get appropriate coaching, ice time, etcetera just like the men. Do the authors really believe that there are "too many men on the ice?" If so, I am disappointed in them as people and as female journalists and authors. The authors' book title and their hostile and adversarial tone toward male ice hockey players undercuts what these fine women players stand for: No one should be saying that there are "too many men on the ice!" Nor should anyone ever say that there are "too many women on the ice." There should be enough ice time for everyone who wants to play the sport. The book comes off as a well intentioned but somewhat superficial attempt to cover the sport. I suspect other writers will come along and pick up where these two left off. But nonetheless, hats off to these two young authors for devoting themselves to a worthy subject.