The Bookshelf: In case you need a shopping idea or two

It wasn’t until I checked over his list that I realized my reading is trending away from sports books. Oh, I read some sports books — the first one on the list is outstanding — but have really started to move away from that genre. Perhaps it has something to do with no longer working in a newspaper’s sports department.

Anyway . . . here’s a look a some of the books I have read over the past year, just in case you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone on your list.

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The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports — Jeff Passan has written a book that is a must-read for all sports fans. Arm injuries to pitchers have become an epidemic in baseball and more and more of them are undergoing Tommy John surgery every year. As Passan, a baseball columnist for Yahoo, explains, though, it isn’t just professionals who are going under the knife; the number of teenagers having the surgery is shocking. Passan explains all of that and more, as he follows two pitchers, Todd Coffey and Daniel Hudson, as they suffer through injury, surgery, rehabilitation and doubt.

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The Battle of Alberta: The Historic Rivalry Between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames — Author Mark Spector was there for the glory days of the Battle of Alberta, first as a fan and then as a journalist. He really does a good job of capturing what was one of the most heated rivalries in sports. The intensity hasn’t been there the past few seasons, but this book provides a real reminder of how things used to be. There are some terrific interviews, memories and anecdotes between the covers of this book. (Kindle)

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Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church — This is the book that came out of investigative work done by Boston Globe reporters and became the basis for the movie Spotlight that hit the big screen late in 2015. It’s about abusive priests and the children upon whom they preyed and the resulting cover-up. In a word, this book is ‘frightening.’

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Breaking Away — This one is subtitled A Harrowing True Story of Resilience, Courage, and Triumph. . . . It should have been sub-sub-titled A What-Not-To-Do Guide for Sporting Parents. . . . Patrick O’Sullivan, with help from veteran writer Gare Joyce, tells a frightening story of how he got to the NHL and how it all fell apart. O’Sullivan’s father was a monster who abused his young son in unfathomable ways. It also is the story of people ignoring warning signs and a condemnation of the NHL and its old-school ways.

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Canoe Country: The Making of Canada — First, a disclaimer. Author Roy MacGregor, now an essayist with The Globe and Mail, is a long-time friend. Having said that, Canoe Country is one of the best books I have read. You don’t have to have paddled a canoe to enjoy a book that is well written, impeccably researched and full of anecdotes and information dealing with the history of Canada and a whole lot more. I finished reading Canoe Country on my deck which looks out over the South Thompson River. I thought it was only fitting.

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The Cartel — Author Don Winslow takes the reader inside the American government’s war on drugs in a novel that takes place almost entirely in Mexico. This is a depressingly gruesome and bloody look at a country in which cartels fight for power, money and territory. There comes a point, too, when the reader stops and asks: “In the end, is there really a good guy?”

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Concussion: While this is a book about the NFL and concussions, it also is the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who dissected the brain of former Pittsburgh Steelers centre Mike Webster and discovered CTE. Omalu actually came up with the name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. But author Jeanne Marie Laskas also shines a bright light on the NFL and how it tried to stifle Omalu. Yes, the NFL is so powerful that it plays above society’s rules and the rules of common sense. Consider that earlier this season the No Fun League fined defensive end Owa Odighizuwa of the New York Giants US$12,154 after he pretended to take a photo of safety Landon Collins, who had returned an interception for a touchdown. Think about that for a moment and then you’ll understand how the NFL thought it could bury Omalu and CTE. Then read the book.

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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America — The World’s Fair was held in Chicago in 1893 with a serial killer doing his businesses on the fringe. Author Erik Larson’s incredibly researched book was published in 2003. It tells the story behind the fair’s architecture and construction, all the while detailing all that was going on not that far down the street.

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Everybody’s Fool: Richard Russo, one of the greatest writers of the last 100 years, is back with the sequel to Nobody’s Fool. It is the continuation of the story of some of the residents of North Bath, a community in upstate New York, and it is every bit as good as Nobody’s Fool. Russo won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Empire Falls in 2002, and he proves here that he still has what it takes. Unfortunately, Paul Newman isn’t still with us so won’t be able to play Sully when they prepare Everybody’s Fool for the big screen.

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The Fifties: I don’t know why it took this long for me to get to this one because I’m a big fan of the late David Halberstam, who wrote so many books of such great historical value. This one isn’t an exception. Halberstam touches on a lot about 1950s, with a lot of it dealing with Cold War, Eisenhower, Kruschev and Castro. But he deals with a whole lot of other things that came along that decade and changed lives immeasurably, things like household appliances, hotel/motel chains, Elvis, suburbs and a whole lot more.

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Fun and Games: My 40 Years Writing Sports — Back in the day when newspapers were relevant and would spend money in pursuit of quality writing and reporting, Dave Perkins was a sports columnist, mostly with the Toronto Star. This is Perkins’ story of covering a whole lot of major sports events over 40 years. It’s full of anecdotes and chuckles. Mostly, though, it highlights the difference between the newspapers of yesterday and today.

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The Girl on the Train — This is the debut for author Paula Hawkins and it couldn’t be much better. It’s a psychological thriller, one that Alfred Hitchcock would have loved to have turned into a movie. It centres on three women, each of whom, well, that would be spoiling it. Let’s just say this book is highly entertaining.

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Hockey Karma — The third in a trilogy of graphic novels written by Howard Shapiro and illustrated by Andres Mossa, this book chronicles the final season in the 14-year Can Am Hockey League career of Jeremiah (Jake) Jacobson of the Bay City Blades. It isn’t simple or easy, because Jacobson is faced with trials and tribulations as he is forced to face the end of his career while hampered by a bad back. He also isn’t in a hurry to hand the torch of leadership over to newcomer Barclay Pedersen. To complicate things, the Blades have a female head coach. Oh, and Jacobson’s agent also figures in a couple of subplots. If you’re looking for a gift for the hockey fan on your list, this may be it.

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Laguna Heat — I read a lot of what might be referred to as ‘pulp fiction’ in the last while, many of which aren’t mentioned here. But this one — T. Jefferson Parker’s first novel — is a real work of art. It’s hot and muggy in Laguna Beach and Parker has a way with words that allows the heat and humidity to flow off the page and into your system. A great, great read.

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The Little Paris Bookshop — A book about living and loving and dying and looking for the meaning of life, love and death, this is wonderfully written. Author Nina George strikes a lot of great notes in what is a truly satisfying read about Jean Perdu, who owns a barge that he has turned into a floating book store. He chats up his customers and prescribes books for them. But everything changes when he reads a letter from an old love.

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Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story -- As hard as it may be to believe today, there was a time when the United States of America lived and died with the fortunes of what was then the great city of Detroit. That, of course, hasn’t been the case for some time, but in the 1960s it was all about Ford and Chrysler and General Motors, yes, and Motown, too. U.S. presidents were regular visitors because Detroit was important. David Maraniss, a prolific author who also has written terrific books on Vince Lombardi and Roberto Clemente, offers a thorough examination of Detroit, politically and otherwise, before the fall.

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The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our wild experiment building a new kind of baseball team — Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller, a couple of sabermetricians, used spreadsheets to select a lot of the players on the 2015 Sonoma Stompers of the four-team Pacific Association, an independent league. This book is their story of the season and how things went. The beauty of their book is the anecdotes involve the application of fancy stats to real human beings, some of whom still prefer to play baseball while using gut feelings and to make decisions based on their own experiences. Yes, baseball has come a long way since Bill James published his first Baseball Abstract.

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The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge — Author Michael Punke has written a gritty book that can best be described as historical fiction. He explain at book’s end precisely what is fiction and what isn’t. He was able to merge fact and fiction into what is a great read about the life experiences of Hugh Glass. If you are familiar with the movie, you should know that there is more to the story than a grizzly bear attack.

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A Spy Among Friends — Subtitled Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, author Ben Macintyre’s incredibly well-researched look into one of history’s greatest spy scandals is an amazing read. If Philby, a double agent who was working for England and the Soviet Union at the same, wasn’t the greatest actor in history, he certainly is in the conversation.

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The Wright Brothers — Oh, what frenzied excitement was caused by Orville and Wilbur Wright as they showed man the way to powered flight. As I read this book, written in compelling fashion by David McCullough, I kept asking myself: “What might be invented today that could cause such excitement?” An answer has escaped me. . . . Impeccably researched and written, McCullough really captures all that the Wrights went through — there were a lot of doubters — as they worked to become the first to fly in a powered heavier-than-air vehicle.

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The Book Shelf: Part 1 of 4

Just in time for Christmas, here’s a brief look at some of the books I have read over the last while:

The Black Ace -- An old friend has died and Brad Shade, a former junior hockey star and ex-NHLer, is in Swift Current for the funeral. Of course, he gets drawn into the situation as there may be more to an apparent suicide than what meets the eye. If you are aware of author G.B. Joyce’s history with the citizens of Swift Current, there is more to this book than meets the eye, too. (Penguin, 362 pages, soft cover, Cdn$22.00)

Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard -- John Branch, a writer with The New York Times, wrote a three-part series on Boogaard, a WHL and NHL enforcer, for his newspaper. That led to this book, a thoroughly engrossing and unsettling look into the life on and off the ice of a giant of a man-child who wanted only to fit in and not be lonely. You need to read this book and then ask yourself why there still is fighting in hockey. You also might ask yourself how many positive drug tests it takes before the NHL, NHLPA or teams will intervene in the life of a troubled player. (HarperCollins, 371 pages, hard cover, Cdn$32.99)

Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game? (The Improbable Saga of the New York Mets’ First Year) -- That first year was 1962. Casey Stengel was the manager and he’s the one who coined the book’s title. Pulitzer Prize-winner Jimmy Breslin, the legendary New York newspaper columnist, takes us inside the Mets’ world, and it‘s hilarious and touching, all at the same time. Sheesh, Richie Ashburn could have returned for a second season with the Mets, but he chose to join the Philadelphia Phillies’ broadcast crew and took quite a paycut to do so. This is a quick and terrific read that should be on the must-read list of any sports fan. (Kindle)

City of Fallen Angels: A Mike Ward Mystery -- Mike Ward is a journalist for a wire service. He is Canadian and has been writing from Europe in the pre-Second World War years. But now he has been assigned to Los Angeles and all its glitter and its grunge. Yes, there has been a suicide, or was it a murder? Author Howard Engel gives the reader characters who are rich and dialogue that is richer. (Kindle)

Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football -- The New York Jets allowed author Nicholas Dawidoff access to all corners of their operation during the 2011 season -- they gave him everything he needed, including a security code, a locker and a desk. He attended meetings, stood on sidelines, watched games with co-ordinators. The result is one of the best sports books I have read. It especially provides the reader with a real feel for the brutality of pro football, not only with the injuries, but with the lack of job security for players and coaches. If you get the opportunity to read this book, do so. (Little, Brown, 485 pages, hard cover, Cdn$32.00, US$29,00)

A Drink Before The War -- Dennis Lehane is a favourite of mine, and he doesn’t disappoint with this book that introduced us to private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. The action takes place in Boston, so, yes, there are politicians involved. It’s Lehane’s ability to turn a phrase and to capture the seamy side of Boston in all its stinking glory that allows this book to rise to the top. This is good stuff, really good stuff. (Harper, 323 pages, soft cover, Cdn$12.99) 

The Drop -- I don’t know that anyone writes about the mean streets of Boston better than the afore-mentioned Dennis Lehane, and that is in evidence here. There are gangsters and bartenders and love and a puppy, all wrapped up into a nifty, grungy story. This one isn’t long so is perfect for a cold winter’s night. (Kindle)

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt -- Michael Lewis, perhaps best known in sporting circles as the author of The Blind Side and the terrific Moneyball, has turned to Wall Street for his latest book. He has been here before, especially with Liar’s Poker, a book that read like a novel but was about his time as a trader, so the ground isn’t unfamiliar. But, like Liar’s Poker, Flash Boys is so fantastic that the reader thinks it has to be fiction. Making Flash Boys even more interesting is that the hero, if he can be called that, is Brad Katsuyama, a Canadian who, in the beginning, works for the Royal Bank of Canada and wants only to do the right thing. (Kindle)

Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts -- Author Gare Joyce, who knows his way around more hockey arenas than he no doubt cares to admit, is a draft geek, no matter the sport. But with hockey in his veins, he is partial to the NHL draft. Thus, he spent the 2006-07 season inside the world of NHL scouts and the resulting book, which was published in 2008, is a terrific read with great insights from a number of perspectives. The reader gets a feel for life as a scout, some of which isn’t especially comfortable, and for the pressures on teenage hockey players as they strive to reach the NHL. (Kindle)

Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks shows off the puck with which he
scored his 50th goal (and his 100th point) in a Monday night game. Veteran
fans will remember back in the day when photos such as this one were
in vogue when players reached various milestones.
(Photo by Bryan Heim / Portland Winterhawks)

ASK THE COMMISSIONER:
The Calgary Hitmen beat the Rockets 7-1 in Kelowna on Friday night. At 17:21 of the third period, Kelowna F Brett Lyon was given a misconduct penalty. At 19:24 of the third period, the Rockets scored their only goal — according to the online scoresheet, it went to Madison Bowey with assists to Tyson Baillie and, uhh, Brett Lyon. . . . Mr. Commissioner, how is it possible for Lyon to get an assist while he presumably was in the dressing room?
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JUST NOTES:
The Prince Albert Raiders will have F Tim Vanstone, 15, in their lineup tonight against the host Swift Current Broncos. Vanstone, a Prince Albert native, plays for the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires for whom he put up 33 points and 72 penalty minutes, including 14 goals, in 38 regular-season games. . . . Following tonight’s game, he will return to the Legionnaires for the playoffs where they will meet the Prince Albert Mintos in the first round. . . . Vanstone, who is not believed to be related to Regina Leader-Post sports columnist Rob Vanstone, was a third-round selection by the Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. . . .
The Tim Hortons Brier – that is the Canadian men’s curling championship – is to be held in Saskatoon, March 3-11. With that in mind, the Blades will wear Brier-themed sweaters for their Saturday game against the visiting Red Deer Rebels. (Ironically, the Rebels are out of their building because the Scotties Tournament of Hearts – the Canadian women’s curling championship – is on in their building this week.). . . . There is more on the Blades and their sweaters, including a photo, right here. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades are bringing in D Macklin Pichonsky, an 11th-round bantam draft selection in 2010, for tonight’s game against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes. Pichonsky, from Leduc, Alta., plays for the midget AAA Leduc Chrysler Oil Kings. . . .
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded F Steve Downie to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday and some folks thought that might translate into more playing time for F Brett Connolly, whose WHL rights belong to the Tri-City Americans. . . . Connolly played 6:10 in a 3-2 victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks last night. He had nine shifts — five in the first and two in each of the second and third. . . .
Kevin Paul Dupont, a veteran hockey writer with the Boston Globe, tweeted this last night: “One team exec I talked w/today says growing chatter among NHL GMs is that they'd like return of red line.” . . . You are going to hear a lot of this kind of talk in the next while as hockey execs, including in the WHL, search for ways to slow the game down and, hopefully, cut down on the number of concussions. . . .
Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province reports that F Austin Fyten, 20, is skating with the Vancouver Giants, something that could become a huge development as the days move forward. Fyten had reconstructive knee surgery in October; he was dropped by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in January and his rights were picked up by the Giants. He isn’t involved in contact yet but it would be quite a boost for the Giants should he be able to play at any point in the playoffs. . . . As well, Vancouver F Dalton Sward, who hasn’t played since Jan. 13 because of a shoulder injury, is back in full practice mode and may play against the visiting Kamloops Blazers on Friday. The teams play again Saturday in Kamloops.
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TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Brandon, F Jesse Ismond’s shootout goal gave the Kootenay Ice a 5-4 victory over the Wheat Kings, who had won four in a row. . . . It was Brandon’s 12th straight shootout loss. . . . Ismond was the only one of the 10 shooters in the circus to score. . . . F Sam Reinhart had two goals, giving him 25, and an assist for the Ice, while his brother, F Max, got his 24th goal. . . . Max gave the Ice a 3-2 lead at 6:01 of the third and Sam upped that at 9:44. . . . Brandon F Dominick Favreau forced OT when he scored his ninth goal with 13 seconds left in the third period. . . . Brandon G Eric Roy had made it 4-3 with a PP goal at 16:52. He also has nine goals. . . . Brandon F Mark Stone was awarded a late assist sometime after Saturday’s 6-2 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. So he went into last night’s game with a WHL-leading 102 points, not 101. . . . Stone added two more assists in this one and his 104 points give him a two-point lead atop the scoring race. He also is on a 13-game point streak. . . . Stone was shaken up in the third period, thanks to an elbow to the chops. . . . Brandon D Dylan Kuczek scored his first WHL goal. The 17-year-old from Winnipeg scored in his 32nd game, 31 of which have come this season. . . . The Wheat Kings welcomed back F Alessio Bertaggia, but remain without injured F Kevin Sundher, F Jason Swyripa and F Tyrel Seaman. Sundher and Seaman are concussed. . . . Still, Brandon dressed just 17 skaters, one under the maximum. . . . Brandon F Michael Ferland, a 40-goal man, left with about seven minutes left in the first period and didn’t return. It might be an upper-body injury (i.e. concussion). . . . The Ice continues to be without F Drew Czerwonka, who is out for up to six weeks with what is believed to be a knee injury. . . . The Wheat Kings, 7-1-1 in their last nine, pulled into a tie for seventh with the Regina Pats in the Eastern Conference. . . . The Ice slid past the idle Calgary Hitmen and into fourth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . .

In Portland, the Winterhawks moved into first place in the WHL’s overall standings with an 8-1 victory over the Prince George Cougars. . . . The Winterhawks took a 2-0 lead into the second period and then struck for four PP goals in five opportunities. . . . F Brendan Leipsic scored three times — his first hat trick and the ninth of the season for Portland — and added two assists. . . . Portland got a goal and two assists from each of D Derrick Pouliot, who is on a seven-game point streak, and F Marcel Noebels. . . . The Winterhawks have won eight in a row. . . . Portland F Ty Rattie had a goal, his 51st, and an assist, giving him 102 points, two behind Brandon F Mark Stone. . . . Portland F Oliver Gabriel had an assist, to run his point streak to 12 games. . . . Portland F Sven Baertschi had an assist and is on an 11-game streak. With 81 points in 41 games, he has fallen slightly off his two points-per-game pace. . . . The victory lifted the Winterhawks to the top of the WHL’s overall standings, one point ahead of the idle Kamloops Blazers. Kamloops is at home tonight to the Victoria Royals. . . . The Tri-City Americans are a point behind the Blazers. . . . Kamloops and Tri-City each holds a game in hand on Portland. . . .

In Kennewick, Wash., F Brendan Shinnimin had a night to remember as he put up six points in a 7-2 victory over the Everett Silvertips. . . . Shinnimin finished with three goals, giving him 44, and three assists. . . . That lifted his point total to a career-high 102, leaving him two off the pace being set by Brandon F Mark Stone. . . . Shinnimin, who has two hat tricks this season, also reached the 300-point plateau — he has 305 pints in 254 games. . . . The last Americans skater with 100 points was Eric Johansson (103, 2001-02). . . . Shinnimin now has at least one goal in seven straight games. He has 70 points in 32 games since Dec. 1. . . . F Adam Hughesman had two goals and an assist for the Americans. He’s got 92 points, including 35 goals. . . . F Patrick Holland chipped in a goal and three assists, leaving him with 84 points, including 63 assists. . . . Holland has been playing on a line with Hughesman and Shinnimin — let’s call it the Straight A’s Line — and has a goal and eight assists in his last three games. . . . Straight A’s? Each of them wears an A. . . . In those three games, Shinnimin has seen goals and four assists, and Hughesman has three goals and four helpers. . . . F Jordyn Boyd had a goal for Everett, meaning he has scored in three straight games. . . . Everett D Ryan Murray didn’t have a point but finished plus-2. . . . Tri-City was 2-7 on the PP. . . . F Parker Bowles of the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna, made his WHL debut with the Americans. A list player, he signed a couple of weeks ago. . . . The Cougars remain 10th in the Western Conference but are just two points out a playoff spot.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT:
None.
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TUESDAY’S CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT:
F Darian Dziurzynski, Brandon.
F Jari Erricson, Everett.
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Nate Ewell was named interim executive director of College Hockey Inc., on Tuesday, replaced Paul Kelly, who left the organization on Monday.
Ewell has been with CHI since January 2011, serving as director of communications. Before that, he worked in communications for eight seasons with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Also on Tuesday, Kelly tweeted: “I greatly enjoyed establishing CHI 2+ years ago and being an advocate for the 58 NCAA D-I programs. Time now to let others carry on mission.”
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If you have are a hockey fan, or have had anything to do with the game at the major junior level or above, you will enjoy The Code, a book that is new to bookshelves near you. Brad Shade, a grinder during his playing days, is scouting for the Los Angeles Kings, meaning he is preparing for another NHL draft. The Kings want to draft a particular player, but something doesn’t smell right. The Code was written by G.B. Joyce, and if you know anything about hockey you will get a real kick out of the clichés. . . . G.B. Joyce? You may know him as Gare Joyce, a prolific writer of all things hockey. . . . The book carries a $30 price tag in Canada, but I spotted it with a $20 tag on it in a bookstore earlier this week.
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And if you click right here you will find Joyce’s review of Goon, the hockey-related movie that opens Friday in theatres everywhere. Joyce reviewed it for The Globe and Mail.


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Books, books and more books

The calendar has turned to December. Which means that it won’t be long before panic sets in. What to buy so-and-so for Christmas?
Well, if you happen to be shopping for a book lover or two, here is a brief look at some of the books I have read in 2011, and, no, they aren’t all sports-related:

Back in the Bigs: The subtitle is How Winnipeg won, lost and regained its place in the NHL, and the subtitle pretty much sums it up. This is an over-sized book — although not quite coffee-table size — written by Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press. It is loaded with anecdotes involving the Jets, going back to the days of Ben Hatskin and the Junior Jets and taking you through the times in the WHA with Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson, to the NHL with Hawerchuk and onto the AHL and the Manitoba Moose. Turner spins some fine stories and the photos are awesome. If you look closely enough, you will even find F Jordan DePape of the Kamloops Blazers in one of the photos taken at The Forks. (Viking Canada/Winnipeg Free Press, hard cover, 208 pages, Cdn$35)
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The Big Short (Inside the Doomsday Machine) — Written by Michael Lewis, who also wrote Moneyball and The Blind Side, this is the story of the fall (?) of Wall Street in 2008. Upon finishing this book, you will pause and say to yourself: “This is a work of fiction, isn’t it?” . . . Unfortunately, it isn’t. And, as a result, you will never look on politicians or Wall Street-types the same way again. (Norton, soft cover, 291 pages, US$15.95, Cdn$20.00)
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Blood, Sweat and Chalk — If you are a football fan, you won’t want to miss this one. Written by Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated, it is subtitled The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today’s Game. Layden visited with a number of football’s most influential coaches and numerous other footballers and produced a real gem. It will help you understand the genesis of such things as the Wildcat, the Wishbone, Air Coryell, the West Coast Offense, the Zone Blitz, the BYU Air Raid and on and on. Layden does it in layman’s terms, too, so it’s a fun and easy read. (Sports Illustrated Books, hard cover, 255 pages, Cdn$31.95)
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The Devil and Bobby Hull — Long-time hockey fans think of Bobby Hull and see him, adorned in a Chicago Black Hawks’ sweater, swooping down the left side of an NHL ice surface and firing a slapshot from the top of the circle. Or playing tic-tac-toe with Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg while with the Winnipeg Jets. Author Gare Joyce, however, knew there was a lot more to Hull’s story than that, and he tells that story right here. Subtitled How Hockey’s Original Million-Dollar Man Became the Game’s Lost Legend, this is the mostly sad story of a one-time hockey superstar. Upon reading Chapter 11 – there are 12 chapters – you will have tears in your eyes as Joyce draws obvious inferences between Hull’s inability to maintain some thoughts and the possibility that he may have suffered an untold number of concussions during his playing days. (Wiley, hard cover, 274 pages, US$26.95, Cdn$32.95)
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Eight Million Ways to Die — Written by Lawrence Block, this book won the Shamus Award and was short listed for the Edgar. It was first published in 1982 and introduced private eye Matthew Scudder to the masses. You can’t lose with this one. Awesome. I stumbled on it on a discount shelf somewhere; see if you can do the same. (William Morrow, hard cover, 318 pages, Cdn$23.50)
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Evel (The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend) — No less an authority than the late Jimmy (The Greek) Snider once said of Evel Knievel that the odds were about “three-to-one this guy is crazy.” Veteran writer Leith Montville proves it in this book. When I started reading this book, I wondered why I was bothering. But it quickly became a page-turner. Why? Because it was amazing what Knievel, who wasn’t something of an oaf and a boor, was able to accomplish simply with his overly abrasive personality and perhaps the biggest set of cojones in American history. By the way, when you get to the end of this one you realize Jimmy The Greek was wrong. The man was crazy. Period. (Doubleday, hard cover, 398 pages, Cdn$31.00, US$27.50)
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I Am Not Making This Up — Al Strachan covered the NHL and its teams for almost 40 years. He was on the Montreal Canadiens beat for a time, but he made his name in Toronto where he wrote for The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun. He also was a regular on Hockey Night in Canada’s Hot Stove Lounge – it hasn’t been the same since he departed – and a regular thorn in the side of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. You can bet, then, that Strachan has lots and lots and lots of stories, some of which are related here. At 224 pages, this is a quick, light read, one that will keep you enthralled if you are a veteran hockey fan. It also leaves you wanting more and thinking that there just might be a sequel or two or three or four to come. And a recent visit to a bookstore did indeed find a new Strachan book. (Fenn Publishing Company, soft cover, 224 pages, Cdn$22.95)
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Junior Hockey’s Royal Franchise: The Regina Pats: If you’re a fan of junior hockey, you won’t want to miss out on this one. It was written by Darrell Davis, a veteran Regina Leader-Post sports writer whose late father, Lorne, once coached the Pats and later scouted for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, and Ron (Scoreboard) Johnston, who knows everything there is to know about this team. Johnston spent the better part of 13 years doing the research; Davis later supplied the words. This book is loaded with anecdotes and lots of terrific photos. There aren’t a whole lot of really good books out there that involve major junior hockey or its teams. This is one of them. If you‘re interested in this one, contact the Regina Pats at their office. (Published by The Leader-Post Carrier Foundation Inc., hard cover, 272 pages, Cdn$49.95)
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The Last Boy — Subtitled Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, this is one of the two best books I read in 2011. I finished it in mid-February and knew then that I wouldn’t read a better one during the calendar year (although, as you will see further into this piece, I later declared a tie). The Last Boy was written by Jane Leavy, who also wrote the terrific Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy. Unlike the book on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ left-hander, though, this is a devastating book if you are of a certain age. If you grew up as a fan of the M and M boys (Mantle and Roger Maris), this will destroy the myth of Mickey Mantle, All-American boy, moreso than did Jim Bouton’s groundbreaking Ball Four. Mickey Mantle, it turns out, was a tortured soul — oh, was he! — and a prime example of why we shouldn’t put our athletic heroes on pedestals. . . . There also is a lot of neat baseball stuff here, and Leavy’s research and writing on some of Mantle’s tape-measure homers is exceptional. The work she did in tracking down Donald Dunaway, the man who as a boy got the ball that Mantle hit out of Washington, D.C.’s Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953, and the resulting chapter helps make this an exceptional book. (Did you know that Roy Clark, later to become a country music star and a friend of The Mick’s, and his father were seated along the first-base line when Mantle went so deep?) . . . (HarperCollins, hard cover, 456 pages, US$27.99, Cdn$32.99)
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The Lost Dream — Written by Toronto Sun sports columnist Steve Simmons and subtitled The Story of Mike Danton, David Frost, and a Broken Canadian Family, this should be a must read for every parent whose has even one son playing minor hockey anywhere in North America. This is the horrible story of what happened to one family when its hockey-playing son got tangled up with David Frost, a minor hockey coach who later became a player agent. There is a tangled web here and you will be stunned at some of the names that became entangled in it. Danton, of course, later went to jail after a failed attempt to have Frost assassinated. My only real quibble with the book is its title; it should have been The Lost Family. (Viking Canada, hard cover, 255 pages, Cdn$32.00)
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The Man from Beijing — The Los Angeles Times refers to author Henning Mankell as “Sweden’s greatest living mystery writer.” This book is a prime example as to why that very well may be true. Yes, this is a novel and, yes, it is a mystery. However, it is anything but your average who done it. This one involves a Swedish judge, the changing times in China and how that country’s government is/was impacted and a whole lot more. A perfect read for a couple of wintery evenings. . . . (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, soft cover, 454 pages, US$15.00)
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Never Look Away — If you’re into beach/cabin fiction, here’s one you’ll quite enjoy. Author Linwood Barclay, a former Toronto Star columnist, tosses twist after twist at you in the story of David Harwood, a small-town newspaper reporter, in what is a satisfying read. There might be one twist too many near the end, but that really is nit-picking. Great for a rainy day because you won’t put it down. (Seal Books, soft cover, 496 pages, Cdn$10.99)
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No Guarantees — Subtitled An Inspiring Story of Struggle and Success in Professional Sport and with Parkinson’s and Cancer, this is Don Dietrich’s story. From the farming community of Deloraine, Man., Dietrich played for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before moving on to play in the AHL, NHL (with the Chicago Blackhawks) and in Europe. He tells some hilarious stories as he wanders through hockey’s hinterlands and, in the end, you will weep as he comes face-to-face with Parkinson’s Disease and cancer. When others wanted to give up on him in hockey and in life, he chose to move forward. Get this book and read it; you won’t be disappointed. (Trafford Publishing, soft cover, 200 pages, Cdn$20.87)
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Playing With Fire — This is Theo Fleury’s story in all its blazing colours. Finish this book and you will wonder how it is that Fleury still is alive. It is absolutely mind-numbing all that he has gone through since he left a rocky childhood life in Russell, Man., to play hockey in Winnipeg for Graham James. The abuse, the alcohol, the drugs . . . something should have killed him. Fleury doesn’t pull any punches here, and he throws a lot of hockey players under the bus. He bares his soul and admits to his mistakes, but doesn’t preach. This book should have come with a language warning. It’s interesting that Kirstie McLellan Day helped Fleury with this book and then moved on to write the late Bob Probert’s book, Tough Guy, which also is freely littered with hockey talk. (HarperCollins, soft cover, 350 pages, Cdn$19.99)
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The Rebel League — Subtitled The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, this is that story. “No one seems to remember the WHA wrestled the game away from a handful of NHL owners and took it to new markets,” writes author Ed Willes, a sports columnist with the Vancouver Province, “that I opened the door for Europeans, and that it offered a generation of players their first chance at a real payday.” Willes tells that story here and, yes, there are assorted anecdotes, some hilarious, some funny and others unbelievable. If you are a hockey fan, you will enjoy this one. (McClelland & Stewart, soft cover, 277 pages, US$17.95, Cdn$22.99)
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Roger Maris (Baseball’s Reluctant Hero) — Authors Tom Clavin and Danny Peary do a masterful job of portraying Roger Maris, the man who wasn’t sure how badly he wanted to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record. This follows Maris from his early years in Hibbing, Minn., to his formative years in Fargo, N.D., from Roger Maras to Roger Maris and beyond. The writers paint a picture of a tortured man, especially in 1961 as he hit 61 home runs, but one whose family meant everything to him. It also is an honest and ugly portrayal of baseball when the owners were the lords of the diamond. For example, the way the New York Yankees treated Maris in 1965 as he struggled with a hand injury was criminal. Front and centre, too, is Maris’s relationship, or lack of same, with the New York media, something the authors claim may well be the reason that Maris isn’t a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Read this book and hear what former teammates have to say and you will reach the same conclusion. (Touchstone, soft cover, 430 pages, Cdn$18.99, US$15.99)
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The Snowman — One of the benefits of the Stieg Larsson trilogy — The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al — having been such a raging success in North America is that book nooks have been all but inundated by works from other Scandinavian writers. Jo Nesbø, a Norwegian, is one of those writers. While I had heard of his work, I had never picked up one of his novels until coming across The Snowman. This book involves Harry Hole, a hard-bitten cop who is involved in a number of Nesbø books. But this work has an edge to it that not a lot of other writers are able to capture. I definitely will be reading more about Det. Hole. (Vintage Canada, soft cover, 454 pages, Cdn$19.95)
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The Third Rail — Michael Kelly is a private investigator. He used to be a cop. In this first-rate detective novel, Kelly ends up in the middle of a really messy situation in Chicago. It involves cops and shooters and a female judge. You knew there had to be a love interest. Right? The best part of this novel, however, is author Michael Harvey’s style. Back in the day, Mickey Spillane was the man. With his writing, Harvey has torn a page out of Spillane’s book . . . (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, soft cover, 281 pages, US$14.95, Cdn$16.95)
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Unbroken (A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption) — This was the other best book I read in 2011. Written by Lauren Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit, it tells the story of Louis Zamperini, who may have been the first person to run a four-minute mile had the Second World War not gotten in the way. He ended up on a life raft in the South Pacific and then in Japanese POW camps. His story -- from brawling, thieving youngster to world-class runner to airman to prisoner of war to Christian – is emotionally draining and terrifically uplifting. Don’t miss this one; it was named 2010’s top book by Time magazine. (Random House, hard cover, 473 pages, US$27, Cdn$31)
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War Without Death (A Year of Extreme Competition in Pro Football) — I love nonfiction books that are basically diaries, written in chronological order. This one, by Mark Maske of the Washington Post, is a terrific look inside the NFC East during the 2006 NFL season, providing great insight into how the big boys operate. The contrast in operating styles between the likes of owners Daniel Snyder (Washington Redskins), Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles) is striking. This really is a great sports book. (Penguin, soft cover,393 pages, US$16.00, Cdn$17.50.)
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Willie Mays (The Life, The Legend) — Willie Mays deserves this book. Written by James S. Hirsch. a former New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporter, it was written with Mays’ authorization. This is a long, well-written book that details Mays’ life and career, from his days as a youngster growing up in Birmingham, Ala., through his major league life and beyond. The best thing about this book, and there are many, is that it clears up the misconception that continues to hang in the air, like fog at Candlestick Park, about the last days of Mays’ career. He didn’t finish up as a bumbling, stumbling outfielder; he really didn’t. But he didn’t finish with the New York Mets, who had a manager, Yogi Berra, who, for whatever reason, chose to forget about him. (Scribner, hard cover, 628 pages, US$30, Cdn$$36)

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