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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In Calgary, G Mack Shields stopped 26 shots to lead the Hitmen to a 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . Shields has two shutouts this season and five in his career. . . . F Jake Virtanen had a goal, his 14th, and three assists. . . . F Adam Tambellini scored twice, giving him 37, and added an assist. He’s got 14 points, 11 of them goals, in his last seven games. . . . D Jake Bean tied the Calgary franchise record for points in a freshman season. Bean had one assist, giving him 32 points in 40 games. Bean now shares the record with Matt Kinch (1996-97). . . . F Connor Rankin’s 26th goal, at 1:42 of the first period, stood up as the winner. . . . “We were reluctant to get traffic and reluctant to put pucks on net,” Steve Hamilton, the Oil Kings’ head coach, said on the team’s website. “Quite honestly, just didn’t have a ton of time or space today, and it’s a credit to Calgary. They did a good job of executing their game plan, and we didn’t generate much.” . . . The Hitmen (29-17-5) have won a season-high six in a row and now are second in the Central Division, one point ahead of Red Deer. Calgary has put up three shutouts in its past five games. . . . The Oil Kings (24-22-6) had won their previous two games. . . . 
In Moose Jaw, D Ivan Provorov earned four assists, all on the PP, as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Warriors, 6-0. . . . He’s got 50 points, including 39 assists, in 45 games. . . . Brandon G Jordan Papirny stopped 21 shots as he picked up his 30th victory of the season and his fourth shutout. In his career, he has five shutouts. He is 30-7-4 this season. . . . Wheat Kings F Tim McGauley drew three assists. He also got into a scrap with Moose Jaw F Brayden Point. . . . Brandon F Steve Patrick scored his 23rd goal. Rob Henderson of the Brandon Sun notes: “Patrick has 23 goals in his first WHL season, matching the number scored by his father, Steve, in his rookie season with Brandon in 1978-79.” . . . Brandon was 4-for-6 on the PP; Moose Jaw was 0-for-4. . . . Moose Jaw F Jesse Shynkaruk took an interference major and game misconduct at 10:23 of the third period. Brandon F John Quenneville was the victim on that play. He left the game and didn’t return. . . . The Wheat Kings beat the visiting Warriors 6-4 on Friday. . . . G Alex Moodie was among Brandon’s scratches after suffering an undisclosed injury on Friday. He has an undisclosed injury. . . . Thomas Spence, an 18-year-old from Moose Jaw, served as Brandon’s backup last night. Spence, who plays for the junior B Regina Capitals, spent a night on the Calgary Hitmen bench on Jan. 6. . . . The Wheat Kings (37-9-5) are 8-0-1 in their last nine games. . . . The Warriors (20-27-4) have lost three in a row and are seven points out of a playoff spot. . . . 
In Saskatoon, G Nik Amundrud stopped 29 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 4-0 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. . . . He’s got three shutouts this season. . . . D Brycen Martin, who came to Saskatoon from the Broncos, and F Brett Stovin each had a goal and two assists as the Blades scored three PP goals. . . . Martin has five goals; Stovin has 20. . . . The Blades were 3-for-9 on the PP; the Broncos were 0-for-5. . . . The Broncos remain without D Dillon Heatherington (4-6 weeks), F Coda Gordon (1-3 weeks), D Jordan Harris and F Cole Johnson. The latter two are out indefinitely. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Cranbrook, F Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 5-1 victory over the Kootenay Ice. . . . He’s got 17 points, including seven goals, in 11 games since being acquired from the Prince Albert Raiders. . . . Draisaitl was selected third overall by the Oilers in the NHL’s 2014 draft. . . . Ice F Sam Reinhart was selected second overall by the Buffalo Sabres. He had his 10-game point streak ended by the Rockets. . . . Kelowna G Rourke Chartier opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 5:22 of the first period. He’s got 41 goals, moving him back into a tie with Medicine Hat F Cole Sanford for the WHL lead. . . . Rockets D Riley Stadel and F Tyson Baillie each had two assists. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle stopped 25 shots as he earned his 30th victory of the season. He is 30-7-3. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has a game story 
In Red Deer, the Prince Albert Raiders got the shootout’s only two goals to beat the Rebels, 6-5. . . . Red Deer trailed 5-2 early in the third period but staged a three-goal comeback to force OT. . . . F Riley Sheen scored twice, giving him 15, and F Conner Bleackley tied it 5-5 with his 24th goal at 13:13. . . . The Raiders got shootout goals from F Simon Stransky and F Reid Gardiner to win it. . . . Gardiner scored twice in regulation, giving him 24 goals. . . . Raiders D Jesse Lees drew three assists. . . . Sheen also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . D Colton Bobyk had three assists for the Rebels and F Connor Gay had two. . . . The Raiders were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Rebels were 2-for-3. . . . Prince Albert was without D Mackenze Stewart. He got a ‘tbd’ suspension after taking a cross-checking major and game misconduct in Friday’s 10-1 loss in Calgary. . . . The Raiders (21-28-1) are eight points out of a playoff spot. . . . The Rebels (27-15-8) have lost three in a row (0-1-2) and now are third in the Central Division, one point behind Calgary. . . .
In Lethbridge, F Austin Wagner’s two goals helped the Regina Pats to a 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . F Pavel Skumatov got the Hurricanes on the board first, scoring his fifth goal at 19:56 of the first period. . . . The Pats took control with four goals in 6:01 in the second half of the second period. . . . F Adam Berg got it started with his first goal at 10:24. Wagner, who has 16 goals, gave Regina the lead at 13:30 and F Sam Steel gadded his 12th goal, on the PP, at 15:01. F Patrick D’Amico ended the onslaught with his 15th at 16:25. . . . Regina F Taylor Cooper scored his 20th goal on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Lethbridge was able to dress only 16 skaters. Included in its scratches was F Tyler Wong. . . . The Pats held a 48-30 edge in shots. . . . The Pats (27-17-6) snapped a six-game losing skid (0-3-3) and appear headed to a second-place finish in the East Division. . . . The Hurricanes (12-31-6) have lost two in a row. . . . 
In Vancouver, the Kamloops Blazers scored on their first two shootout attempts and took a 3-2 victory over the Giants. . . . F Cole Ully and F Jake Kryski gave the Blazers a 2-0 lead in the shootout and that was that. . . . Ully had scored his 25th goal at 1:38 of the first period. . . . Vancouver F Tyler Benson tied it with his 12th goal at 19:57. . . . Blazers D Marc McNulty got his sixth goal at 13:18 of the second. . . . Vancouver F Zane Jones forced OT with his 24th goal at 14:10 of the third. . . . Kamloops G Connor Ingram stopped 32 shots, two more than Vancouver’s Cody Porter. . . . The Blazers had D Ryan Rehill back after a one-game suspension, but D Michael Fora and D Patrik Maier remain out with undisclosed injuries. . . . The Blazers (20-26-6) are third in the B.C. Division, three points ahead of Vancouver and four up on Prince George. . . . The Giants (20-28-3) have lost four in a row (0-3-1). . . . 
In Prince George, G Taran Kozun stopped 20 shots to help the Seattle Thunderbirds to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Kozun has eight shutouts in his career, two this season. . . . F Ryan Gropp scored his 20th goal of the season 15 seconds into the second period. . . . Seattle F Calvin Spencer scored his fifth goal at 10:10 of the first and it proved the winner. . . . Seattle D Shea Theodore had one assist, moving him into a tie with Craig Channell for the franchise record for most career points by a defenceman. . . . The Cougars were without F Josh Anderson and D Josh Connolly, both of whom drew ‘tbd’ suspensions for incidents in Friday’s game that was won, 9-2, by the Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle (25-19-6) has won two in a row and is third in the U.S. Division. . . . The Cougars (20-31-2) have lost 12 straight (0-10-2). . . . 
In Portland, F Oliver Bjorkstrand scored three goals and added three assists as the Winterhawks doubled the Everett Silvertips, 6-3. . . . The Silvertips took a 2-1 lead into the second period and nursed it until Bjorkstrand scored his second goal at 19:50. . . . Portland then outscored the visitors 4-1 in the third, with Bjorkstrand getting his 35th goal and drawing assists on the other three goals. . . . Winterhawks F Nic Petan scored once, his 10th, and added three assists, while F Paul Bittner, the third member of that line, had three assists. . . . Portland F Chase De Leo had two goals, giving him 26. . . . Only five Winterhawks earned at least a point. . . . Bjorkstrand has 70 points in 40 games. A truly gifted offensive talent from Herning, Denmark, he has 242 points, including 116 goals, in 174 regular-season games. Including 42 playoff games, he has 296 points, 140 of them goals. . . . The Silvertips got a goal, his sixth, and two assists from D Noah Juulsen. . . . Portland G Adin Hill stopped 22 shots, eight fewer than Everett’s Austin Lotz. . . . Portland was 1-for-2 on the PP; Everett was 2-for-4. . . . The Winterhawks (31-19-3) have won eight in a row and now are one point behind the U.S. Division-leading Silvertips (31-15-4). . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., D Jack Walker had the only goal of a shootout to give the Victoria Royals a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans. . . . Tri-City F Richard Nejezchleb forced OT when he scored with 52.1 seconds left in the third period and G Eric Comrie on the bench for the extra attacker. . . . Nejezchleb scored twice in this one, giving him 15. . . . Victoria F Greg Chase had given his side a 2-1 lead with his 15th goal at 1:39 of the third period. . . . Victoria G Coleman Vollrath stopped 22 shots, seven fewer than Tri-City’s Eric Comrie. . . . The Royals (28-20-4) are headed to a second-place finish in the B.C. Division. . . . The Americans (24-24-3) have lost three in a row. They are fifth in the U.S. Division but hold down the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot. . . . 
In Spokane, D Jason Fram came through in a big way for the Chiefs as they got past the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-3 in a shootout. . . . Fram forced OT with his ninth goal of the season on a PP at 11:04 of the third period. He then scored the game-winner in the shootout. . . . F Dryden Hunt scored for the Tigers in the shootout, with F Dominic Zwerger scoring for the Chiefs. . . . The Chiefs had been outscored 18-1 in their previous five games. . . . Chris Derrick of the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that Spokane forwards “had been scoreless for more than 344 minutes, back to a Jan. 16 game at Everett.” . . . F Liam Stewart ended that dry spell at 17:29 of the first period. . . . That goal ended a team scoreless drought of more than 223 minutes. . . . Talk about high drama! Tigers F Cole Sanford, who is tied for the WHL lead with 41 goals, was presented with a penalty shot with 28 seconds left in the third period and the score 3-3. Spokane G Garret Hughson stopped him. . . . Medicine Hat D Ty Stanton had a goal, his sixth, and two assists. . . . The Chiefs (24-21-4) had been 0-6-1 in their previous seven games. They had been blanked in three straight games. . . . The victory lifted Spokane into sole possession of fourth place in the U.S. Division, four points behind Seattle and one ahead of Tri-City. . . . The Central Division-leading Tigers (35-12-3) had a six-game winning streak snapped. 
If you tuned in late, Draisaitl, a 19-year-old German, played the last two seasons with the WHL’s Prince Albert. The Edmonton Oilers selected him with the third overall pick of the NHL’s 2014 draft and he now is on their roster.
In Saskatoon, the Regina Pats scored the game’s last four goals and beat the Blades, 5-3. . . . Pats F Morgan Klimchuk accounted for the game’s last three goals, scoring three times in four minutes 30 seconds. He’s got 13 goals. . . . F Adam Brooks assisted on all three, while F Braden Christoffer was in on two of them. . . . Klimchuk tied the game at 10:56 of the third period, got the winner at 11:27 and added insurance at 15:26. . . . F Connor Gay scored his side’s first two goals, givin ghim 18. . . . F Cameron Hebig gave the Blades a 3-1 lead at 1:28 of the third period, on a PP. He’s got eight goals. . . . The Pats (22-12-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Blades (9-26-3) had won their previous two games. . . . Regina lost D Austin Wagner and F Sam Steel to undisclosed injuries during the game. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has a game story 
In Medicine Hat, the Tigers got shootout goals from F Cole Sanford and F Trevor Cox to bat the Kootenay Ice, 5-4. . . . F Luke Philp had two goals and two assists for the Ice. His 17th goal of the season, at 17:12 of the second period, gave his side a 4-3 lead. . . . Tigers D Matt Staples scored his first goal at 10:01 of the third period to force OT. . . . After Sanford scored in the shootout, F Tim Bozon equalized for the Ice. Cox then scored what proved to be the winner once Philp was stymied. . . . F Jaedon Descheneau scored his 20th goal and added three assists for Kootenay. . . . D Kyle Becker scored twice for the Tigers, giving him 10. . . . Sanford scored his 30th goal, while Cox had two assists. . . . Ice G Wyatt Hoflin set a franchise record with his 26th straight appearance. He stopped 26 shots. . . . Tigers G Marek Langhamer turned aside 37 shots. Descheneau was unable to beat him on a penalty shot at 15:37 of the third period. . . . Among the Tigers’ scratches were F Steve Owre and F Chad Butcher. . . . The Tigers (26-9-2) have won two in a row. . . . The Ice (20-17-1) had won five straight. . . . Taylor Rocca of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman has more 
In Vancouver, F Jesse Roach doubled his goal total as he scored twice in the Giants’ 6-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers. . . . Kamloops D Ryan Rehill scored his fourth goal at 1:19 of the first period. . . . Vancouver scored the game’s next five goals, including two from Roach, who now has four. . . . Vancouver D Arvin Atwal scored his fourth goal and added two assists. . . . The Blazers got two assists from each of F Matt Needham and F Cole Ully. . . . Kamloops D Dawson Davidson, the pride of Moosomin, Sask., scored his first WHL goal. The Blazers brought him in for a look-see from the midget AAA Moose Jaw Generals. . . . Vancouver F Dalton Sward came up short on a third-period penalty shot. . . . Vancouver G Cody Porter stopped 32 shots, five more than Kamloops’ Connor Ingram. . . . The Giants improved to 17-19-1 and now are 8-3-1 since making a coaching change. They are fourth in the B.C. Division, but just four points out of second. . . . The Blazers (13-22-5) have lost four straight. They went 2-9-0 in December, finishing up with eight straight road games. . . . Jon Keen, the radio voice of the Blazers, tweeted before the game that Kamloops was 17-49-6 in 2014. That means this was the Blazers’ 50th loss of the calendar year. . . . 
In Kelowna, G Ty Edmonds stopped 45 shots to lead the Prince George Cougars to a 5-3 victory over the Rockets. . . . Kelowna held a 21-3 edge in shots in the first period but trailed 2-1. . . . F Chase Witala and F Jared Bethune each had a goal and two assists for the Cougars, while D Tate Olson had two assists. . . . Witala has 18 goals; Bethune has five. . . . After Bethune and F Chance Braid, with his eighth, gave the visitors a 2-0 lead, the Rockets were never able to equalize. . . . F Rourke Chartier scored his WHL-leading 35th goal at 19:26 of the third period, on a PP. . . . Kelowna G Jackson Whistle left at 4:52 of the second period, having allowed three goals on six shots. . . . D Riley Stadel and F Justin Kirkland each had a goal and two assists for the Rockets. Stadel has seven goals; Kirkland has 13. . . . The Cougars are 19-19-0. . . . The Rockets (29-6-3) had won three in a row.
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