Title/Author:
“The
Winter Classic” by Russ Cohen and Michael Del Tufo
Tags:
Ice hockey,
professional, New Years Day, Penguins, Sabres, Flyers, Bruins, Red Wings Blackhawks, Rangers
Published:
November
15, 2012
Length:
162 pages
Rating:
2 1/2 of 5
stars (readable)
Review:
This book
was okay but disappointing in several ways.
It contains too many editing errors.
I counted five typographical errors in the book. The pictures that were included in the
electronic version were negatives, not the photos.
It has
most factual items correct and these were nicely done since the authors
experienced them. However, a glaring mistake is one about the next Winter
Classic in 2014. It states that the game
between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will feature teams in
different conferences. This is
incorrect. The NHL is realigning and the
teams will now be in the same conference.
I mention this because the book was written and published after the
realignment was announced.
The book's
structure makes it easy to follow. For
each Winter Classic game, there is a narrative about the venue, why it was
chosen, the politicians and NHL officials talking about the location. This is one section of the chapter. Next are interviews with players about
playing at such a site. Then the recap
of the game itself, a rundown of the rest of the season for both teams and what
is coming next. These make for an easy
means of looking up information in the book.
However, I felt there was inconsistency with the writing style. Sometimes more emphasis was placed on
describing the venue, other times it was on the game itself. I felt that this made reading the entire book
challenging. This wasn't aided when
there were extra sections in the chapters for the 2011 and 2012 Winter Classics
when HBO also was filming footage about the participating teams.
My last
disappointment with the book is that the authors barely acknowledge the other
two outdoor games played in Canada, the Heritage Classic. Yes the book is titled The Winter
Classic. But if the Heritage Classic
games are going to be mentioned, give them the same respect as the Winter
Classic games as well.
Overall, I
thought that while the book had its good points and entertaining moments, I
felt that there was room for improvement and a more complete accounting of all
outdoor NHL games to this point would have been better. It isn’t a bad read – I did enjoy parts of
the book – I just closed the book hoping for more.
Did I skim?
Yes. I wasn’t interested in reading about the two
times that HBO featured the two participating teams, as mentioned in the review.
I did read some of the first chapter on this topic, when the Penguins and
Capitals were on the show, but grew tired of it and skipped over the last few paragraphs
of that chapter. Then when the Flyers
and Rangers were featured and the authors wrote about them, I skimmed really
quickly through that portion as well. I
didn’t completely skip it in case there was something interesting to learn, but
I didn’t read much of this section either.
Did I learn something new?
Yes. The
reader will learn just how big the event has grown in the five years it has
been in existence. I also learned what
some of the other side events take place other than just the hockey game, such
as the skating rinks and fan festivals that are going on in the days leading up
to the Classic.
Pace of the book:
Good for
the most part. Again, I only felt like
it dragged during the sections about HBO.
Positives:
I did like
learning about each venue and what extra attractions and activities they
featured to engage fans and to make the experience fun for fans and players
alike. The authors experienced this for
themselves and it showed as a reader can see the joy they had in participating
in these events.
Negatives:
The worst
of these have been mentioned in the review (typos, lack of information on
Heritage Classic games, and the upcoming Detroit-Toronto Classic), so I will
not rehash them here.
Do I recommend?
Yes. Despite the number of stars, I do believe
hockey fans will enjoy at least parts of this book. For those who were interested in the HBO
shows but didn’t get to see them, those chapters do a good job of detailing the
contents of the show. I would also
recommend for those interested in purchasing this book to buy the paperback
version as the pictures in the eBook were of poor quality.
Book Format Read:
EBook
(Kindle)
Buying Links:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AG3A808/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img
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