Book Reviews: The Game by Ken Dryden, and The Rebel League by Ed Willes

As the first season of the "new NHL" draws to a close, it may be an appropriate time for a look at professional hockey's recent past.

Ken Dryden's The Game has been hailed as the best hockey book ever written and included in Sports Illustrated's list of the top 100 best sports books of all time. While an interesting and insightful look at NHL hockey, its age may now hamper those accolades.

For those unfamiliar with him, Dryden played goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, a true and longtime hockey dynasty. During Dryden's eight seasons with the Canadiens in the 1970s, the team won the Stanley Cup six times. Dryden does not fit the stereotype of a hockey player. He "retired" for one season to finish requirements for a law degree. He is currently a member of the Canadian Parliament. As that background would suggest, The Game is both thoughtful and articulate.

The problem lies in its age. Last year, the paperback edition of the 20th anniversary edition of the book was released. With the original book having been published in 1983, timeframes can be confusing. Written in a type of diary format covering one week per entry, Dryden covers so much ground it's often difficult to figure out exactly what year he is talking about. His references to recent Stanley Cup victories, players and games makes it that much more difficult. At the time The Game was initially published, these events would have been relatively fresh in the minds of hockey fans. Some 20 years later, though, it is more difficult to keep the times straight.

There are also annoying typographical issues. For example, one paragraph refers to the Canadiens being behind "twenty-one" but tying the game on a power play. Now that's a powerful power play. In addition, the book frequently, but without rhyme or reason, uses em dashes instead of hyphens, causing the reader to pause to figure out what a sentence or phrase actually says. Given the fact this paperback follows a hard-cover 20th anniversary edition of a book first published more than 20 years ago, such errors should not show up.

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

Visit Tim Gebhart's author page — Tim Gebhart's Blog