5 comments about Messier: Hockey's Dragonslayer.

1. THIS IS ABOUT MARK MESSIER FORMER NHL GREAT. THE BOOK COVERS THE CAREER OF MESSIER AND A BIT OF HIS PRIVATE LIFE. MOST OF THE BOOK IS ABOUT HIS CAREER WITH THE NEW YORK RANGERS AND HIS LEADERSHIP THAT HELP THEM FINALLY WIN A STANLEY CUP. THE BOOK IS NOT WRITTEN GREAT DETAIL BUT STILL IS INTERESTING AND MOVES ALONG. I FOUND SOME OF HIGHLIGHTS WERE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GRETZKY, HIS BURNING DESIRE TO WIN AND THE BIG EGO AND THE HIGH MAINTENANCE HE REQUIRES TO KEEP HIM HAPPY AND TO PLAY HARD. IT IS A NICE EASY READ AND IS ENTERTAINING. RECOMMENDED.



2. Mark Messier is and always will be my favorite hockey player but this book provides no original insight into his character whatsoever. The book offers the same repetitve praise over and over about what great leader he is without ever touching upon the other sides of his personality, particularly the darker and more personal aspects that we don't get to read about in the paper. This book could have been written in a week.



3. A great read....filled with insights and facts on how messier became the great player he is today. Great perspectives on mess from players to coaches to writers. A must read for hockey fans of all ages.



4. Well written! Keeps you interested and waiting to find out what happens next. Mr. Carpiniello has given the reader a lovely glimpse into the career of a wonderful athlete. As a hockey mom whose son greatly admires this superstar, I am grateful for a biography that celebrates the leader, the nice guy. In answer to "Horrible", who cares whom the athletes go out with and who doesn't assume that they do? Fill in the blanks or read Jackie Collins. On target to what the sport is about. The hard work, the dedication and the will to win! Well done!



5. Well written! Keeps you interested and waiting to find out what happens next. Mr. Carpiniello has given the reader a lovely glimpse into the career of a wonderful athlete. As a hockey mom whose son greatly admires this superstar, I am grateful for a biography that celebrates the leader, the nice guy. In answer to "Horrible", who cares whom the athletes go out with and who doesn't assume that they do? Fill in the blanks or read Jackie Collins. On target to what the sport is about. The hard work, the dedication and the will to win! Well done!

3 comments about Without Fear: Hockey's 50 Greatest Goaltenders.

1. If you aren't aware of hockey's great goalies of the 20's thru 60's, this is the book for you. Being older than I care to admit, I saw Crozier, Worsley, Plante (have their autographs), Bower, Hall, Sawchuk & a dozen others who are now little more than a footnote or a color commentator's time-filler. This book will remedy that, giving a good background into some of the most outstanding goalies of the "Golden Age" of hockey. Of particular interest is the categorizing of many of these men as "unsung", "tragic" etc. I'll be referring to it often.



2. I never received this item, can you make sure I was not charged.
   
   Thank you Joe Lawrence
   805-657-5151



3. "WITHOUT FEAR" by Kevin Allen and Bob Duff is one of the best books ever published on the history of NHL goaltenders. This just published 280 page hard cover coffee table edition is a must for hockey fans of all ages, and especially all those junior goalies out there? The 50 greatest goalies in history are ranked and profiled in great detail. Hockey legend Johnny Bower gives his commentary on each selection as well. One can't argue with the selection of the 50 goalies, but you can have fun with friends, arguing if Patrick Roy[#1 ranked]is the greatest of them all? All the great names of the past and present are here to read about, like Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, Eddie Giacomin, Tony Esposito, and Gump Worsley just to name a few from the old school. Modern players like Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Ed Belfour, Mike Vernon and Curtis Joseph are some of the newer entries. Some of the goalies profiled like Rogie Vachon, Lorne Chabot, Davey Kerr and Roger Crozier were never elected to the hall of fame, but are surely deserving of consideration? I consider this book to be a bible of goaltending history, and a must have book to make any hockey library complete.

No comments about No Guarantees.

No comments about Brad Richards: A Hockey Story.

No comments about Herb Brooks: The Inside Story of a Hockey Mastermind.

No comments about Walter Gretzky: On Family, Hockey and Healing.

No comments about Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

5 comments about Fury: Inside the Life of Theoren Fleury.

1. It's too bad the author didn't wait a few more years to write this, because he missed all kinds of drama that Fleury encountered after its publication, including his suspension from the NHL for drug problems, another divorce and brawls playing hockey in Ireland.
   The author could have dug a little harder, too, into Fleury's messed up family and the speculation widely throughout the NHL that he might have been victimized in several ways by authority figures in his junior career.



2. Parts of this biography focus on Theo's childhood development and his opening years with the Calgary Flames. I say 'parts' because it also spends a great deal of time discussing how various parts of the Flames organzation runs, with chapters devoted to the people behind the scenes. While the book doesn't concentrate completely on Fleury, I still felt it was informative in bringing me the whole picture regarding the things that affect his daily life (travel, practices, autograph hounds, injuries, and such). In a few years, I'd like to see this author revisit Fleury and write about his days with the Avalanche, the Rangers, and the 2002 Winter Olympics.



3. The Theo-specific info in this book would make a very nice in-depth magazine article. The book is poorly written, very disjointed. The author introduces a Theo story, and in the next paragraph is telling the history of the food services manager. In one place, I counted 6 pages that included only 1 paragraph of 2 lines about Theo. Theo has an incredible spirit. His story is one of triumph over truly overwhelming odds. He deserved a better effort for what is titled as HIS biography. If you want to know about the GM, coaches (at all levels), security guards, bus drivers, entertainment managers, food service, mascots and ticket sales this is the book for you. If you want to really get to know an NHL player, read Brett Hull: His Own Story.



4. I bought this for my husband, for Christmas. I read it out of curiosity. Theo's story will not just warm your heart. It will make you love him, and respect him. So many who have his difficult background use it as an excuse to walk around with a chip on their shoulder. Theo doesn't, he only has a chip on his shoulder on the ice, where it belongs. The author included a lot of other stuff, that sometimes made the book a difficult read, but I'd just turn the pages until he picked up Theo's story again. I liked him to begin with, now I root hard for him, this little dynamo paid his dues, and earned his success. If you only read one book this year, you have to read this one.



5. I bought FURY a while ago and hadn't gotten around to reading it. But then I saw Wayne Gretzky at his retirement news conference say how he would have liked to play with Theoren Fleury. I got out the book and spent all night reading it. It was one fun book about sports, about an interesting guy and what it is really like inside a real pro sports team. Now that Fleury is playing for an American team it's easier to follow his play--another 40 goal season. Thanks to whoever wrote this book for an interesting read. I learned so much. And it was fun doing it.

No comments about Wayne Gretzky: The Great One (Canadian Biography).

No comments about Stole This from a Hockey Card: A Philosophy of Hockey, Doug Harvey, Identity And Booze.