The Game

Rating:
Summary: Great for Die Hard Hockey Fans
Review: Any diehard, especially if you witnessed Ken's reign, will love this book. It has some great insight into Ken's own feelings, the rest of the Canadien's interaction behind the scenes, but like one other reviewer said, I kept waiting for something that never came. I can't say what, and maybe that was even Ken's plan, it does seem that the whole time he played he was waiting for something that never came.

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary look at the game
Review: Calling this "the best book ever written about hockey" somehow does not do this work justice. Ken Dryden was one of the best goalies of his time, on one of the greatest teams of all time, and yet this portrayal of a year in the life of that team is much more than "team wins hockey games, gets Stanley Cup." In fact, unless you know what happened in 1979 you may miss that fact. What Dryden aims to do with this book is far more ambitious than to simply describe his last year in the NHL. He wants to discuss the meaning of hockey in the context of his own life as well as that of his country. If this seems a little ambitious, well it is. But Dryden is certainly up to the task.

Written in what amounts to a modified stream-of-consciousness, there are many digressions as Dryden wanders away from descriptions of game days to talk about his early career, the origins of the game, and what it means to Canadians. It's not hard to follow this, but you do have to pay attention. The thing that struck me most was that, while Dryden the author is articulate, thoughtful, and clearly smarter than the average bear, he describes "Ken Dryden the goalie" as a bit of a goof, the last to get locker room jokes, the guy who falls for pranks, who makes himself the target of other, quicker minds. Dryden clearly feels no need to make himself look good to the reading public and when he dissects his playing ability you get the impression that he's being totally honest: he's a Hall of Fame goalie who wishes he could have been just a little better.

(On the other hand, while I agree that popular culture creates images of athletes that they often cannot live up to, I balk at Dryden's insistence that "people think I am smarter than I am, because of this image." When you dissect the NHL's policy on fighting by referencing three psychological theories of human behaviour as well as Monty Python's "Holy Grail" -- well, don't expect me to think you're really Big Bobby Clobber, all right?)

Among the most attractive parts of this book are his descriptions of his teammates. I was a very young hockey fan in the 1970's and we were Habs fans -- absolutely. The names in this book are magical ones to me, and my reaction to reading about them is proof enough of Dryden's remark that "things are never as good as in the old days -- and they never were." In other words, the players you admired as a child are ALWAYS the best. Ken Dryden in the 1970's was never as good as the players he admired in the 1950's, and don't try selling him any silly statistics to prove otherwise. (It's when Dryden writes as a fan that he's especially charming.)

Anyway, the pen-portraits he gives of his teammates alone make the book worth reading. Who knew Guy Lapointe was an incorrigible locker-room prankster? Still, written as it was at the twilight of Dryden's own career, "The Game" has a certain melancholy air in places. Guy Lafleur is clearly not going to be at the top of the league forever -- and then what? Rejean Houle is depicted as someone who has come to terms with himself and will be fine, but I have to admit that even twenty years later I was a little disturbed by the portrait of Larry Robinson. Dryden describes the beloved defenseman as self-doubting and possibly afraid that if he was too good at being the tough guy he would one day wake up and find himself slotted into being a goon instead of a player. He also indicates that in his efforts to remake himself into a more complete player, Robinson may have ended up selling himself short. It's not every day that you imagine Larry Robinson as a tragic figure but after reading this bit I really had to remind myself that at this point he probably does not need my sympathy! (On the other hand, considering that early in his head coaching career Robinson's major problem seems to have been being a little over-sensitive and almost pathologically conscientious, it's interesting to see that he was the same way as a player.)

The team as a group entity is remarkably likable: there is a certain innocence in their silly pranks and teasing. The Habs of the 70's were said to be a remarkably united team and Dryden offers no argument there: in the midst of the rise of the Parti Quebecois Dryden's claim that there was no "French-English problem" on the team rings true when he depicts even the anglophone players as cursing almost entirely in French (and it's oddly endearing.) Guys like "Shutty" and "Flower" and "Pointu" and "Bird" were Canadiens first, everything else after. Even the legendarily unpleasant Scotty Bowman is made a sympathetic character, which I am told is a feat in itself.

Once again, this is not simply a remarkable book about hockey. It's a remarkable book by a remarkable guy who happened to be a remarkable player on a team that was... well, you know the rest.

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary look at the game
Review: Calling this "the best book ever written about hockey" somehow does not do this work justice. Ken Dryden was one of the best goalies of his time, on one of the greatest teams of all time, and yet this portrayal of a year in the life of that team is much more than "team wins hockey games, gets Stanley Cup." In fact, unless you know what happened in 1979 you may miss that fact. What Dryden aims to do with this book is far more ambitious than to simply describe his last year in the NHL. He wants to discuss the meaning of hockey in the context of his own life as well as that of his country. If this seems a little ambitious, well it is. But Dryden is certainly up to the task.

Written in what amounts to a modified stream-of-consciousness, there are many digressions as Dryden wanders away from descriptions of game days to talk about his early career, the origins of the game, and what it means to Canadians. It's not hard to follow this, but you do have to pay attention. The thing that struck me most was that, while Dryden the author is articulate, thoughtful, and clearly smarter than the average bear, he describes "Ken Dryden the goalie" as a bit of a goof, the last to get locker room jokes, the guy who falls for pranks, who makes himself the target of other, quicker minds. Dryden clearly feels no need to make himself look good to the reading public and when he dissects his playing ability you get the impression that he's being totally honest: he's a Hall of Fame goalie who wishes he could have been just a little better.

(On the other hand, while I agree that popular culture creates images of athletes that they often cannot live up to, I balk at Dryden's insistence that "people think I am smarter than I am, because of this image." When you dissect the NHL's policy on fighting by referencing three psychological theories of human behaviour as well as Monty Python's "Holy Grail" -- well, don't expect me to think you're really Big Bobby Clobber, all right?)

Among the most attractive parts of this book are his descriptions of his teammates. I was a very young hockey fan in the 1970's and we were Habs fans -- absolutely. The names in this book are magical ones to me, and my reaction to reading about them is proof enough of Dryden's remark that "things are never as good as in the old days -- and they never were." In other words, the players you admired as a child are ALWAYS the best. Ken Dryden in the 1970's was never as good as the players he admired in the 1950's, and don't try selling him any silly statistics to prove otherwise. (It's when Dryden writes as a fan that he's especially charming.)

Anyway, the pen-portraits he gives of his teammates alone make the book worth reading. Who knew Guy Lapointe was an incorrigible locker-room prankster? Still, written as it was at the twilight of Dryden's own career, "The Game" has a certain melancholy air in places. Guy Lafleur is clearly not going to be at the top of the league forever -- and then what? Rejean Houle is depicted as someone who has come to terms with himself and will be fine, but I have to admit that even twenty years later I was a little disturbed by the portrait of Larry Robinson. Dryden describes the beloved defenseman as self-doubting and possibly afraid that if he was too good at being the tough guy he would one day wake up and find himself slotted into being a goon instead of a player. He also indicates that in his efforts to remake himself into a more complete player, Robinson may have ended up selling himself short. It's not every day that you imagine Larry Robinson as a tragic figure but after reading this bit I really had to remind myself that at this point he probably does not need my sympathy! (On the other hand, considering that early in his head coaching career Robinson's major problem seems to have been being a little over-sensitive and almost pathologically conscientious, it's interesting to see that he was the same way as a player.)

The team as a group entity is remarkably likable: there is a certain innocence in their silly pranks and teasing. The Habs of the 70's were said to be a remarkably united team and Dryden offers no argument there: in the midst of the rise of the Parti Quebecois Dryden's claim that there was no "French-English problem" on the team rings true when he depicts even the anglophone players as cursing almost entirely in French (and it's oddly endearing.) Guys like "Shutty" and "Flower" and "Pointu" and "Bird" were Canadiens first, everything else after. Even the legendarily unpleasant Scotty Bowman is made a sympathetic character, which I am told is a feat in itself.

Once again, this is not simply a remarkable book about hockey. It's a remarkable book by a remarkable guy who happened to be a remarkable player on a team that was... well, you know the rest.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasure
Review: I can't recall how I came upon this book, but I do know how it found me. A dormant, newly awakened passion in hockey had recently overwhelmed me. My first NHL game, a Christmas gift from a freind, found me on the edge of my seat with my mouth wide open. Where had I been!

This was the first hockey book I had ever read. It took probably a week of uninspired interest to get through the first two chapters, and another five days of all consuming joy to savor this story. At this time and afterwards, I was experiencing vivid dreams about the game--it simply fueled my passion. What an honest, articulate account of the author's life as a Montreal Canadien.

I too, "start thinking and wondering, to create my own stories-"

Rating:
Summary: More than just hockey
Review: I read this book expecting to read the standard sports book, what I found was a book that was not only about hockey but about life. Even those who are not hardcore hockey fans can appreciate many of the messages and opinions on life.
From the beginning to the end I was caught in the words, it made me think and feel. Reading The Game somehow enriched my life, and I recommend it to all. Ken Dryden was not your average hockey player, he was an intelligent man who will always be known as the man who wrote the greatest book about the game of hockey.

Rating:
Summary: unafraid to tell the truth
Review: Ken Dryden has dared to tell us a warts and all account of a career in the NHL. As a hall of fame Goalie he was well postioned to observe the play of his team mates on the ice. Granted special status as the team's goalie he was then well place to observe the team off the ice too. He has written an honest account of the impact of long seasons of play both on himself and his team mates. Most revealing are his observations on specific players including Guy LaFleur, Bobby Orr and Larry Robinson. I wonder if his friendships with these men survived these opinions? Thoroughly recommended for all sports fans even non hockey fans.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest hockey book ever written
Review: Ken Dryden has written was many would say as the greatest hockey book ever written. Written during the latter stages of his career he reflects and gives insights on some of the greatest hockey legends that we have ever seen - Scotty Bowman, Guy Lefleur, Steve Shutt, Bobby Orr and others. Any hockey fan would appreciate what he writes, something he does better than almost anyone else!

Rating:
Summary: The greatest hockey book ever written
Review: Ken Dryden has written was many would say as the greatest hockey book ever written. Written during the latter stages of his career he reflects and gives insights on some of the greatest hockey legends that we have ever seen - Scotty Bowman, Guy Lefleur, Steve Shutt, Bobby Orr and others. Any hockey fan would appreciate what he writes, something he does better than almost anyone else!

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat dissapointing
Review: Ken Dryden is one impressive individual. There is no doubting that. I was amazed at the quality of the writing in this book. It is literature. I have read quite a few biographies of sports legends, some have been good and some not so good. I was really looking forward to reading this book especially since all of the reviews were so positive. I welcomed the idea of a well written book by an intelligent athlete. But, I regretfully have to say that this book is less intersting than I had hoped. Dryden provides you with a perspective of hockey life that I seriously doubt that you will get from any other human being on the planet. He made me realize how little time I spend analyzing my own life, at least what I believe to be the less important aspects of it. I found myself amazed at how keenly observant he is about the little stuff. But, as much as I appreciate his intellect, I have to say that this book contains a little too much introspection and not enough details about hockey and the players in it to satisfy me. I am glad that I read it and I would recommend it to fans, but I kept waiting for a little something more and it never quite came. This man has some important things to say though about life in general and for that reason alone the book is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A must for any tru hockey fan
Review: Ken Dryden, one of the NHL's best goalies, writes about his last year with the 1970's Canadiens, one of the greatest teams in NHL history. He provides more than a day by day account of playing but talks about other aspects of the game. From traveling to playing in his hometown to life as a celebrity and a Canadian, Dryden shows why he should be the Commissioenr of the NHL. If you have ever spent a summer in a rink, driven to a 6AM practice or know the words to "Oh, Canada." then "The Game " is for you.