Too Many Men On The Ice

Rating:
Summary: Well intentioned but superficial.
Review: Given that this is virtually the ONLY book in existence concerning women's ice hockey, I'd give this book a 5. The authors and publisher deserve plaudits for writing about this subject. On the downside, this book, when compared to objective standards of quality and editing, stands in need of improvement and could have benefited from further refinement. One example: One entire chapter is devoted to just one woman from the sport (out of many that could have been chosen) who blathers on and on and on about her views of ice hockey. (Who cares?) This chapter of the book reads as if the two writers just set a tape recorder down in front of the person and then typed everything she said verbatim. If I wanted to read a magazine interview, I could have gone elsewhere such as reading women's ice hockey stories and interviews in some of the hockey trade journals. A book is supposed to be a SYNTHESIS of various points of view. I appreciate the two authors showing me their raw interview material but this kind of self-promotion by one individual female ice hockey player belongs in an appendix at the BACK of the book, and NOT in a book chapter. Certainly everyone would agree that this kind of monologue by one single female ice hockey player SHOULD NOT HAVE CONSTITUTED AN ENTIRE BOOK CHAPTER! C'mon! Let's do some of our own writing and research. And what qualifications does this person have to presume to speak for the entire sport anyway? Second point of criticism: While the story of women's ice hockey is in part a story of sexism and the struggle between the sexes, I think the tone of the book and the title could have been less adversarial and resentful toward the existence of men's ice hockey. "Too Many Men on the Ice" makes it seem like a zero sum game. Can't men as well as women play the sport? The title suggests not. In fact, the title and the tone of the book suggest that there are "too many men on the ice" playing the sport to the exclusion of women. This is not what wome! n's ice hockey is about. There should be enough room in the sport for both men and women to play ice hockey. This isn't a war between the sexes. Women just want to be recognized and granted equal rights to train, get appropriate coaching, ice time, etcetera just like the men. Do the authors really believe that there are "too many men on the ice?" If so, I am disappointed in them as people and as female journalists and authors. The authors' book title and their hostile and adversarial tone toward male ice hockey players undercuts what these fine women players stand for: No one should be saying that there are "too many men on the ice!" Nor should anyone ever say that there are "too many women on the ice." There should be enough ice time for everyone who wants to play the sport. The book comes off as a well intentioned but somewhat superficial attempt to cover the sport. I suspect other writers will come along and pick up where these two left off. But nonetheless, hats off to these two young authors for devoting themselves to a worthy subject.