Sports Illustrated: The Hockey Book
Edited by Kostya Kennedy
$32.95
Recommended for hockey fans of all ages.

Over the holidays, many of us have were engrossed in the World Junior Hockey Championships.  And despite the disappointing loss in the final, the Canadian team should still be proud.  A silver medal is nothing to cry about.  So being in the hockey mood (which for our family, lasts about 8 months of the year), it only seems fitting to highlight a wonderful book that puts the spotlight on our national game.  

The Hockey Book takes us on a pictorial adventure from the beginning of hockey through to today’s young superstars and their space-age equipment.  From a 1912 team picture of the Club Athletique Canadien before that were renamed the Montreal Canadiens to the feature on Sid the Kid, Stanley Cup rings, the evolution of skates, the design of goalie masks – it’s all in here.

Text is limited in this hardcover, keepsake book which makes the photographs even more amazing.  Often photographers are the unsung heroes of a professional game however this compilation honors the work of these tireless shutterbugs.  One of my favourite stories is of the photographer who captured Bobby Orr in the famous shout of him flying through the air as he scored a Stanley Cup winning goal.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Sports Illustrated has done a magnificent job in capturing the highlights of this game that so many of us love dearly.