- Hardcover: 274 pages
- Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre / Not Applicable (Oct 1 1996)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 155054473X
- ISBN-13: 978-1550544732
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #332,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
In 1972, after enduring years of embarrassing defeat at the hands of Soviet "amateurs," Canadian officials convinced their Moscow counterparts to allow a pre-season, eight-game series between the best hockey players from both nations. For Team Canada, this meant a chance to assemble a "dream team" of NHL professionals and show the world that they still owned ice hockey.
Cold War: The Amazing Canada-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972 takes you to the back rooms of the diplomats and apparatchiks who sanctioned this unlikely confrontation--and then puts you on the ice for the rest. The first four games were played on Canadian soil, in four different cities; the final four all took place at the Lenin Sports Complex in Moscow. Despite the absences of Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull, Team Canada's lineup was a memorable one: The Brothers Esposito, Phil and Tony; Paul Henderson; Serge Savard; Ken Dryden; and Frank Mahovlich. Canadians across the continent were confident of a complete blowout. "Eight-game sweep!" the leading sports columnists predicted.
But the Red Machine came prepared. The Soviets' fast-paced game of precision passing and surgical attack caught the cocky (and somewhat out-of-shape) Canadians off guard. By the time the series headed to Moscow, the Soviets had jolted Canada and insured that the remaining games would be remembered as perhaps the most fiercely fought hockey of all time. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Ingram
"It wasn't just hockey--it was war." That's how countless fans still remember the fabled 1972 Canada-USSR Challenge series, the first-ever confrontation between hockey's reigning superpowers. Today the Cold War is over and the world's ideological map has changed beyond recognition, yet the glory of '72 still lives on. 50 illustrations.
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Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sorry, canada...You Cheated!,
By
This review is from: Cold war: The amazing Canada-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972 (Hardcover)
Yes, officially Canada won the seminal 1972 Summit Series. In actuality, this cherished central Canadian fable is based on cheating. Precisely, it was the willful intent to injure the USSR's greatest forward, Valeri Kharlamov (enshrined, by the way, in the Hockey Hall of Fame). Kharlamov was the best player in the series for the USSR. Here is the story, and it indisputably documented in this book. Canada was facing defeat after the Russians won the 5th game in Moscow (the 8-game series stood at 3-1-1...another loss and the Canadians would be mathematically eliminated from any chance at victory in the series). And little, proud Canada simply could not accept defeat in 'their game'. So what did they do? Assistant Coach and ex-Montreal Canadiens 'goon' John Ferguson asked the great Bobby Clarke to intentionally injure Kharlamov by swinging his stick down hard on No. 17's leg, resulting in breaking his ankle. To his credit, Kharlamov attempted to play on, but was obviously the 'worse for wear', and was not a factor thereafter. This is detailed in the book. The Canadians CHEATED, and ignominously and intentionally injured the opposing team's scoring leader, just because 'little Canada' couldn't bear losing this fantastic series. In that the series came down to a last minute goal, logic alone tells you that the intentional injury supplied the margin for victory. So these facts undermine the 'victory' and shows that Canada was willing to resort to criminal action in order to win. Oh, no, Canada!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reading for students of intl. hockey,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cold war: The amazing Canada-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972 (Hardcover)
For those who were very young (like myself) when the series was played and grew up not with the players mentioned but instead with such Russian players as Fedorov and Bure in the NHL, this book is a must to understand how these 8 games played in 1972 forever changed the face of international hockey -- The Canadians (and people in the States as well) realized that we didn't have a monopoly on how to play the game, and the Russians, for all their tremendous preparation and effort, saw that Westerners could rise to the occasion, and ultimately "opened their doors" just enough to begin the journey that today finds several NHL stars hailing from former Warsaw Pact nations. MacSkimming does an excellent job of both drawing upon the original 1972 news accounts and quotes as well as undertaking a host of interviews and research 20+ years later to give a renewed perspective on the games, the players and what it all meant then and now. Even if you know how "it ends," (if you don't you will find out early in the book) the rising action is expertly developed, and you feel (in your mind, at least) nearly the same sense of pride and accomplshment at the end as the Canadian players must have felt. Highly recommened for anyone w/ an interest in hockey and/or the "old" Soviet Union.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cold War - A piece of "Canadiana",
By Lee Stevlingson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cold war: The amazing Canada-Soviet Hockey Series of 1972 (Hardcover)
"Cold War" is a beautifully written (and researched!) book about the greatest series ever played (in any sport!) Every Canadian remembers where they were when Paul Henderson Scored the game and series winning goal in Moscow, and reading this book literally sent shivers down my spine, and brought back memories long forgotten. It also opened doors to many "behind the scenes" facts that I did not know. But most of all, it reminded me of how arrogant and over-confident we all were, and as Ken Dryden put it: "NEVER, EVER, UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OPPONENT". Of course we had ....This point was driven home to an entire nation in September of 1972 when Canada's "professional" hockey stars (our "best of the best") played this dramatic eight game series against the "amateurs" of the Soviet Union. This series was the first ever between the Soviets and NHL players, and almost all Canadians, myself included, thought Canada would win all eight games easily. That is not what happened though, the Soviets stunned everyone by going 2-1-1 on Canadian ice. Canada came back in Moscow, winning 3 of 4 dramatically, all one goal games. Against a backdrop of the "cold war", and Canada's pride and identity at stake, even non-hockey fans got caught up the unfolding drama. Canada's pride was hurt for sure, but it forced our players to dig deep within themselves to pull out the skills that produced an amazing victory, despite tremendous obstacles. (such as a hostile press, star players quitting, and officiating that was horribly biased against Canada) The Soviets on the other hand had violated this very same rule when the teams got to Moscow, and clearly had lost their psychological edge. In short, they thought they had the series won. The series forced Canadians to look at themselves in a way they hadn't before, and in the decades since we have seen improvements in the game itself. In other words, the bar had been raised. Roy MacSkimming deserves six stars for this one, he captured beautifully this unique series that really had the full range of human emotion, from the total shock of the the Soviets 7-3 rout in game one to the the hosile reaction of Canadian fans and media towards their own countrymen, to redemption, complete joy and relief in Moscow. Every Canadian, and American for that matter, should read this book, it goes beyond a sporting event really and exposes human nature. On a personel note, I was in English Class in Cranbrook B.C. when Henderson scored "The Goal" on September 28, 1972. Most of Canada's schools, businesses and government offices closed that day, however we were not among those lucky. We did lobby our teacher however, and we watched the last two periods of game on TV despite her objections. Had she not relented, she would have regretted it forever ... the place went nuts! 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sorry Canada...you cheated!,
By R. O'Brien - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cold War P (Paperback)
Yes, officially Canada won the seminal 1972 Summit Series. In actuality, this cherished central Canadian fable is based on cheating. Precisely, it was the willful intent to injure the USSR's greatest forward, Valeri Kharlamov (enshrined, by the way, in the Hockey Hall of Fame). Kharlamov was the best player in the series for the USSR. Here is the story, and it indisputably documented in this book. Canada was facing defeat after the Russians won the 5th game in Moscow (the 8-game series stood at 3-1-1...another loss and the Canadians would be mathematically eliminated from any chance at victory in the series). And little, proud Canada simply could not accept defeat in 'their game'. So what did they do? Assistant Coach and ex-Montreal Canadiens 'goon' John Ferguson asked the great Bobby Clarke to intentionally injure Kharlamov by swinging his stick down hard on No. 17's leg, resulting in breaking his ankle. To his credit, Kharlamov attempted to play on, but was obviously the 'worse for wear', and was not a factor thereafter. This is detailed in the book. The Canadians CHEATED, and ignominously and intentionally injured the opposing team's scoring leader, just because 'little Canada' couldn't bear losing this fantastic series. In that the series came down to a last minute goal, logic alone tells you that the intentional injury supplied the margin for victory. So these facts undermine the 'victory' and shows that Canada was willing to resort to criminal action in order to win. Oh, no, Canada!
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