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Product Description
Review
"Simply said this is one of the best hockey books written since Ken Dryden's The Game and Dryden and Roy MacGregor's Home Game."
— Peterborough Examiner
"A masterful job."
— Montreal Gazette
"A tense yet thrilling tale."
— Winnipeg Free Press
"The Greatest Game will stand up well as a good treatment of a unique set of circumstances that led to a game for the ages. After reading it, many will want to run out and find a recording of the game. That's pretty high praise."
—Allsportsbooks.blogspot.com
"One of the most important hockey books ever written."
— HockeyBookReviews.com
Product Description
This game wasn't about money, points, or trophies. Instead it was played for pride, both personal and national. It was a confrontation twenty years in the making and it marked a turning point in the history of hockey.
On December 31, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in the NHL, hosted the touring Central Red Army, the dominant team in the Soviet Union. For three hours millions of people in both Canada and the Soviet Union were glued to their television sets. What transpired that evening was a game that surpassed all the hype and was subsequently referred to as "the greatest game ever played." Held at the height of the Cold War, this remarkable contest transcended sports and took on serious cultural, sociological, and political overtones. And while the final result was a 3-3 tie, no one who saw the game was left disappointed. This exhibition of skill was hockey at its finest, and it set the bar for what was to follow as the sport began its global expansion.
On December 31, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in the NHL, hosted the touring Central Red Army, the dominant team in the Soviet Union. For three hours millions of people in both Canada and the Soviet Union were glued to their television sets. What transpired that evening was a game that surpassed all the hype and was subsequently referred to as "the greatest game ever played." Held at the height of the Cold War, this remarkable contest transcended sports and took on serious cultural, sociological, and political overtones. And while the final result was a 3-3 tie, no one who saw the game was left disappointed. This exhibition of skill was hockey at its finest, and it set the bar for what was to follow as the sport began its global expansion.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Incredibly Well Written And Well Researched Book,
By
This review is from: The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (Hardcover)
I'm not even finished this book yet, and already I have to say that this is one of the finest hockey books of the last decade. Denault weaves the story of how hockey came to come to the Montreal Forum on the fateful night of 31 December, 1975, giving the reader a wealth of detail and thought and experiences of many of the participants. His research is fantastic, with many sources from both sides of the bench. As someone who eagerly watched the game at the centre of this book, I can say that I have a far better understanding of it after having read this book. This book goes right up with the best hockey books out there, including Ken Dryden's The Game.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
grand bouquin,
By
This review is from: The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (Hardcover)
un match qui s etait termine 3 a 3 . grace aubrio du gardien tretiak . l offensive du canadien etait tres puissante . mais la defensive des sovietiques encore plus.certains disen que ce fut le meilleur match de l histoire du hockey . maybe yes maybe no. great book though.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Canadiens Rock!,
By R Murphy - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (Hardcover)
This book provides an interesting, scholarly, and quite readable trip down memory lane, an especially enjoyable stroll for fans of the great Canadiens teams of the 1970s. While it is ostensibly aimed at those who wish to know the background to the 1975 New Year's Eve classic, Soviet Red Army vs the Montreal Canadiens, Mr. Denault's book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in the history of Soviet hockey, or an interest in the evolution of the NHL in the 1960s and 70s, or is a fan of the les Habitants. This book covers in some detail the beginnings of Soviet "professional" hockey, from the coaches and the Soviet scheme to the heavy-handedness of the Soviet hierarchy. The author takes us behind the scenes of Canadian hockey in the 50s and 60s, the farm system, the evolution of the draft, and the impact of the WHA on salaries and the style of play. Throughout Denault contrasts the disparity in Soviet and Canadian hockey organizations and the reluctance of Canadian coaches to even consider an alternative to their rough and tough, individualistic brand of hockey, doubtless a consequence of the contrasting political and social realities in the respective systems. Some may quibble at the detail that Mr. Denault provides early on, but he does lay out the many concurrent trends in hockey and in sport in general at the time. And his approach sets the stage for vivid descriptions of the 1972 Summit Series between the NHL and the Red Army, and the 1974 series in which the new WHA vainly attempted to repeat the NHL team's success. Numerous personalities are brought to life, from Sam Pollock and Fred Shero, to Ken Dryden and Larry Robinson. On the Soviet side we are introduced to its ground-breaking coach Anatoli Tarasov, and presented compelling portraits of Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov and many others. The Game, the climax of the book, comes rather late in the proceedings, but to be fair, there is only so much that one can describe about a 60 minute sporting event, even a momentous one. The real story, we learn, is mostly prologue. When at last Mr. Denault brings us to the storied Forum to witness the game, he helps us re-live those exciting events through an elegant prose that is equal to the beauty and purity of the game itself. Despite the broad scope of the work and a few editing oversights, I enjoyed the book very much, and recommend it to all fans of the great game of hockey.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best,
By Brent Andrew "SF Brent" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (Hardcover)
Does a sporting event matter to anything significant beyond its own boundaries?In 1975, at the height of the Cold War, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the hockey team of the Soviet Union's Red Army. The game itself did not disappoint - the 3-to-3 tie was called "the greatest game ever played" - and is considered the launching point for hockey's global expansion. Author Todd Denault expertly conveys the excitement of the game, but goes deeper, to reveal the political and social forces behind a sporting event that became symbolic of global strategic stalemate between the East the West. Rated one of the top 20 new sports books - see [...] 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
great game but!!,
By C. powers "skittles" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey (Paperback)
THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK AND I WOULD RECOMMEND IT HOWEVER , THE BIGGER GAME CAME AFTER THIS WHEN THE SOVIET TEAM MET THE,THEN, STANLEY CUP CHAMPION PHILADELPHIA FLYERS AND GOT DESTROYED,BOTH PHYSICALLY AND ON THE SCORE BOARD.THE CANADIAN GAME WAS MUCH MORE COMPETITIVE, BUT THE ONLY TEAM TO DISMANTLE THE SOVIETS THAT YEAR WAS THE FLYERS.THE EYES OF ALL CANADIAN FANS FOUND THEMSELVES ROOTING FOR THE FLYERS TO UPHOLD THE PRIDE OF CANADA AND THEY DID JUST THAT. ALMOST EVERY PLAYER ON PHILADELPHIA WAS CANADIAN BORN.HAVING SAID THAT, THIS BOOK IS GREAT AND GAVE A GOOD ACCOUNT OF THE GAME AND THE BEHIND THE SCENES FACTORS.
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