Book Review: Hockey for Dummies, 2nd Ed.

I wouldn't call myself a dummy, but what can you do? I struggled with wiki and bits and pieces from coworkers and the color analysts for about a month and a half before I admitted that I needed major help. Along came this book: Hockey for Dummies.

It's written by two sports guys that I, of course, do not know. They are John Davidson, who was a goalie for the New York Rangers, and John Steinbreder, who apparently writes and writes, but has not had a job with the potential to lose teeth. Combined they are pretty good writers. There are parts though, where I felt excluded because I'm an absolute beginner. I swear, do all y'all white folks actually go playing pond hockey as kids? That is crazy talk!

Okay, so maybe the title is somewhat justified, but I'd still prefer "Hockey for the Temporarily Ignorant".

The book explained a whole bunch of stuff so I can actually have a hockey conversation above the kindergarten (my favorite color is blue) level. It's a little like a foreign language phrase book in that it'll teach you how to communicate with this whole new group of people. The authors say you can skip around, but I recommend you don't if you are of the "Temporarily Ignorant" persuasion. Go cover to cover with a few jumpbacks (no jumps forward) if you must, so you make sure there aren't any gaps in your understanding of the game. That way you'll know what questions the book truly didn't answer for you rather than something you skipped over.

I bought it from a brick and mortar bookstore for around $20. I'd say it's worth it for that much if you consider yourself a fan desperate for information rather than in a phase or something. Otherwise, fuck capitalism and borrow it from the library. Either way, I totally recommend that people new to hockey read this book, even if your friends who already know hockey might think you're a loser for it.

The most satisfying thing happened less than halfway through the book, as I finished a chapter about the players' positions and formations. Avs were playing somebody or other and went on the power play (which Hockey for Dummies can explain). The other team got in formation to defend their goalie and I recognized it as "the box". I felt all bad-ass!



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