I’m not much of a hockey fan – my childhood team was the Dallas Blackhawks – but I was entranced by this book. I learned a lot about how hockey works, much of it distressing to me. The enforcer role was one I didn’t really understand and Boogaard’s story is a powerfully tragic one. The book is well-written and moves quickly, while painting a powerful picture of how hockey can really damage people.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, but lost interest at the end when it seemed the author was just spitting out numbers.

Erittäin hyvin kirjoitettu ja tarkkaan taustoitettu kuvaus jääkiekkoilija Derek Boogaardin lyhyeksi jääneen elämän vaiheista. Asiat kerrotaan kaunistelematta, mutta myös kauhistelematta. Karun konkreettinen esimerkki siitä, mihin kiekkotappelut, vammojen peittely ja lääkäreiden holtiton lääkkeiden jakelu pahimmillaan johtavat. Mielikuvaa kovasta kaiken kestävästä tappelijasta ylläpidetään keinolla millä hyvänsä ja pelaajasta tulee pelinappula seuran rahanahneuden ja yleisön tappelunhimon tyydyttämiseksi. Tässä kuvataan vain yksittäisen pelaajan vaiheita, mutta tapauksia on paljon. Suurin osa vaikenee ongelmistaan edelleen, koska suuri yleisö ei halua nähdä heikkoutta, vaan kovan tappelusankarin. Jokaisen tappelufanaatikon tulisi lukea tämä kirja ja miettiä, onko tappeluiden katselu todella niin arvokasta, että sen vuoksi tarvitsee uhrata toisten ihmisten terveys ja jopa henki.

Eye opening

Barely three stars. I expected a more critical examination. Like, two team's doctors over prescribe painkillers and sleeping pills, and all we find out is that the docs are still with the teams. No deeper investigation into how that happened? Bettman skates by with a "fighting is down in the game" comment, in the Epilogue? And for a book that's ostensibly not trying to glamorize fighting, we sure do get a lot of details about Boogaard's fights. Maybe that was intended to bring out the hypocrite in the reader. Like, intellectually, fighting is bad. Emotionally, it's another story. At the same time, all the details felt tacky (and repetitive). I was really excited to read this, but I think I'll like it less the more I think about it.

I think this book is best suited for professional hockey fans.

Generally, on the plus side, the writing is very good and never gets in the way of the story; the book is a quick and easy read; Boogaard is a completely sympathetic figure; and the book gets better as it goes along. More specifically it did a very good job of putting the spotlight on the appalling over-prescribing of prescription drugs to professional hockey players and the league's indifference to the enforcement of its drug abuse policies; and it highlighted professional hockey's shameful resistance to reducing or eliminating fighting.

The problem is that the story is occasionally monotonous. I may have imagined it but some passages appeared to be repeated verbatim throughout the book. (Maybe the multitudinous accounts of brawling. How many different ways can you say one guy absolutely beat the shit out of the other guy?) The early section on Boogaard's youth is okay but it doesn't resonate. Additionally there seems to be something missing in the storytelling in that Boogaard comes across as very one-dimensional.

The book ultimately addresses the issues of concussions, sub-concussive head injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) but its handling pales in comparison to the very good League of Denial (by Mark Fainaru-Wada & Steve Fainaru). (League of Denial is a far better book and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of whether they're a sports fan or not.)

Liked it but was overall Just okay. Didn't give me a ton of new insight and the narratives of fights were kind of tiring. It is a good summary but doesn't bring a lot of depth.

I rarely pick up books like this - tales of athletes and their demise - but something pulled me to this book. I think I vaguely recalled Boogaard's name but not his situation. So glad I found it.

This book is about the life of young hockey thug/enforcer Derek Boogaard and how he found his place in the NHL as a fighter but constantly wanted to prove himself as a player. However, at the same time, the book is about how the NHL will sacrifice a young man to keep the game of hockey interesting to fans. Derek was treated as no more than a cog in the NHL machinery and paid with his life. With the help of Boogaard's family and friends, Branch details Derek's drug use and abuse during his time with the Minnesota Wild and NY Rangers. Prescriptions were written with little regard for the player's actual well-being. In hindsight, the abuses were monumental and Derek cannot be blamed for most of what happened (in my opinion).

If you are a die-hard hockey fan, this book might be a bit more than you can handle about what really goes on in the sport. But, it is a worthwhile read if you are interested in the truth.