Saving Face: The Art and History of the Goalie Mask by Jim Hynes

by Jim Hynes

A pictorial history of the hockey goalie's "other face"

In team sports, where the uniform reigns supreme, there is no more recognizable piece of sporting equipment than the goalie mask. Reflecting the often quirky character of the goalie, the artwork on a goalie mask can be a stylized and richly evocative portrait of the man beneath. With photographs from the Hockey Hall of Fame's unparalleled collection of masks, this unique book offers diehard hockey fans a rare look at the world of the goalie mask. Full of fascinating information on the history and construction of the goalie mask, the book also includes sidebars on mask artists and makers and stories and photographs of some of the greatest masks in the game.

Jim Hynes (Montreal, QC) is a freelance writer and editor. Gary Smith (Grand Falls, NB, Canada) has crafted masks for the CBC's Canada-Russia '72 and for the movie Miracle.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[David Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very earnest and sincere attempt to shine a light on the cultural impact the goalie mask has had on the sport of ice hockey and also the general public. It, the book, spends too many pages repeating itself and doubling back when it should be moving forward. It speaks often in generalities and assumptions when it could have been more specific and more in touch with its subject matter. It does a much better job at examining the modern goalie mask than it does the older, classic masks. Perhaps that's because the modern masks and their makers are still in circulation and easier to track. There were a lot of masks referred to but not illustrated which I found disappointing. There were photo illustrations without much background. In all it was a pleasing book to glance at but it needed about 100 more pages to truely capture the evolution of the mask. I would have liked to have seen a detailed guide to how masks were actually constructed although there are hobbyists on the internet who will gladly share their homemade recipes. An updated version of the book works be great as about 99% of the "active" goalies referred to in the final chapter are now out retired (Carey Price was mentioned once).

[Shaelei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and detailed book about the goalie mask.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool photos showing the evolution of goalie masks.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book for nhl goalie fans.

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for Saving Face can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.

[bamlinden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a goalie mask fanatic. Have been for the better part of 15 years. I love seeing new designs come out each year and jump when I see a rare unearthed photo of a vintage piece of fiberglass.

So you can guess I was a big fan of Saving Face when it originally came out in 2008. In fact, I own a copy of it. And I enjoyed looking at all the photos and even skimmed through the text. Yes....that's right, I didn't take the time to read the book. Until now.

Jim Hynes and Gary Smith do a very thorough job of guiding the reader through the history of the goalie mask. As someone who has read numerous articles and scratched and clawed to discover all I can about masks myself, there wasn't a ton of new material in this read. Still....nice photos.

It's a very simple, chronological telling of the 50+ year history and as a critique, the writing style is very simple. It feels like it is written at a grade 5-6 level reader. Not a lot of meat on the bone. As well, there are single page bios and sort of "fast facts" which are nice...but then the same text appears in the main body of the story. Too redundant. But still.....nice photos.

It's a good surface read but lacks any real in-depth history. Little to no quotes from actual goalies or mask makers, it's solely and author's depiction of the history. Which works...but didn't really do it for me.

But hey....nice photos.

[Katriena Knights · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more interesting than I expected, and the photography is great.