Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984

by Greg Prato

Ask any hockey historian about the greatest all-time teams, and the 1980-1984 New York Islanders are sure to be towards the top of their list. Assembled by general manager Bill Torrey and taught the art of dominance by head coach Al Arbour, the Islanders of this era included such subsequent Hall of Famers as Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies, and Billy Smith, and won four consecutive Stanley Cups. 'Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984' focuses solely on this period of the Islanders. Comprised of nearly 30 all-new, exclusive interviews with players, coaches, trainers, broadcasters, and a celebrity fan, the book is not only a genuine account of the Islanders from this time, but also, of the National Hockey League in general. Set up in the oral history format, Dynasty reads like a documentary, but in book form, as the participants weigh in on the ups and downs of the Islanders, and pull no punches in their recollections and opinions.

Genres: Hockey

412 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2012

About the author

Greg Prato is a Long Island, New York-based journalist, whose writing has appeared in such renowned publications as Rolling Stone. He is the author of several popular books, 'A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon,' 'Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story,' 'Grunge Is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music, 'No Schlock . . . Just Rock!,' 'The Eric Carr Story,' 'MTV Ruled the World: The Early Years of Music Video,' 'Sack Exchange: The Definitive Oral History of the 1980s New York Jets,' 'Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets,' 'Dynasty: The Oral History of the New York Islanders, 1972-1984,' and 'The Faith No More & Mr. Bungle Companion.'

Reviews

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story told by the players, coaches and others involved with the dominate New York Islanders hockey teams of the late 1970's and early 1980's. You really feel like you're inside the locker room with this book as not only are the big time players discussed, but also a lot of the very important games. You'll read a ton about Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier, Derek Potvin, Ken Morrow, Chance Gillies and many others including head coach Al Arbour. The chapters are basically years and then the playoff seasons. Near the end of the book chapters focus on the players discussing another player on the team and there is even one chapter dedicated to what the Islanders thought about Wayne Gretzky as well as if their early 80s team was the best of all time. An absolute must for Islander fans and hockey fans should enjoy too.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great read. This book took me back to time when hockey was king on Long Island. Many kids like myself worshipped the Islanders.