The Country and the Game: 30,000 Miles of Hockey Stories

by Ronnie Shuker

Genres: Sports, Hockey

244 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Mr. Payeur DFTBA! · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, uplifting read of a province by territory road trip of stories collected by an impassioned sportswriter just as my brother once was and fan that he still is. A book of sweet stories that shows how a game at the heart of a country I love and have been able to share with my sons can span oceans, races, cultures, and generations. Perhaps I’ll let the Epilogue fitting have the last words of this review: “Follow any road in this country and it will lead you to the game … It is inscribed onto its lakes … where the game was born … It is part of Canada’s history, art, literature, film, and music, and inseparable from its climate and geography… In Canada, the road is a rite of passage in hockey … Throughout the country, the local arena is often the center of the community, so all roads in Canada do eventually lead to a rink.”

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Great Book!

[Brian Clark]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was wonderfully written. Such great stories — happy ones, sad ones, funny ones, fascinating ones, surprising ones, poignant ones, whimsical ones. 
 
What shines through in all of them is the passion all these people feel for the game. It just shows that you don’t have to be an NHL superstar to have great stories to tell. You could be a journeyman, a minor-leaguer, a beer-leaguer, even people on the periphery of the game like trainers or arena managers or Zamboni drivers.

Even if you aren’t a big hockey fan, this book works strictly as a Canadian travelogue. And if you are a big hockey fan, this book will make you an even bigger one.

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

A definite 4+

Loved it!

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for The Country and the Game can be can be found here.