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Eddie Shack: Hockey's Most Entertaining Stories
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 27, 2020
With Eddie recently gone to that big hockey rink in the sky I thought I should give this book a read. Written with Shack's input, his exuberance and self-promotion is tempered by the honesty and practicality of some contributions from Norma, his wife of many years. Also contributing are many of Shack's fans and fellow players.
Having read the book, I'm not sure Shack and I would have gotten along amicably. I have a great admiration for his drive and initiative. As he frequently points out, he was functionally illiterate, but ended up owning a golf course, condos, houses, and businesses. On the other hand, I didn't care for his aggressions and micro-aggressions, and I had to wonder how many people he left seething with hatred in his wake. Eddie may joke about elbowing his way to the front of the line of workers waiting to punch out at the end of a shift, but it had to involve a lot of hard feelings on the part of the "little Europeans" who were queuing up. We'll never know, because anything negative about Shack wouldn't have found its way into these pages. And one has to ask why he was illiterate: he came from a solid family background and it's not like Canada doesn't have free public schools. Any illiteracy that resulted had to be Shack's own fault. He proved himself to be shrewd and opportunistic, so if he had wanted to learn he would have been quite the scholar. Personally, I think he exaggerated his illiteracy in order to make his achievements seem that much greater.
Eddie was great on the ice, but naturally his disposition caused friction with owners and coaches. He moved around a lot and is one of only a handful of players to have had 20 goal seasons for six different teams. He claims his problem was "honesty", but others would say he just had no filter. Probably he was so full of himself he didn't give a damn about the effect his words might have on others. When you meet a team owner, it's usually sufficient to say "Nice to meet you, Sir", even if you do think that hat makes him look stupid.
Hockey fans will like the book because there are a lot of nice glossy photos of hockey action. Like him or hate him, Shack was a talented player who stood out in a crowd. There was even a song written about him which was top of the Canadian charts for a while, meaning maybe six people listened to it from their igloos. Hell, even Wayne Gretzky asked him for his autograph. You just can't get better than that!
Having read the book, I'm not sure Shack and I would have gotten along amicably. I have a great admiration for his drive and initiative. As he frequently points out, he was functionally illiterate, but ended up owning a golf course, condos, houses, and businesses. On the other hand, I didn't care for his aggressions and micro-aggressions, and I had to wonder how many people he left seething with hatred in his wake. Eddie may joke about elbowing his way to the front of the line of workers waiting to punch out at the end of a shift, but it had to involve a lot of hard feelings on the part of the "little Europeans" who were queuing up. We'll never know, because anything negative about Shack wouldn't have found its way into these pages. And one has to ask why he was illiterate: he came from a solid family background and it's not like Canada doesn't have free public schools. Any illiteracy that resulted had to be Shack's own fault. He proved himself to be shrewd and opportunistic, so if he had wanted to learn he would have been quite the scholar. Personally, I think he exaggerated his illiteracy in order to make his achievements seem that much greater.
Eddie was great on the ice, but naturally his disposition caused friction with owners and coaches. He moved around a lot and is one of only a handful of players to have had 20 goal seasons for six different teams. He claims his problem was "honesty", but others would say he just had no filter. Probably he was so full of himself he didn't give a damn about the effect his words might have on others. When you meet a team owner, it's usually sufficient to say "Nice to meet you, Sir", even if you do think that hat makes him look stupid.
Hockey fans will like the book because there are a lot of nice glossy photos of hockey action. Like him or hate him, Shack was a talented player who stood out in a crowd. There was even a song written about him which was top of the Canadian charts for a while, meaning maybe six people listened to it from their igloos. Hell, even Wayne Gretzky asked him for his autograph. You just can't get better than that!
October 11, 2020
Eddie Shack. “The Entertainer.” Just ask him. No, wait, you don’t NEED to ask, he’ll start telling stories on his own, without prompting. All outrageous. Mostly true.
We lost Mr. Shack to cancer earlier this year; fortunately, he was encouraged to sit down and put down his recollections in the book “Eddie Shack: Hockey’s Most Entertaining Stories”, using words and making liberal use of historic photographs from his life. Little “post-it” note type additions from Eddie’s wife Norma (perhaps the most patient woman ever to walk the Earth), the co-author, and others either validate or correct the historic record that Mr. Shack lays out for us. A few special guests, former teammates such as George Armstrong and opponents like Phil Esposito, are also allotted a page or two to share some of their memories.
This book should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in hockey’s history – especially the most colorful side of it.
RATING: 5 stars.
We lost Mr. Shack to cancer earlier this year; fortunately, he was encouraged to sit down and put down his recollections in the book “Eddie Shack: Hockey’s Most Entertaining Stories”, using words and making liberal use of historic photographs from his life. Little “post-it” note type additions from Eddie’s wife Norma (perhaps the most patient woman ever to walk the Earth), the co-author, and others either validate or correct the historic record that Mr. Shack lays out for us. A few special guests, former teammates such as George Armstrong and opponents like Phil Esposito, are also allotted a page or two to share some of their memories.
This book should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in hockey’s history – especially the most colorful side of it.
RATING: 5 stars.
March 31, 2024
Brash, big, bold, unfiltered and a heck of a hockey player and teammate, Eddie Shack looms large in this finely crafted autobiography, told in Shack's first person voice with side bars from his lovely wife, Norma (a real trooper), and Ken Reid. Lots of fun photos, blunt wisdom from the most likeable Eddie--except if you are on the other team and annoying him on ice--and great comments from some fans and players over the years Eddie dazzled us on the ice with the Leafs and other teams. An original six player, this is a wonderful memory lane book and those of us who grew up on hockey will love it. Eddie had a work ethic that got him far in life and for an uneducated illiterate man, he excelled by sheer will and an optimistic attitude every day of his life.
January 1, 2021
The only criticism I have of the book I'll put up front because I thought overall it was a fun and rewarding read especially when returning to it after setting it aside for whatever the reason. I noticed it was full of photographs that seemed placed to illustrate a particular section of the book but since there were more often than not no captions to place context to the photo they came across as mere random snapshots.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews