TBC: Hockey

I wrote about doing some more reading come summer, but I'm going to cheat a little with a book that is more pictures than words. Teebz's Book Club doesn't do a lot of picture books, but I feel that we're missing out on something we loved as children. Today's book incorporates that child-like picture book with everything that is great about hockey as Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Hockey, written by Jennifer Anderson and Jenny Ellison and published by the Canadian Museum of History. If you recall, the Canadian Museum of History has a hockey-themed exhibit running all summer, and Anderson and Ellison catalogued some of the best parts of the exhibit in photographs for this book.

Dr. Jennifer Anderson served as an historian at the Canadian Museum of History in the Contemporary Canada and the World department. She works as an archivist the Library and Archives Canada normally, and was on loan to the Canadian Museum of History for the Hockey exhibit. She earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy at Carleton University after earning her Master of Arts in Central/East European and Russian Area Studies. She has written publications that include "Mirror Images: The Novosti Press Agency Photograph Collection" in Archivaria and Propaganda and Persuasion: The Cold War and the Canadian-Soviet Friendship Society. Dr. Anderson currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

Dr. Jenny Ellison is the Curator of Sport and Leisure at the Canadian Museum of History. She earned her Ph.D. in History at York University after completing her Master of Arts in Canadian Studies at Carleton University. She is often consulted for and works on research and exhibitions on sport, games, history of physical fitness, gender, and disability. Dr. Ellison lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

The foreword in Hockey is written by Jean-Marc Blais, the Director General of the Canadian Museum of History, and he briefly summarizes some of the most defining moments that hockey has played on the culture of Canada as well as how hockey has changed through it evolution as a game. From there, Miss Anderson and Miss Ellison take us into the catalogue as they look at key changes - From Pond to Arena, The Team Behind the Team, and Hockey Makes Headlines as examples - through the six chapters and 120 pages of the book. There are some outstanding images captured in the book with notes on each artifact in the picture.

The history contained at the exhibit and in Hockey go hand-in-hand. Any and all hockey historians and hockey history fans should visit the Canadian Museum of History this summer to see the exhibit. Artifacts like the trophy from the Montréal Winter Carnival - won by McGill University in 1883 - and the sweater and skates worn by arguably the best women's player of all-time in Hilda Ranscombe are on display there as well as featured in Hockey. From the stick used by Marie-Philip Poulin to score the game-winning goal at the Vancouver Olympic Games to Dean Mellway's original sled and sticks used by Mellway to play sledge hockey, there are a ton of cool pieces of history contained at the exhibit and on the pages of Hockey.

I never expected to receive Hockey when I sent my correspondent/aunt Barbara to the exhibit's opening in my place. Barb had told me about the "gorgeous book" that she received with the information package at the exhibit, but I never expected it to be so rich in history and pictures. It really is a phenomenal book of hockey history, and I'm happy that Barb forwarded it on to me so I could review it here. Of course, there aren't a lot of passages in Hockey being that it's filled with pictures, so here's the description from Hockey's cover.

The sweat-soaked smell of the dressing room. The flick of the wrist-shot. The roar of the fans. For millions of Canadians, winter means hockey and hockey means everything.

Be there when the puck drops. In this souvenir catalogue, you can trace the sport's evolution through one-of-a-kind artifacts, historical photos and quotes from the greats. Explore the places where Canadians live and breathe hockey: from dressing room to press-box, rink to corporate boardroom. Find out why hockey holds pride of place in the hearts of Canadians.

In flipping through this book, the price tag of $9.95 (that's in Canadian funds!) is extremely generous. There is probably enough photographic material in Hockey to do a coffee table book, but kudos to the Canadian Museum of History and to Miss Anderson and Miss Ellison for making this book extremely affordable as a way to remember the exhibit for those that attended and as a way for those to see the Canadian hockey experience that can't make it to the museum. Because of the amazing photographs, the small quips about each artifact, and the perfect price point, Hockey absolutely gets the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

If you are in the Gatineau, Quebec area this summer, do yourself a favour and stop in at the Canadian Museum of History and take in the Hockey exhibit. Adults will get to see the entire museum's collections - including the Hockey exhibit! - for $15, senior citizens over the age of 65 get into see all of the Museum for $13, students with valid student ID get in for $11, and children aged 3-12 will see the exhibits for $9! Families with two adults and 3-5 children can save some money by getting a family pass for $36! Pretty good deals there, right? Make sure you stop and see this amazing exhibit, and pick yourself up a copy of Hockey as a keepsake from your museum visit!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!