The Code: The Unwritten Rules Of Fighting And Retaliation In The Nhl |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hockey History > Item 28
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The Code: The Unwritten Rules Of Fighting And Retaliation In The Nhl
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by Ross Bernstein, Marty McSorley, and Tony Twist
Sales Rank: 50335
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List Price: $22.95
$15.61
At Amazon
on 10-18-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 272 pages
Published by: Triumph Books IL November 2006
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1572437561
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1572437562
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
Weighs: 1.4 pounds
Product Description
The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL by Ross Bernstein takes you in-depth and behind the scenes to explore the history of fighting during hockey games and the honor system behind it.
From the Inside Flap
Hockey is and always has been a sport steeped in a culture of violence. Players have learned, however, to navigate the escalating levels of physical contact by adhering to an honor system known simply as "the Code." As mysterious as it is sacred, the Code is an unwritten set of rules—the bible of hockey sportsmanship, if you will—that has been handed down from generation to generation. Although the Code has been around since the game’s inception in Canada, it remains a taboo subject, so much so that many players are simply unwilling to talk about it publicly—until now, that is.
Author Ross Bernstein spent two years researching and conducting extensive interviews with a broad spectrum of players, and he was able to get them to talk freely about their most intimate feelings about fighting and retaliation. What he learned and shares in this book is truly fascinating. While some players relished opportunities to drop the gloves and others simply dreaded it, they all had one thing in common: they did it when they had to in order to protect themselves as well as their teammates. The Code features extensive quotes that detail everything from the legal and cultural issues between the North American players and their foreign counterparts to how the players are able to turn it off when they leave the arena and go home to their kids. Most importantly, this book reveals what really goes on between the players while the fights are on.
Hockey’s rules of engagement can be summarized in three categories: protection, intimidation, and retaliation. If one player challenges another player, that second player must answer the call and "show up" or else face the humiliation of being considered dirty, or even a coward. Worse yet, if that player refuses to right what was wronged and defend his actions, he risks having that incident escalate to a higher level, involving additional teammates. That is when the enforcers come off the bench to keep the peace, and that is also usually when the crowd goes wild. By the time two heavyweights drop the gloves, there may have been up to a dozen events between several different players that led up to that fight. That is all a part of the intricate matrix that makes up the Code. And this book will help to demystify that matrix for you.
The Code is completely up to date with the new league-wide rules changes, which were implemented following the NHL lockout of 2005, when the rules of engagement completely changed. This first-of-its-kind project provides an incredible window into an extremely controversial subject matter that always evokes passion. It’s a must-read for all puckheads!
Reader Reviews
As a long-time hockey enthusiast and proponent of fighting in the NHL, I thought this book would be a great read. It is, for the most part, very educational, explaining a lot of the history of fighting and feuds in the NHL, describing the infamous, unwritten Code and what it means to the players and coaches, and also detailing how various rule and cultural changes have revised the game to its current state. (Although we can probably stop calling it the "unwritten Code" now that, ya know, there's this book.) Unfortunately, it's NOT a great read, and many of the reviews here at Amazon are spot-on. The book is amateurish and mediocre, strictly for the hardcore enthusiast or someone who desperately seeks to absorb everything to know about hockey and needs this book as a primer to understand fighting in the NHL. Bernstein's words only account for about 30% of the overall manuscript. The rest is clips and quotes from NHL players and coaches, mostly Tony Twist, Marty McSorely, and Paul Stewart. Most quotes read like this: "Blah blah positiveabout fighting in hockey. Blah blah some anecdote about respect. Blah blah one time I did this, and here's why I beat this guy's face. Blah blah that's what the code means to me." That's great, and I get the point. But do we need 119 quotes that all sound alike? Bernstein also includes more cliche than should be allowable by law. He's in LOVE with using "quotes" to make references to things where no quotes are necessary, often being those afore-mentioned cliches. What's lamentable is that there are numerous black and white photos peppered throughout the book. That's right... good ol' grayscale. I would've gladly paid an extra $2-$3 had the publishers saw fit to include color photos, and much more of them. I'd bet a good 20% of the repetitive quotes and Bernstein's long-winded drivel could've been replaced by more photos of famous fights and fighters. Admittedly, Bernstein claims he was a casual hockey fan and knew nothing of the Code prior to researching for this book, which he started doing after the oft-mentioned "Bertuzzi incident". Hockey fans would have been done better service had this book been written by a true sports writer with a passion for the game. Terry Frei or Frank DeFord could've done a better job. Lord knows their editors could, too. To its credit, however, The Code is full of some great hockey stories, and tales that describe the history of fighting in the NHL. There are also some very amusing quotes and stories from some of hockey's best enforcers that made me laugh out loud or had my jaw drop. (Although I'm disappointed there wasn't one word about Vladamir "The Vladinator" Konstantinov in this entire book.) All that said, for anyone who loves the game of hockey, and enjoys the fisticuffs, I WOULD recommend this book (to Bernstein's publisher: please note that I did not have a need to put the word fisticuffs in quotes, as Bernstein seems compelled to do every time he uses the word, as if it's the first time we've read it). But do yourself a favor and skim it, paying careful attention to the quotes, which are either framed in gray boxes or in italicized text. It's a book best-read on a lazy Saturday afternoon, or maybe a few days before the All Star break when we're itching for anything hockey. Plus, you'll probably learn a thing or two about some famous hockey fights that you can use to impress your friends and wow your beer league teammates!
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The Code: The Unwritten Rules Of Fighting And Retaliation In The Nhl
Available from Amazon
Price: $15.61
Updated on 10-18-2008.
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