Synopses & Reviews
Derek Boogaard lived an almost mythic sports story: from pond-hockey on the prairies of Saskatchewan to a first NHL contract in Minnesota to the storied New York Rangers as the most feared enforcer in the league. A gentle young man, he was a brutal fighter on ice skates, capable of delivering career-ending punches and intimidating entire teams. But his death at age twenty-eight from an overdose of painkillers in the wake of a series of concussions helped shatter the silence about violence in professional sports. is reporter John Branch's chronicle of Boogaard's tragic life and death. A human story in the tradition of and , it's a book that raises deep and disturbing questions about the systemic brutality of contact sports--from peewees to professionals--and damage that reaches far beyond the game.
Review
"Anything written by John Branch is a compelling must-read. is transcendent and riveting and his best work yet." David Feschuk Toronto Star
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"Fascinating and chilling. In meticulous detail, John Branch creates a blood-drenched parable for the hidden human toll of sports violence staged for our entertainment. The rise and fall of Derek Boogaard--quintessential NHL goon--is unlike any sports biography you will ever read." Will Blythe, best-selling author of To Hate Like This is to be Happy Forever
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"Punch by punch, pill by pill, the dread mounts in John Branch's brilliantly reported account of Derek Boogaard, a modern-day gladiator who gave everything for a career in hockey, not least of all his hauntingly short and quietly kind life." Al Michaels, Sportscaster
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" is a beautifully written and haunting journey into the jagged psychology of the modern athlete. It compels fans to examine their own roles in the spectacle and reminds us in often brutal terms that for our sports heroes, the real struggles take place far beyond the ice or the field of play." Steve Fainaru, best-selling coauthor of League of Denial
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"As tense and exciting as a hockey game... captur[ing] the sorrow and anguish of a young athlete's career... and ask[ing] piercing questions about violence in sports." Publishers Weekly, starred review
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"A heartbreaking examination of a young man's life destroyed by the sport he loved. Highly recommended." Brian Renvall
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"A fine, impeccably researched book." Stephen Brunt
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"Devastating... Heartbreaking because it shows us, in tender detail, a life consumed by our unholy appetites... is a startling indictment of the groupthink that prevails within America's vast athletic industrial complex." New York Times
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"A haunting tale." Steve Almond New York Times Book Review
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"A thorough, compassionate, if ultimately devastating profile of Derek Boogaard." Ed Sherman Chicago Tribune
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"Meticulously reported and beautifully written." Kurtis Scaletta Minneapolis Star Tribune
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"A rich, nuanced and essential book." Bryan Cronan Christian Science Monitor
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"[] highlights the unique power that careful journalism, combined with the unique lens a curious outsider brings to a culture, can add to a story that is already powerful on its own." Sean Fitz-gerald National Post
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"A stark account of an NHL tough guy's descent into despair and addiction." Jeremy Keehn Globe and Mail
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"Devastating...Expos[es] the violent tradition that pushed this young man to the brink." Ed Sherman Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter's heartbreaking account of the life and shocking death of the toughest man in hockey.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2015 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing The much-anticipated debut from the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, is a moving human story and behind-the-scenes account of a life lived in the glare of sporting fame.
Synopsis
The tragic death of hockey star Derek Boogaard at twenty-eight was front-page news across the country in 2011 and helped shatter the silence about violence and concussions in professional sports. Now, in a gripping work of narrative nonfiction, acclaimed reporter John Branch tells the shocking story of Boogaard's life and heartbreaking death.
About the Author
John Branch is a reporter for the New York Times. His 2012 piece "Snow Fall" won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. He lives near San Francisco.