hockey

While I found this book to be very entertaining, I also found it to be the worst edited book I have ever read. Many clauses go unfinished, people are referenced that were not yet introduced, and chapters change themes with no segue. It seems like good information was rushed into print for the sake of a deadline.

If you are looking for interesting information about the Islanders, this is the book. Just don't forget your red pen.

Fact is truly stranger than fiction, and this history of the Islanders just proves it. Hahn and Botte go behind the newspaper accounts and tell us the "story behind the story" of the fabled New York Islanders. If you're looking for a history of the Isles' dynasty, this is not where you're going to find it. The authors are concerned only with the embarrassments that plagued the franchise in the 1990s.

While this book may be entertaining for hockey fans in general (and I can certainly imagine Ranger fans guffawing at the Isles' problems), anyone who loves the Islanders and who suffered during the Dark Decade of the 1990s will appreciate it.

I liked the book very much, but was forced to take off a star because of the poor editing.

First, let me say that I am an avid Islanders fan, so any review that I wtite on anything related to this team may be a little bit biased! With that said, I can objectively state that I truly enjoyed this book for its informative and fact-based content covering what will hopefully be the worst period in time that the Islanders will ever face. "Fish Sticks" covers the team from the early 90's through last year's (2002) playoff run. But, be forewarned, the title is a little bit misleading. If you think that this book is mainly about the now infamous "fisherman" logo, think again. In fact, the book does not really go into too much depth on this subject at all. I thought it would cover more about how the decision was made to use this logo and how the fans outrigfht rejected it. But, in fact, there is not much written about the logo at all except to say that it was an unmitigated disaster. As a true Islanders fan, however, the lack of coverage on this subject didn't completely dissapoint me because I'd rather forget it anyway!

With that said, the authors do a nice job of covering all of the trials and tribulations of the team through that hard-fought decade. It focuses mostly on the team's ownership woes - including the fiasco surrounding the Nassau Coliseum contract. As with many co-authored books, some of the subject matter is repeated from chapter to chapter - which also leads me to my biggest complaint of the book: It does not completely follow a chronological path. Don't get me wrong, there is a loose chronology that is presented from the beginning of the book to the end. But the authors seem a bit "jumpy" in their styles in that they tend to go off on a lot of tangents. This causes some quotes, and even some complete stories, to be repeated throughout the book. This makes the reading a little frustrating from time to time. It's not too much of a distraction because the content and writing styles are excellent. But its just annoying enough to deduct a star. My only other complaint is that the entire first quarter of the book is almost solely dedicated to Mike Milbury. Maybe this is appropriate since he was such a big focal point for the team during this time period. But, in the end, there's a little too much Milbury for my taste.

In the end, the clear heroes of the book are Charles Wang, Sanjay Kumar, and Mike Milbury. I definitely agree with the first two, but I'm not sure about the last. Even with all of the budget constraints, a lot of talent went through this team during the 90's - players who have now gone on to see much success with better managed teams. Is it fair to blame it all on ownership? Maybe the GM has something to do with it as well.

In any case, this book gives you all of the facts to judge for yourself. Its a good read on a largely unreported topic. In short - I recommend it.