A book that proves useful is always a nice commodity. Put simply, this is one useful book. The A to Z Guide to Hockey Terms, by Tim Moshansky, Perry Moshansky, Sheldon Moshansky and Travis Moshansky is a book with a purpose and it is very well suited for its market.

What is the market for this guide? Well, it’s anyone wanting to have a quick and simple reference when they need to find out the meaning to a hockey related term. If the announcer says a player scored a “garbage goal” and you are unsure as to what he meant by that term, you can have the answer in seconds with this book nearby. Pretty much anything you will want to know when watching hockey (either at the game or on television), reading about hockey or listening to a conversation about hockey will be found in this little treasure.

The terms range from descriptions of the game used by announcers and fans to brief explanations of rules and statistical categories to hockey leagues, abbreviations and much more. Very few definitions are inaccurate and very little is left out. The care and devotion that went into this work shines through clearly. There are even some fun and useful sections after the 600 plus terms are defined. The referee hand signals and the national anthems of both the United States and Canada are wonderful additions, although it would have been nice to see the Canadian national anthem in French as well since in many arenas it is heard, at least partially, in that language.

The book is easily portable. It can fit in a pocket or purse without taking up much space and can be discretely viewed. The definitions are short, but concise. The layout is attractive as well as convenient. Without question, this book would prove priceless to anyone just starting to watch or follow ice hockey and would be a big aid to those with some experience with the game. It would be of little use to those with any degree of expertise towards the sport, but that isn’t the audience for whom the book was written.

Since the goals for this gem were clearly defined and met, this book deserves four stars and definitely deserves to be on the wish list of any aspiring hockey guru.



Published by First Wave Publishing of Vancouver, BC, Canada, the book can be viewed and purchased through their website: www.thehockeybook.com or from Amazon.