The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL

Good insight to a controversial subject

I have to admit, I didnt' grow up in the midwest or in Canada where hockey rules, but I still love the game. So when I came across 'The Code', I had to see why fighting is so important and what role enforcers play. It wasn't the quickest read in the world, but I came away with a clearer understanding of why players drop the golves and why the 'instigator' rule is hurting this quirky sport. As a result, when I watch the games in person or on TV, I am more aware of the peckig order that exists on the ice, and I'm more aware of who's getting hit, who is doing the hitting, and what it could eventually lead to. This book is not for everyone, but if you love hockey, and want to research the 'art' of fighting in the hockey world, give this book a try.

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A reviewer

If you want to know why fighting in hockey is not only accepted, but necessary, or if you want some privy information from some of the game's top heavyweights, then read this book. But don't spend your money for it. There are numerous errors of fact throughout this book. One is tempted to give Bernstein the benefit of the doubt, and think it's a keystroke, like when he reports that Mario Lemieux is at least 6'5', 230. Well, he ended his career at 230, but came in weighing much less at 6'4', and I am quite sure he didn't get taller. Another I hoped I was reading as a typo was how Mike Vernon led his team to two consecutive Stanley Cups from 1996-1998. Well Mike Vernon wasn't the starting goaltender for the Detroit Redwings in `96-97, but he did build his stock up enough in the playoffs to get a fat contract from San Jose the following year, when Chris Osgood backstopped the Wings to the cup in '97-98. It is impossible to type 'Ontario' though when you mean 'Alberta'. Bernstein refers to the rivalry between Calgary and Edmonton as 'the battle of Ontario', and I know he knows the difference, because he refers to it as 'the battle of Alberta' later in the book. After a while of reading other completely irresponsible factual mistakes, the book would seem to be much less credible, and the only thing that salvages it is that quite a bit of the text is verbatim interviews with former and current players, referees and other hockey personalities. Here are some other comments that will make a hockey fan furrow their brow with disbelief - Comparing Muhammad Ali, the world's most recognizable athlete to Tie Domi. Spinning the 1987 Canada / USSR junior bench clearing brawl as a championship game. (The Soviets were out of contention.) Claiming the biggest rivalry of the six-team NHL was Chicago / Detroit. Not to disrespect that for what it was, but read any Canadian's book that has anything to do with hockey, and you will know the best NHL rivalry of all-time is Montreal / Toronto. Calling Derian Hatcher fast. After all of that, the book is not well written. If you want to read some great anecdotes, or really are curious about the necessities of fighting in hockey, then you¿ll find it here. But get it from your local library.

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