PM's Hockey Book Ready for Release

 Toronto Mayor Rob Ford gets a lot of flack for his love of coaching football, a hobby that seems to eat up a lot of his time, including time he should be working on important city matters. Well apparently other politicians aren't immune to sports-related hobbies either, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's hockey book, a tome 10 years in the making, will finally be released on November 5th according to the Globe and Mail.

Called A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs and the Rise of Professional Hockey, the book is about the early history of pro-hockey. Published by Simon & Schuster, the release of the book and the cover art was released Wednesday.

According to the blurb, the book, “tells of the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the game, and the rise and fall of legendary teams pursuing the Stanley Cup.”

“A century ago, rinks could melt, and by half-time, the blades screwed to the players’ shoes could be sinking in mud,” the publisher said. “It was during this period that the unsuccessful Toronto Professionals of 1908 and the victorious Toronto Blue Shirts of 1914 battled for the city’s very first Stanley Cup. Against the fanatical opposition of amateur hockey leaders, these ‘forgotten Leafs’ would lay the groundwork for the world’s most profitable hockey franchise.”

I'm not a huge sports fan, but I am a history buff, so it might be worth a read. What's interesting is that most prime ministers write books about their life and times, not about subjects outside their professional interest. Maybe it's just further proof that Stephen Harper isn't that interesting to write about, even for Stephen Harper. (I kid, I kid.)

 According to the Globe all royalties from the book will be given to military families through the Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services to support the Military Families Fund. If you're at all interested in seeing a trailer for the book, you can go to agreatgamebook.com.