"In 2006 the class of all hockey books was Stephen Brunt's Searching For Bobby Orr, which was also an unauthorized homage with no input from the story's main character. MacSkimming's "Gordie," first published in 1994 and re-released in 2003 by Greystone Books, is every bit "Searching's" equal. While your personal interest in the two characters will ultimately sway your own ranking, I will give "Gordie" the edge based on MacSkimming's writing. While Brunt is in every way one of the best sports journalists out there, MacSkimming is a literary genius.Through his own gifts, MacSkimming gives us an incredibly well researched look into "the quintessential hockey player."
"Supremely skilled on the ice, rugged physically, resourceful mentally, tough, even mean when need be, a man who can handle himself so well his opponents keep their distance out of respect, he is at the same time an unassuming gentleman off the ice - modest, decent, self-deprecating, and always, always a credit to his sport, his family and himself. That model has been replicated thousands of times over the years, in small Canadian towns and large Canadian cities. And no one fulfills it better than Howe."
MacSkimming leads us all on Howe's journey to hockey immortality by looking at Howe's previously unexplored youth.....Full Story at Hockey Book Reviews.com Also See: Gordie Biography at Greatest Hockey Legends.com
By the way: One of my favorite Gordie Howe stories, and I'm not sure how much of it is myth or not, is of a youth from a European country, I want to say it was the old Czechoslovakia, sending Gordie Howe a letter. The youth did not know Howe's address, so he just inscribed Gordie Howe's name on the envelope. The letter was successfully delivered to the Howe residence.
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