The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports by Bruce Berglund (review)

In a cultural climate where sports figures are both castigated and lauded for appearing overtly political, Bruce Berglund demonstrates that "arena gates cannot lock out the forces of political and economic tumult" (82). Berglund's book, The Fastest Game in the World, is a captivating read: altogether a history of the development of hockey locally and globally; a comparison of international styles; an exploration of the role of hockey in world history; and an examination of the growth of the hockey community, from the professional leagues such as the National Hockey League and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) (and their fans) to youth hockey in North America (and its parents). Berglund examines the interconnectivity of the international hockey community at all levels and what hockey, in particular, has meant to forging a national identity on the international stage.

Berglund begins with a history of the early development of hockey through its various forms, including bandy and shinny, both in North America and in Europe. He places the development of hockey in Canada in the context of the familiar lexicon of Muscular Christianity—the nineteenth-century belief that sport teaches virtues essential for citizenship and moral character. Similarly, the violence that has long been associated with hockey equated to manliness. Especially in Canada, hockey signaled a nationalistic fervor, which was later echoed in the United States, in Eastern Europe, and in the Soviet Union. The distinctive styles of hockey—hard-nosed North American; fast, conditioned Russian; and the "third way" developed by European countries—reflected not only just sport but also competing national identities on the world stage.

However, this book is more than just a history of the sport of hockey. Berglund aptly places hockey into larger historical contexts, including the Progressive Era reforms of the early twentieth century and the way the mid-twentieth-century baby boom contributed to the growth of youth hockey, especially in North America. The impact of the Cold War on hockey, and in turn, hockey's impact on the Cold War is traced as well—more than just the 1980 Miracle on Ice so familiar to most hockey fans. Berglund covers Montreal's Quiet Revolution and the hockey riots in Czechoslovakia in 1968 to demonstrate the impact that hockey has had in larger political movements in both Europe and North America.

Berglund's book ends with a look at the growth of hockey fandom and in women's and youth hockey, especially in North America. This hockey mom nodded knowingly throughout the discussion of the expectations of time and finances from hockey families. Again, the book is timely with its look at the growth of hockey for girls and in minority communities; a revision would bring in the Black Girl Hockey Club's recent successes in providing opportunities for girls and women of color in "the fastest game in the world."

The Fastest Game in the World is an exceptional read for historians and hockey fans alike. Berglund's prose is accessible and engaging and entices the reader into wanting to know more about many of the people, events, and games mentioned. Berglund has provided a significant link into the relationship between sports, communities, and politics, one that sports fans and politicians should consider.