The Boys of Winter

The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

By: Wayne Coffey

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Once upon a time, they taught us to believe. They were the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered perhaps the greatest sports moment of the 20th century. Their "Miracle on Ice" has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable. It is a legacy of hope, hard work, and homegrown triumph. It is a chronicle of everyday heroes who just wanted to play hockey happily ever after. It is still unbelievable.

The Boys of Winter is an evocative account of the improbable American adventure in Lake Placid, New York. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, Wayne Coffey explores the untold stories of the US upstarts, their Soviet opponents, and the forces that brought them together.

©2005 Wayne Coffey; foreword copyright 2005 by Jim Craig; afterword copyright 2005 by Wayne Coffey (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Well-written and thoroughly researched.... Filled with primary interviews and exceptional insight, Coffey's effort should delight more than just hockey fans." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great insight

This book went into great detail about the game between the USA and USSr in The Mracle on Ice from the 1980 Winter Olympics. I found it to be a very enjoyable walk down memory lane.

A Great American Story

Loved this story and the information about not just the game but the athletes and the detail of their lives then and now. Highly recommend this book!

Do You Believe in Excellence? Yes!

I initially read the book when it was published (and still have it). My son asked for a good book to listen to on tape. Because he started playing hockey a few years ago, I suggested he do a search to see if this book had an audio edition. He really enjoyed it and I decided that I would listen to it also.

I was a sophomore in high school and was the only female who dared to play ice hockey with my brothers and their friends on “the pit”. This book brought back fond memories of those times. We watched In February 1980 on a Friday night with as many friends of ours that could fit into our living room the “Miracle on Ice.”

Coffey does a wonderful job of weaving the stories of all the players and coaches lives both before and after the “miracle.” He glides in and out of the details of each person’s life as though he were a skater on the ice handling the puck and directing the story where he wants it to go.

It is heart warming and at times heart wrenching to learn of those details. In 1980 we took pride in the boys of the 1980 Olympic Hockey team. After reading this book, I gained an even deeper appreciation for all that they endured both on and off the ice before, during, and after 1980.

great story but not the right narrator

the overall story is great. loved hearing about the background of the players and coaches, but the some of the game's narration was a bit too detailed. I don't think that this was the right narrator for this story. something about his voice ... Just didn't match my expectation for a hockey story.

Exemplifies brilliant nonfiction

This book is an excellent example of what nonfiction writing is supposed to be about. It took a story many of us knew and delivers deep insight though dogged research and great writing. Coffey delivers great storytelling by not overwriting, I read he shows his writing chops by simply hitting the right tone through the highs and lows. As for the narration, I’ve heard him do other books and he was very good. For this book, however, he was not right. He mispronounced names (albeit difficult ones) and sometimes got in the way of the story. It just wasn’t his milieux.

An incredible tale for those wanting to know more

Love the movie? Love the story? Want to know more about the people? Their backgrounds etc? Then this book is for you. Pacing is good, but very unique. The story goes through the game and as various players on both sides make plays during the game, the story jumps out to these little micro-biographies of the individuals involved and then jumps back into the game. A little different, but kind of cool.

For that post Olympics withdrawal

For readers who love hockey, the olympics, a great underdog story, and sticking it to Socialism, this book is for you! If you loved Boys in the Boat, you will love this book. It's got the same spirit, just with more ice.

Great Story But

Obviously this story needs little help. The author does a great job diving deep into the people involved and fleshing out many details. The narrator is brutal. He has a sort of sissy lisp. He obviously doesn’t know hockey as many of the terms are savages. IE blue line is one words, not two. It’s obnoxious after hearing it over and over. Plus his efforts to jazz up the Soviet names is pointless and distracting.

I loved this!

This book was so engaging. I listened to the first 2 hours while on a very long, late night drive and it kept me awake and engaged. Heyborne does a wonderful job narrating and Coffey wrote an amazing book. I enjoyed the layout, and liked getting to know the players one by one, both on and off the ice, and before and after the big game. A must listen for any USA Hockey fan!

Going deeper on the personal stories of the players and coaches

This book added more depth to the stories of the players and coaches of the team. I really enjoyed learning more about them and their lives after hockey in the Olympics. It was frustrating how the play-by-play telling of the Russia game was stop and start as they took detours to tell about each participant, But it was worth it in order to learn about them all. Recommend watching the movie miracle before you read this book so you know the basic story