OK, so there isn’t a lot of terribly exciting new things being released this week so I’m taking a look back at a book that got released back in October, Orr: My Story by Bobby Orr.
What is it?
Bobby Orr is widely regarded as one of the best hockey players of all time. Orr has one just about every major hockey award and despite his retirement in 1979 still holds several records to this day. Orr, has been rather close-mouthed about his personal life and his work outside of hockey.
What’s it about?
Obviously it’s about Bobby Orr, his past, and the lessons his life has afforded him. In his own words:
I only committed to sitting down to write this book when I was sure I had something worth sharing. Not because I scored a famous goal, or because I won this or that trophy, or because I hold this or that record. Parents have things worth sharing, as do coaches and other mentors. I am a parent, and a grandparent, and it is in that spirit that I think I have a story worth recording and lessons worth passing along.
Why should I read this book?
If you don’t like hockey this is an understandable question. The Atlantic handles this question far better than I could in the closing paragraph of their review of Orr: My Story:
When he played, and he scored, he often did not raise his stick in the air the way other hockey players did (and do) to celebrate their achievement. Bobby Orr was too modest, too secure in his own talent, to do that regularly. Instead, he would sometimes just bow his head as he skated away so as to not embarrass the players and coaches (and fans) on the other team. This book is precisely that. Gods don’t answer letters, John Updike wrote, but if they did we might be surprised to discover their words to read a lot like those that Orr offers here: Be good to your children, be good to your parents, play fair, work hard, appreciate the little things, and have fun.
Lets go to the tape:
