cover image Open Net

Open Net

George Plimpton. W. W. Norton & Company, $16.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-393-02255-1

Participatory journalist (and celebrity editor) Plimpton delivers yet another insider's account of professional sports; this time, the game is ice hockey. A season with the Boston Bruins is the basis for Plimpton's absorbing personal report of what many consider the most awesomely brutal of sports. The crowds, coaches, athletes' wives and players each have their own stories, and each is recounted in a seemingly effortless, breezy, captivating style. As Plimpton learns his formidable duties as a goal-tender (a position which detailed description and hockey legend explicates is remarkably dangerous and isolated), he gathers the spirited tales and ambience of the brouhaha and brawls that belie the agility and skilland team camaraderieof the game. A winning entertainment for fans of sports, told with warmth and integrity. Photos. Foreign rights: Russell & Volkening. November 25