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

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.

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.

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.

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!

A must listen!

This book is a must for any sports fan. I’m a die hard hockey fan who’s watched Miracle six times and can watch it a dozen more. This is the story behind the players and fills in so many holes that the movie glosses over. You really get to know those boys who changed the face of American sports forever.
You have to listen to this book!

Great, but...

This book provides phenomenal additional depth to the story of the 1980 gold medal winning USA hockey team. You will not be disappointed.

The one bad part (and this might just be nitpicking) is the narrator mispronounces just about every hockey term, and Russian name throughout the entirety of the book.

Great story, legendary

I really enjoyed this story and the results that we all know, but it was very interesting to hear the back story on all the players and coaches. Overall very good, the only issue I have is that the narrator, who does a fantastic job at pronouncing the Russian players had trouble pronouncing various hockey terms, for instance, when talking about the blueline or redline, it was pronounced blue.....line and red...line. Hockey people will know what I'm talking about, but enjoyed the book no-less, except for this. Thanks

Wouldn't take a miracle to find a better narrator

Narrator should have done a little research into the sport and the names of the players before reading it. very frustrating. Wrong person.