The Series

What I Remember, What It Felt Like, What It Feels Like Now

By: Ken Dryden

Narrated by: Ken Dryden

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A new book by Hall of Fame goalie and bestselling author Ken Dryden celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series

SEPTEMBER 2, 1972, MONTREAL FORUM, GAME ONE:

The best against the best for the first time. Canada, the country that had created the game; the Soviet Union, having taken it up only twenty-six years earlier. On the line: more than the players, more than the fans, more than Canadians and Russians knew.

So began an entirely improbable, near-month-long series of games that became more and more riveting, until, for the eighth, and final, and deciding game—on a weekday, during work and school hours all across the country—the nation stopped. Of Canada’s 22 million people, 16 million watched. Three thousand more were there, in Moscow, behind the Iron Curtain, singing—Da da, Ka-na-da, nyet, nyet, So-vi-yet!

It is a story long told, often told. But never like this.

Ken Dryden, a goalie in the series, a lifetime observer, later a writer, tells the story in “you are there” style, as if he is living it for the first time. As if you, the reader, are too.

The series, as it turned out, is the most important moment in hockey history, changing the game, on the ice and off, everywhere in the world. As it turned out, it is one of the most significant events in all of Canada’s history.

Through Ken Dryden’s words, we understand why.

©2022 Ken Dryden (P)2022 Penguin Random House Canada

Critic reviews

"[Ken Dryden is] [h]ockey's brainiest practitioner[...]The story has grace and pride in the telling, and soul as well."—Canada's History

“Over 192 beautiful pages, the book combines one player's memories of the Summit Series with photos, letters and other mementoes to give the reader a deeply personal glimpse at eight games that united a nation.”—CBC

“The Series is not so much a chronicle of the games as an assembly line of word pictures spilling from the memory of what it felt like to a thoughtful, observant, and articulate man who not only was there, but out there on the ice both in Canada and Moscow.”—Winnipeg Free Press

Dryden is THE Best!

No one captures the essence of hockey in writing like Ken Dryden. This from one of the greatest players of all time told without a trace of self promotion. Incredible.

Great Recollections!!

What a wonderful story!!
I remember watching this series as it unfolded. The Canadians vs. The Soviets. Dryden recaptured the period of the middle of the Cold War. Although, I am an American hockey fan, I rooted hard for Canada. The players were familiar to me from the NHL.
We thought the Canadians would steamroll over the players from behind the Iron Curtain. The Canadian team, every one an NHL star, was certainly the best in the world and would put away the Russians. But, we were shocked!! The Russians were not just good, they were great! We needed an absolute perfect games to win.
In the end of the grueling 8 game series we learned a lot about the game, ourselves and how our world needed change.
Ken Dryden really does a terrific job in capturing those emotions.

None better than Dryden

Ken Dryden’s hockey writing is a true gift to fans, and this short, but impactful account of the 1972 series, albeit through a foggy lens of 50 years, is no exception. Give it a listen.

Excellent ready for any hockey fan

Book was terrific. Well told and interesting to hear Ken’s first hand experience of the Summit Series during the Cold War.

Fantastic, just wish it was longer

Mr. Dryden is a wonderful storyteller. I just wish this was longer. Fantastic stuff, any hockey fan needs to hear it.