Miracle in Lake Placid: The Greatest Hockey Story Ever Told

by John Gilbert

A Celebration of America's Greatest Olympic Victory—the 1980 US – USSR Hockey Game!

Forty years after the "Miracle on Ice" captivated the world, this book deeply examines the impact that singular event had on the people who played and coached in it  and how that game changed the trajectory of American hockey. Seasoned journalist John Gilbert was there every step of the way, and thanks to his detailed recordkeeping, allows readers to reexamine the game against the Soviets, what made it the upset it was, why it still resonates today, and what it did to the lives of the players. 

From Mike Eruzione to Jim Craig, Mark Johnson, Buzz Schneider, Jack O’Callahan, Herb Brooks, and many others, Gilbert covers all the key players and leaders and in doing so offers a deeper understanding of the emotions and the strategy, the hows and whys of the actual game, and the impact that moment had on their lives both in the immediate aftermath and today. Gilbert doesn’t miss a beat in uncovering some never-before-told angles and helping expose the ripple effect the event helped create —and how the movie Miracle helped reinvigorate the story and inspire a new generation of players and fans.

To explore the lead-up to one of the greatest moments in American sports and the impact on American morale in the aftermath of the Miracle, Gilbert dives deep into the archives. In doing so he offers a look at this moment unlike it’s ever been done before and helps answer the question as to why it continues to capture our imaginations.

Genres: Hockey, Sports, Nonfiction, History

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 19, 2019

Reviews

[Sam.K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miracle in Lake Placid By John Gilbert.The lex level is 1040.
At the beginning of the book we get to know who Herb Brooks is and what he has done for hockey. After that he got to know who made the 1980 USA team. Then the preseason starts the USA team travels the world playing other teams. The preseason was going great until they had to play the USSR. In a previous game the USSR beat the NHL All-Stars 6-0 that's where they got the nickname "the best team in the world." The USA team put up a good fight but lost 3-10. Then the Olympics in Lake Placid started. It went well for the USA team, only tieing one out of the 3 games to Sweden. The USA made it to the medal rounds only to play the USSR in the first game. The whole game was close but the USA got the win 4-3 to go to the finals against Finland. Same as the first game it was close until the 3rd period came and the US got a 2 goal lead. Finally the game was over and the USA beat Finland 5-3 winning the gold medal. After that the rest of the book talked about what happened after the game and where the USA players are today.

The book's main idea is telling information and details of the greatest hockey story.I thought that the story had good development throughout the story. Like when the USSR beat the U.S.But later on the U.S played them again.don't forget that USSR went into the tournament and was feared by every team. Especially since people gave them the name “the best team in the world”. But the U.S didn't let that get to them and beat them and won the tournament as the underdogs.

I really liked this book because of the story and development.I recommend the story to all hockey players and people who play sports.Also I like how they put pictures of the game in the book to show people what it was like.The book was easy to read, understand, and follow.I also thought the author really helped the book giving on first person experiences,because he was one of the coaches. So that why l really like this book and i think every sports lover should read this book.

[Alex Lusito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miracle in Lake Placid

The reading experience I had while reading Miracle in Lake Placid was really good, and that is something that doesn’t come often considering I have never really enjoyed reading a lot of books. Miracle in Lake Placid though was different because it is an event in sports history, one of the greatest events in sports history, that I love mainly being cause I love the sport hockey. The things I enjoyed about this book were that I could stay intrigued the whole time while I was reading it, and never go off thought about something else in my head. It was so informative and really explained in some parts how and why the young USA Olympic team, based off a roster of college players, beating the Soviet Union with the best players and who was the most definitely the best team in the world was insane. How they weren’t supposed to win Gold, let alone beat the Soviets “but it did happen because a visionary coach named Herb Brooks forced facts into his own private fantasy and nurtured it to reality” (Gilbert 9). This book explains what it means to be an American, in a very good way especially from a sports perspective. What it means to be an American is that you are patriotic and positively representing your country. Americans went to go watch and see the USA Olympics hockey team play, to support their and be a proud American. Especially as the players in the movie, they are proud Americans, on top of the world representing the USA, so that’s how the author portraits what it means to be an American. I would recommend this book definitely to anyone who is into sports, specifically hockey, and anyone who is into a good story in general really. This will have everyone reading page after page about the book due to the story being so inspirational and amazed to hear what happened at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

[Carolloda]

I have just finished reading the book, the miracle on Lake placid. I believe this book was an excellent read as it provides many details on how the barrier-shattering 1980 US Olympic hockey team came to be. My connection to this book was that as I was younger I remember doing a short project on this same subject so I wanted to learn more. It truly shattered my expectation as it went even more in-depth than I could imagine. I specifically like how their book talked about the process that the coaches used in order to select their prospects for their team. It made me appreciate even more the amount that was put in to make sure that this team could be successful. It detailed many things including the specific colleges and showcases that they would go to in order and get to their specific areas to judge and select their6 players. Also, the book details the specific stories that allowed them to reach their peak and capture the love of the nation. I would recommend this book specifically to hockey fans, however, I would also recommend this book to anyone who feels like an underdog in life and needs some motivation in order to get ahead in life.

[Ginny Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mistakes can be made easily watching players in a short series, but Brooks figured that if all 70 candidates were of the highest character, then any mistakes in evaluations would still result in a quality selection.

"You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours!" Perfect. The tension vanished, and the players' spirits went right up to the ceiling. Mark Johnson, the first-line center and leading scorer, said, "Herb's pregame speech captured the moment. That's why he was so successful. He had vision, he was the ultimate sales-man, he sold us on what he was teaching, and we believed it."

Brooks intervened. "Nobody is from Minnesota, Mr. Vice President, were all from the USA."

[Isabella]

The book Miracle in Lake Placid by John Gilbert is a Non-Fiction book told by a man who watched the miracle take form. Miracle in Lake Placid is about the 1980 men's Olympic Hockey Team, and how a bunch of college dummies were turned into Olympic all-stars. This book is great for research and the information inside is very reliable. I recommend this book to middle schoolers and older.

[Danny Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my review of Miracle In Lake Placid. if you're looking for a true underdog inspiration patriot sports book, this checks all the boxes. It's the stuff of Hollywood movies. That's right, a movie was made back in 2004 retelling the unbelievable feat and remarkable journey of the 1980 winter Olympics hockey tournament. It couldn't or shouldn't have happened. Team USA were number 7 at the beginning and ended up going all the way. They defeated what was the dominant USSR and moving on to prevail over Finland to claim the gold medals. Herb Brooks, who was a visional passionate pioneer, orchestrated quite possibly the greatest upset in modern sports history. You may say that's embellishment . Sport's Illustrated ranked it as 1 most spectacular sport's story in the twentieth century. The author takes you on the journey from forming the team in 1979 tryouts and Introducing you to the main players that played beyond their expectations while hitting the highlights of the games along the way. The book is 155 pages. Fifty of those pages is supplement material, such as a short summary of what happened to the players after Lake Placid. It's an incredible story. The extra material makes it longer than it needs to be. I would give it a 4 star rating.

[Kosar7480 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a brief synopsis of the 1980 US Hockey Team from its formation through the completion of the Olympics, and then a brief look at what each of the players have been doing over the last 40 years. The author drew from notes taken while covering the Olympics, which had some interesting insights from four decades ago. I enjoyed it - but was left wanting much more in the way of depth. At only 150 pages, it seemed there was a lot more that could have been said.

[Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of one of the greatest sporting events of the 20th century. Authors backstage access allows the reader to get a true sense of the building of the tea, that cause th greatest surprises in Olympic History.

[Stephanie Knoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a decent account of the team and the game but pretty dry and not much of a story.
And also maybe it's just me, but it bothered me how interchangeably the terms "Soviet" and "Russian" were used. In 1980 they were "Soviets".

[Gage Thurston-Willette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read. Rather than totally recapping the experience of the team, author John Gilbert shared his personal stories from the 1979-1980 season, specifically some conversations with late coach, Herb Brooks.

[Neva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inside of me there are two wolves. One of them will read anything even marginally related to the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. The other one can’t stand this author and his condescending, uppity, holier-than-thou attitude. I guess that averages out to 3 stars

[Chuck Zeitvogel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting information, but One Goal is still the best book about the USA Olympic Team of 1980

[poopy1butt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

[Stephen Kloser · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the movie you’ll love the book. Kinda jumps all over the place but great nonetheless

[Dr NSCA-CPT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Written by a journalist who covered the 1980 Winter Olympics and had access to coaches and players. Narration is great.

[Lincoln Cicala]

loved it

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, simply because I am fascinated with the Miracle on Ice. The book was informative, and even offered some “what really happened” moments that were changed or combined for the Disney film. The book was a great 1st person account from a witness to the events of that winter and the year before. It is quick read (I think it took me about 2 hours) and worth the time if the sun subject interests you.

[William Barlow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I grabbed this book in anticipation of learning more about the real life side of my favorite sports movie, "Miracle." Instead, I got a lecture in the author's political beliefs. I had to walk away on page 30 when he began bemoaning the PCA (Politically Correct Activists) making UND change their moniker. The Dakota people of North Dakota didn't want their name and likeness used in this way, so why is that such a big deal to this author?

Tl;dr: I'm super disappointed in this book.