Boy on Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard - Softcover

A haunting tale.--Ed Sherman

Expos[es] the violent tradition that pushed this young man to the brink.--Kate Tuttle

A thorough, compassionate, if ultimately devastating profile.--Kurtis Scaletta

Meticulously reported and beautifully written.--Bryan Cronan

A beautifully written and haunting journey into the jagged psychology of the modern athlete. It compels fans to examine their own roles in the spectacle and reminds us in often brutal terms that for our sports heroes, the real struggles take place far beyond the ice or the field of play.--Warren St. John, best-selling author of Outcasts United

Fascinating and chilling. In meticulous detail, John Branch creates a blood-drenched parable for the hidden human toll of sports violence staged for our entertainment. The rise and fall of Derek Boogaard--quintessential NHL goon--is unlike any sports biography you will ever read.--Steve Fainaru, best-selling coauthor of League of Denial

Best Book of the Year. Branch captures the sorrow and anguish of a young athlete's career collapsing...and asks piercing questions about violence in sports.

Traces the career of the star player for the New York Rangers, from his childhood in Saskatchewan to his professional career, and reveals how a series of concussions led to his accidental death and subsequent investigations into systematic violence in contact sports.