Review: "The Great One" The Story of The Greatest Hockey Player Ever

The Sports Illustrated novel immediately dives into the whole plot of the book with the title, "The Great One." Wayne Gretzky, a hockey player in the National Hockey League from 1978 to 1999, has always been recognized as the best player to ever live, thus the name, "The Great One." The book, through its many authors who had covered Gretzky throughout his career, recaps the different stages of his time playing in the NHL. It spans from his rookie season in Edmonton, to him being traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988, then through the end of his career in New York with the Rangers. 

Prior to reading this book, I had already known a lot of information regarding the career of Wayne Gretzky. When I began digging into the novel, I was hoping for an in-depth view into his life: how he prepared for games, what he thought of all the pressure and attention of the NHL, and his overall perspectives and experiences. Thus far, I have been bored to death with repeated statistics that represent Gretzky's greatness. I can go online and be blown away by his goal totals during the prime of his career, so I want to see his career from his vantage point. 

Hockey fans should search for different works, such as Bobby Orr's memoir, if they want more about Gretzky's life than just his statistics through his 20 seasons in the National Hockey League.