4 .5 STARS:
If you like hockey or sports in general tis book is one I really recommend. I have always been a huge fan of Brian Burke no matter what team he was associated with during his long career in management in the NHL. He is brash, outspoken and knows his stuff. This is one of the best sports books I have read in a long while.
Brian Burke is one of the biggest hockey personalities--no, personalities full-stop--in the media landscape. His brashness makes him a magnet for attention, and he does nothing to shy away from it. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" during his tenure at the helm of the Maple Leafs, Burke has lived and breathed hockey his whole life. He has been a player, an agent, a league executive, a scout, a Stanley Cup-winning GM, an Olympic GM, and a media analyst. He has worked with Pat Quinn, Gary Bettman, and an array of future Hall of Fame players. No one knows the game better, and no one commands more attention when they open up about it.

Being a Montreal Canadiens fan, I did not know much about Brian Burke. I discovered one of the most influential individual in hockey! He does not shy away from sharing his opinions. And he has so much to tell!

From his GM days recruiting Pavel Bure, the Sedin twins or Matthew Tchakuk to his 5 years as chief disciplinarian with the NHL, his tales are truly interesting. You get to hear about many hockey greats such as Lou Lamoriello, Pat Quinn, Mike Keenan, Marc Crawford, Ron Wilson, Mark Messier and Gary Bettman to name a few.

Not always told in a structured chronological way, you feel you are having a drink while chatting with him in a pub!

I found a devoted father, who lost a son, who cares deeply about communities, a man with principles. I am so glad I read this book as I have a new admiration for the business man but even more for the family man. He vowed to have his kids every other weekend and kept that promise wherever he worked on the hockey planet. This is truly inspiring!

If you enjoy hockey, do not miss this one. A true 5 stars! I have read a lot of hockey biographies and this one along Serge Savard’s is one of the best!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Brian Burke's memoir of his life and career is interesting, honest and informative.
He is a Harvard Law School graduate, an accomplished businessman, and someone who has participated in every aspect of the hockey world. His many lessons learned along the way are worth passing along.
The most meaningful memoirs rise above the memorable careers. Brian Burke's dedication to his family is boundless. He became an outspoken gay-rights activist when his youngest son Brendan came out in 2009. Tragically, a year later he lost Brendan in a car accident and he ensures Brendan's legacy lives on.
Gruff exterior aside, Brian Burke has a very caring heart.
I highly recommend this book to the diehard hockey fan or anyone that enjoys a page turning memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Viking for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Burke's Law is a fascinating look behind the NHL curtain, giving us behind the scenes info on the life as a player agent, General manager and finally as a media personality. Told in a more conversational manner than your normal sports autobiography which generally read the same, this is more like having a chat with Brian at the pub which works to make him appear more human. The only downside to this style is that the book does jump all over the place in very short stretches of time. At one point we moved from talking about drafting players for the Canucks directly to his son coming out as gay. However it is a great read for hockey lovers and sports lovers in general and gives a lot of interesting behind the scenes looks at big events in the game of the last 30 years.

Admittedly, I nearly put the book down right from the first page - the Ottawa Senators’ loss in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals was a heartbreaker and Brian Burke starts off by letting us know that the team should have « been happy just to be there ». Ouch.

But I pressed on. Brian Burke is an engaging storyteller and despite sometimes appearing gruff on tv, he is a man with a heart of gold and strong ethics. His book is a compelling read - it sheds some light on some historic moments in hockey, including the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore as well as the Donald Brashear-Marty McSorley incidents. His love for his family and for the game of hockey are apparent and while I already had the utmost respect for Mr. Burke, this book increased my appreciation for him and his work in hockey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC.

Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey is the memoir of “the gruffest man in hockey”, Brian Burke.

I first came to appreciate Brian Burke when he took over my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs as general manager in 2008.  Like many other Leafs' fans, I saw him as a potential franchise savior.  I mean, the man won a Stanley Cup the year before!  Surely he would end the drought and bring respect back to the NHL’s punching bag!

While things didn’t pan out like we had all hoped, I still enjoyed Burke’s time at the helm of The Buds.  He brought a no-nonsense approach to dealing with the ruthless Toronto sports media that I wish more people would.  There are some scummy reporters that cover the Leafs – Steve Simmons being the absolute worst.  I was glad to see Burke call him out on more than a few occasions.

I guess I should talk about the book, right?  This was an absolute joy to read.  It’s no secret that I tend to prefer hockey books that cover a specific event or time in the sports history rather than a player’s memoir.  The memoirs of hockey players usually end up becoming these weird play-by-play recaps like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s insipid DVD commentary on Total Recall where he just describes what’s happening on the screen.  With this book, it’s akin to sitting down with Burke and having a few beers while he tells you about his life.  The conversational tone is the book’s biggest asset and the best reason to read it, by far.

Unlike other hockey personalities, Burke has done it all – he was a player, a player representative/agent, an assistant GM, a member of the NHL’s disciplinary committee, a GM of several teams, a president of hockey operations and now a broadcaster on Hockey Night in Canada.  He has more than enough to talk about in the book's brisk three hundred plus pages.  Burke is a master storyteller using just enough colorful language to add some spice to some of his biggest moments.  A few highlights include having to talk one time Vancouver Canucks GM Pat Quinn down from fighting a referee, the insane trade he pulled off to draft the Sedin twins, and challenging Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe to a fight in a barn in upstate New York.

There are, of course, a few tragic moments including the untimely passing of Burke’s son Brendan following a horrific car accident.  He also gets candid about his divorces – which he takes full responsibility for given his workaholic personality that led to him alienating his spouses.  Despite the combative way in which he comes across in dealing with the media, Burke has no problem in admitting mistakes or when he was wrong, which is refreshing.

Burke’s Law is one of the best hockey memoirs I’ve ever read.  I give a lot of credit to co-writer Stephen Brunt for managing to perfectly capture Burke’s voice; just outstanding work.  I cannot recommend this enough.