Birth of a Dynasty

The 1980 New York Islanders

By: Alan Hahn

Narrated by: Tony Messano

The National Hockey League saw the birth of a new dynasty in 1980. The New York Islanders had been an expansion franchise in 1972 in the New York City suburbs of Long Island. For years they played in the long shadow of the big-city New York Rangers and were considered the league’s laughingstock during their first season. Miraculously, eight years later, they were champions.

Newly revised, Birth of a Dynasty: The 1980 New York Islanders is the story of how it happened, how it came together, and what it felt like to be there.

©2022 Alan Hahn (P)2022 Library Ideas

A Good Story about a Great Team

I enjoyed Birth of a Dynasty very much as a Hockey fan who started following the NHL much later on after the Islanders were on top. This book does a good job telling this era’s dynasty story, one that had many ups and downs and just how fragile success in Sports is. So the Narrator did a solid job, got about 80% of the names right a few bad pronunciations but not at the horrific level most Hockey Audio gets. Also this is a preference of mine but I think in Sports books dealing with so many different numbers and names I would’ve like the narrator’s pace a bit slower for things like that to sink in. I know you can turn the speed of the narrator up or down but that has never sounded good to me the book being read a bit faster than I like is fine.

I'd love now

The Islanders are a fascinating franchise with an amazing history. I'd love to hear more.