Ice War Diplomat

Hockey Meets Cold War Politics at the 1972 Summit Series

By: Gary J. Smith

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Tasked with finding common ground and building friendships between the world's two largest countries and arctic neighbors, a young Canadian diplomat finds himself on his first overseas assignment in Moscow, the Soviet capital. It's the early 1970s and a Cold War between communism and capitalism, the west and the east, is simmering-while the ice rink is just starting to heat up. Smith opts for sports diplomacy, throwing off his embassy black tie dress codes and donning the blue and white sweater of the Moscow Maple Leafs.

A vodka-infused encounter with the influential Izvestia journalist "The Snowman" leads him into the murky world of Soviet hockey officialdom, the KGB, and the decision that USSR "amateurs" were finally ready to play Canadian professionals in an eight-game Friendship Series of the best versus the best.

Trusted by each side with unparalleled access to officials, coaches, and players on both teams, Smith witnesses this unique and epic hockey series that has come to transcend time.

The 1972 Canadian-Soviet Hockey Series will go down in history as a pivotal political event, changing the course of two nations and the world of hockey.

©2022 Gary J. Smith (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Diplomats view of the 1972 summit series

Fantastic book. I remember the 1972 summit series between Canada and the Soviet union very well. This is an interesting book because it is written not just from the sports fans perspective but also from a Canadian diplomats perspective he does a great job, inputting the series and the political climate in the historical context. I think for any serious hockey fan or anybody interested in Cold War history, they would find this book to be very interesting.