A visually stunning cultural history of the beloved hockey star who came to symbolize a nation.

The fiery Maurice Richard was the highestscoring NHL player of his era, the first to achieve the feat of fifty goals in fifty games. Les yeux de Maurice Richard, as it was first published in 2006 in Quebec, won the Prix Marcel Couture 2007 from the Salon du livre de MontrÈal. Translated here by the award-winning Fred A. Reed, The Rocket revisits highlights of the esteemed Number 9's greatest feats and most memorable moments, including his 1955 suspension for hitting a referee and the famous street riot that followed. The author goes well beyond the man to fully explore the myth that remains today.

From Bob Hill's song "Saga of Maurice Richard" to Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater and Al Purdy's "Homage to Reeshard," cultural historian Benoit Melancon draws on print sources, photos, and illustrations to show how sportswriters, artists, playwrights, politicians, and citizens immortalized the Rocket.

The Rocket celebrates Richard in all his glory. This book is also in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens, the Rocket's one and only team.

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Benoît Melançon, a professor of literature at the Université de Montréal, has published and edited numerous books on Québécois and eighteenth century French literature and on the cultures of Quebec and Canada. He is research director of the Presses de l'Université de Montréal and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.

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Benoît Melançon's profile page

A three-time winner of the Governor General's Award for translation, and shortlisted for his 2009 translation of Thierry Hentsch's Le temps aboli (Empire of Desire), Fred A. Reed has translated works by many of Quebec's leading authors, several in collaboration with novelist David Homel, as well as works by Nikos Kazantzakis and other modern Greek writers. His most recent work, with David Homel, includes Philippe Arsenault's Zora and Martine Desjardins' The Green Chamber. Baraka Books will publish his translation, from Modern Greek, of Yannis Tsirbas' Vic City Express in September. His latest book is Then We Were One: Fragments of Two Lives, an autobiographical essay, published in French by Fides Éditeur.

Fred Reed's profile page

p class=review_text>Thoroughly researched, well-written and cleanly translated, The Rocket is highly recommended for anyone whose interest in hockey extends beyond the action on the ice to the deeper significance of our national game. —Waterloo Region Record

p class=review_text>The handsomely illustrated volume . . . shows no quit as a scrupulous record of the Richard commercial industry from its early days, during his playing career, right up until near his death in May, 2000. —Globe & Mail

p class=review_text>Melancon's book is impressive in its exhaustive detail and breadth of information about all things Richard . . . [The Rocket] manages to score a lot of points by convincingly proving how tightly Richard is woven into the fabric of Quebec society. —Winnipeg Free Press

p class=review_text>The Rocket differs dramatically from most books about sports personalities. Instead, author Benoit Melancon . . . examines how the career of the hard-playing Canadiens star affected not just hockey, but also the social and political climate of 'la belle province' as it forged its postwar identity of Quebec nationalism. —Metro

p class=review_text>Melancon has succeeded wonderfully in this illustrated, matter-of-fact volume. Every anecdote and cheesy advertising campaign he recalls weaves the Rocket more deeply into the fabric of his time, and beyond. —The Gazette

p class=review_text>Refreshingly, Melancon has approached the Rocket myth with courage and honesty, and has kept his language simple and direct. He drives to the net, shaking off spurious connections and academic jargon . . . Melancon brings in his tools to take apart the constellation hanging over Quebecers' heads, and leaves just the right amount of work for the reader to put it back together . . . It's thought-provoking, yes, but also as exciting as sudden-death overtime. —Montreal Review of Books