Black and Gold by Rob Simpson and Steve Babineau published by Wiley. When you look at the cover and you see Ray Bourque and Cam Neely you realize that this book has some amazing photography thanks to legendary photog Steve Babineau. He has been doing his job for 35 years and not many people can say that in any line of work. This book covers four decades of this storied franchise and former coach and current hockey luminary, Don Cherry, wrote the foreword! John Wiley and Sons have put out a gem here that not only has breathtaking photos but some great inside stories penned by Rob Simpson.

This updated edition is amazing. More photographs, more stats, more of everything that made the first edition such a big hit. The inclusion of the Winter Classic is tremendous. I happened to be there covering it and the photos of Fenway are spectacular. I remembered when it snowed and the Bruins team shot in the snow is a rarity, that’s for sure. I love the “Bobby Orr meet Bobby Clarke” shot and Simpson did a nice job getting the reader inside this great event. I left town before the Legends Classic game but enjoyed reading about that as well.

Ahhh, the Stanley Cup. Well I was there covering it and it was pretty special. The City, the fans, the food and again some of these pictures. Once again Simpson guides the reader through the 2010-11 season from the opening game in Europe until they hoisted “Lord Stanley”.

Wait, the Scrapbook section was a complete surprise for me. There are some great Bobby Orr shots and a mini-Biography of Babineau which is extremely interesting. On page 276 there is a shot of Brett Hull and Adam Oates but what marks the passage of time in this shot is the “female bleach blonde mullet” that stands out in the frame.

I can say without hesitation that all hockey fans will enjoy this, even Habs fans, well maybe not, but if you want to enjoy a slice of hockey history from an “Original Six” franchise then buy the book you won’t be sorry.

You can buy it here: Black and Gold