“Anything written by John Branch is a compelling must-read. Boy on Ice is transcendent and riveting and his best work yet.”
— AL MICHAELS, sportscaster
“Punch by punch, pill by pill, the dread mounts in John Branch’s brilliantly reported account of Derek Boogaard, a modern-day gladiator who gave everything for a career in hockey, not least of all his hauntingly short and quietly kind life.”
— WILL BLYTHE, bestselling author of To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever
“Fascinating and chilling. In meticulous detail, John Branch creates a blood-drenched parable for the hidden human toll of sports violence staged for our entertainment. The rise and fall of Derek Boogaard—quintessential NHL goon—is unlike any sports biography you will ever read.”
— STEVE FAINARU, bestselling co-author of League of Denial
“Boy on Ice is a beautifully written and haunting journey into the jagged psychology of the modern athlete. It compels fans to examine their own roles in the spectacle and reminds us in often brutal terms that for our sports heroes, the real struggles take place far beyond the ice or the field of play.”
— WARREN ST. JOHN, bestselling author of Outcasts United