Listen free for 30 days
-
The Russian Five
- A Story of Espionage, Defection, Bribery and Courage
- Narrated by: Bob Brill
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $31.27
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
Behind the Bench
- Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches
- Written by: Craig Custance, Sidney Crosby - foreword
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries - names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien - all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans.
-
-
Thoroughly Entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-05-04
Written by: Craig Custance, and others
-
The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- Written by: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
-
-
great listen
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-01-22
Written by: Sean McIndoe
-
The Grim Reaper
- The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior
- Written by: Stu Grimson
- Narrated by: Stu Grimson
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
NHL tough guys all tell the same story. They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms.
-
-
Smart Goon
- By Travis on 2023-02-08
Written by: Stu Grimson
-
Burke's Law
- A Life in Hockey
- Written by: Brian Burke, Stephen Brunt - contributor
- Narrated by: Brian Burke
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brian Burke is one of the biggest hockey personalities - no, personalities full-stop - in the hockey media landscape. His brashness makes him a magnet for attention, and he does nothing to shy away from it. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" during his tenure at the helm of the Maple Leafs, Burke has lived and breathed hockey his whole life.
-
-
Wow
- By David Smith on 2020-11-22
Written by: Brian Burke, and others
-
Scotty
- A Hockey Life Like No Other
- Written by: Ken Dryden
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Scotty, Dryden has given his coach a new test: Tell us about all these players and teams you've seen, but imagine yourself as their coach. Tell us about their weaknesses, not just their strengths. Tell us how you would coach them and coach against them. And then choose the top eight teams of all time, match them up against one another in a playoff series, and, separating the near-great from the great, tell us who would win. And why.
-
-
great Insight
- By N C Griffiths on 2022-09-13
Written by: Ken Dryden
-
99: Stories of the Game
- Written by: Wayne Gretzky
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of his legendary career with an inside look at professional hockey and the heroes and stories that inspired him. From minor-hockey phenomenon to Hall of Fame sensation, Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books, his accomplishments becoming the stuff of legend. Dubbed “The Great One”, he is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. No one has seen more of the game than he has - but he has never discussed in depth just what it was he saw.
-
-
Great Mix of Old and NEW Hockey Stories
- By Gregorschwartz on 2020-02-18
Written by: Wayne Gretzky
-
Behind the Bench
- Inside the Minds of Hockey's Greatest Coaches
- Written by: Craig Custance, Sidney Crosby - foreword
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries - names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien - all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans.
-
-
Thoroughly Entertaining
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-05-04
Written by: Craig Custance, and others
-
The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- Written by: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
-
-
great listen
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-01-22
Written by: Sean McIndoe
-
The Grim Reaper
- The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior
- Written by: Stu Grimson
- Narrated by: Stu Grimson
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
NHL tough guys all tell the same story. They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms.
-
-
Smart Goon
- By Travis on 2023-02-08
Written by: Stu Grimson
-
Burke's Law
- A Life in Hockey
- Written by: Brian Burke, Stephen Brunt - contributor
- Narrated by: Brian Burke
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brian Burke is one of the biggest hockey personalities - no, personalities full-stop - in the hockey media landscape. His brashness makes him a magnet for attention, and he does nothing to shy away from it. Most famous for advocating "pugnacity, truculence, testosterone, and belligerence" during his tenure at the helm of the Maple Leafs, Burke has lived and breathed hockey his whole life.
-
-
Wow
- By David Smith on 2020-11-22
Written by: Brian Burke, and others
-
Scotty
- A Hockey Life Like No Other
- Written by: Ken Dryden
- Narrated by: Ken Dryden
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Scotty, Dryden has given his coach a new test: Tell us about all these players and teams you've seen, but imagine yourself as their coach. Tell us about their weaknesses, not just their strengths. Tell us how you would coach them and coach against them. And then choose the top eight teams of all time, match them up against one another in a playoff series, and, separating the near-great from the great, tell us who would win. And why.
-
-
great Insight
- By N C Griffiths on 2022-09-13
Written by: Ken Dryden
-
99: Stories of the Game
- Written by: Wayne Gretzky
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of his legendary career with an inside look at professional hockey and the heroes and stories that inspired him. From minor-hockey phenomenon to Hall of Fame sensation, Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books, his accomplishments becoming the stuff of legend. Dubbed “The Great One”, he is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. No one has seen more of the game than he has - but he has never discussed in depth just what it was he saw.
-
-
Great Mix of Old and NEW Hockey Stories
- By Gregorschwartz on 2020-02-18
Written by: Wayne Gretzky
Publisher's Summary
When the Detroit Red Wings were rebooting their franchise after more than two decades of relative futility, they knew the best place to find world-class players who could turn things around more quickly were conscripted servants behind the Iron Curtain. All they had to do to get them was make history by drafting them and then figure out how to get them out of the Soviet Union.
That's when the Wings turned to Keith Gave, the newsman whose clandestine mission to Helsinki, Finland, was the first phase of a years-long series of secret meetings from posh hotel rooms to remote forests around Europe to orchestrate their unlawful departures.
One defection created an international incident and made global headlines. Another player faked cancer, thanks to the Wings' extravagant bribes to Russian doctors, including a big American car. Another player who wasn't quite ready to leave yet, felt like he was being kidnapped by an unscrupulous agent. Two others were outcast when they stood up publicly against the Soviet regime, winning their freedom to play in the NHL, only after years of struggle.
They are the Russian Five: Sergei Fedorov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, and Igor Larionov. Their stories sound like pulse-pounding spy novels. What unfolded after they were brought together in Detroit by the masterful coach Scotty Bowman is heartwarming and unforgettable.
This audiobook includes details never before revealed, and by the man who was there every step of the way - from the day Detroit drafted its first two Soviets in 1989 until they raised the Stanley Cup in 1997, then took it to Moscow for a historic victory lap around Red Square and the Kremlin.
The Russian Five did more to bridge Russian and American relations than decades of diplomacy and detente between the White House and the Kremlin. This is their story.
More from the same
Author:
What listeners say about The Russian Five
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kandace
- 2021-04-23
Very interesting
At the time the Russian five played, admittedly the Avalanche were my team and I was only 12, but if knew the whole story behind the Russian five, I’d been a wings fan in a heartbeat.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JanetCrosscheckDrennan
- 2022-06-02
You MUST listen, hockey fans!
The essential story we couldn't hear before this.
Priceless, fantastic, and even cooler than we knew it to be!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Caleb Nunn
- 2021-04-17
Fantastic listen and read
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, an in depth history of the Russian Five from the man who started the process. If you’re a fan of hockey this is a must listen/read. Gives a completely new perspective to exactly what it took to get these players out of the Soviet Union and into an NHL Sweater and just how much they changed the sport of hockey in North America.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- ttalcott
- 2021-03-23
A different sports perspective
Very interesting backstory on the Russian five. The authors unique perspective and access really helps provide a better understanding of all the five went through.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- J. Alan
- 2021-02-28
Great account of a historic time
This book is a thoroughly enjoyable look back at a historic time not just for Detroit hockey, but for world events. The author’s inside access and perspective into the events, and the unique personalities involved, makes for an insightful and often riveting account. The narrator‘s performance overall is quite good, but mispronunciations of several locations and individuals is somewhat distracting for a listener who knows better. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable book that I would highly recommend.