Angela James

Dubbed "the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey," Angela James became the most dominant female player on the planet from the early 1980s through the mid 1990s. Her rise to hockey stardom, however, was a true long shot. During a difficult childhood plagued by near-poverty and familial chaos, hockey was James's escape. Talent and determination eventually took this hockey pioneer from struggling for ice time on boys' teams to the Hockey Hall of Fame, where, in 2010, she became the first woman, first openly gay player and second black athlete to ever be inducted. Angela James: The First Superstar of Canadian Women's Hockey charts James's rise to stardom from learning how to play on borrowed skates to dominating as an international success, from her controversial exclusion from the 1998 Olympic women's hockey team and its aftermath to becoming the passionate educator, coach and mother that she is today. This authorized biography features exclusive access to James, as well as one-on-one interviews with those who know her best, including some of the biggest names in women's hockey, such as Hayley Wickenheiser, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, Bob Nicholson, Melody Davidson and Cammi Granato.