Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story of the Courageous Hockey Team that Fought the Soviets for the Soul of Its People—And Olympic Gold

Ethan Scheiner

Sep 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Tom Beyer

About this audiobook

During the height of the Cold War, a group of small-town young men would lead their underdog hockey team from the little country of Czechoslovakia against the Soviet Union, the juggernaut in their sport. As they battled on the ice, the young players would keep their people's quest for freedom alive, and forge a way to fight back against the authoritarian forces that sought to crush them. From the sudden invasion of Czechoslovakia by an armada of tanks and 500,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers, to a hockey victory over the Soviets that inspired half a million furious citizens to take to the streets in an attempt to destroy all representations that they could find of their occupiers, Freedom to Win tells a story that ranges from iconic moments in history to courageous individual stories. And we will cheer as the team takes on its nemesis one last time with the Olympic gold medal at stake. At the heart of Freedom to Win is the story of the Holiks, a Czechoslovak family whose resistance to the Communists embodied the deepest desires of the people of their country. Faced with life under the cruel and arbitrary regime that had stolen their family butcher shop, the Holik boys became national hockey icons and inspirations to their people.

About the author

Ethan Scheiner is professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. His books include Democracy without Competition in Japan and Electoral Systems and Political Context. His writing on sports and political resistance has appeared in the Washington Post, Stars and Stripes, Politico, and The Daily Beast.

Tom Beyer is a character actor who has appeared in over 100 TV shows, films, and commercials; has performed in innumerable plays and musicals; and has narrated many audiobooks. He has won awards for his stage work as both an actor and a director, and has adapted classical literature for the theater.