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What: USA Hockey: A Celebration of A Great Tradition. By Kevin Allen.

Triumph Books, $35.

Intended to commemorate the 60th anniversary of USA Hockey, the sport’s national governing body, this glossy, oversized book is a year late. But with interest in hockey likely to pick up during the Olympics, its timing couldn’t have been better.

Allen, a fine and knowledgeable reporter who covers hockey for USA Today, was commissioned by USA Hockey to produce a history of the game in this country and the people who have played it. But this is no puff piece. It’s a well-researched and organized work that breathes life into names most fans know only from record books.

Hobey Baker--for whom the trophy awarded to the best college hockey player was named--is fleshed out as a consummate athlete who excelled in football and hockey at Princeton and went on to become a daredevil pilot, an avocation that eventually killed him. It’s interesting to learn that the Chicago Blackhawks, who have four players on the 1998 Olympic team, have relied on American players since the 1930s, when there were few Americans good or brave enough to play in the NHL. The first American-born coach to win the Stanley Cup was Bill Stewart, who guided Chicago to the 1938 title--and his grandson, Bill, is an NHL referee who readily acknowledges his grandfather’s trailblazing.

Sections on the Olympics, college hockey, women’s hockey and the 1996 U.S. World Cup victory are full of anecdotes and enjoyable without reading like a textbook. The pictures, some apparently pulled from obscure archives, enhance the text without overwhelming it.

In a few sections, a more discerning editor might have trimmed a few cliches. But overall, this is a worthwhile addition to a hockey fan’s library.