Important Elements

The most important element in the book is character.  The book is mostly written about Herb Brooks, and how he chose his team.  He didn’t base his selection on who could score the most goals, or who was the flashiest player, however, Brooks chose those who he knew would work the hardest and best together as a team.  Another example of character would be that the Americans knew the Russians were favored to win, they never gave up.  Although there was many other important elements, such as time (political turmoil with Russia) and events (Olympic games in general), I believe that character is the most important.