Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey (Paperback)
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Description
A Year in Provence . . . in sweats
Some people would consider writing for Sports Illustrated a dream job. Others fantasize about living idyllically in the South of France. S. L. Price got to do both. Assigned by Sports Illustrated to cover sports in Europe, Price relocated his family to a small hamlet in Provence, and then set out to uncover the soul of world athletic competition.
In an attempt to comprehend the planet's most intense and bloody sports, he immersed himself in the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan. He spent time with Lance Armstrong as the cyclist fended off rumors of performance-enhancing drugs. He argued politics with Olympic athletes in Athens, covered Austria's beer-drenched version of the Super Bowl, and caught basketball fever in Belgrade—as he, his wife, and children tried to adjust to life in a Europe convulsed by terrorism, anti-Americanism, and George Bush's war in Iraq.
Far Afield is an extraordinary memoir of growth, family, and games people play worldwide.
About the Author
S. L. Price, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated since 1994, has written two other books—Pitching Around Fidel, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Far Afield, which Esquire named one of the top five books of 2007. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his family.
Praise for Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey…
Praise for FAR AFIELD: “The seasoned reporter behind this memoir is a master of the new journalism developed by Hunter Thompson, Gay Talese and Price’s personal paragon, Pete Hamill. Whenever he writes about sports--or about the craft of writing--he hits it over the fence.”
-New York Times Book Review
“A masterpiece.”
-Chicago Tribune
“One of the year’s five best reads.”
-Esquire
“Price blends an unerring eye for detail and nuance with fresh, crackling prose that gives these insights a startling authenticity.”
-Boston Globe
“[Price is] perceptive, open-minded, and intelligent, transcribing Europe with the confident, lofty lyricism of an American sportswriter who has found his voice.”
-Publishers Weekly
“A social commentarry of the first order. Highly recommended.”
-Library Journal