Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey

I don't even watch professional sports (other than tennis) and I loved reading this book!

This book was not what I expected in numerous ways. When I read the initial previews I had expected something along the lines of Peter Mayle meets Peter King romp: a travelogue and a litany of sports related observations. This book gave me that and more. The travelogue is your typical Innocent Abroad themed descriptions peppered with humorous anecdotes. This was better done by Twain. The sports stories went a lot deeper than what Price did at SI. This was the original intent of his adventures in Europe afterall: write more in depth about non-American sports. And it was very well done, Price is a great writer. There are basically two things that strikes me. One is the confessional aspect of this book: he lays out all the unpleasantness in his life and he lays it out bluntly. He chastises himself for his own perceived blindspots and shortcomings. A major theme is how he deals with his families -the one he has with his wife and the one he was born into- during this short trip and for all of his life. The circumstances, travel and personal confessional, reminds me of Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. Her's has more food, meditation, and sex , his has more sports. Much like her book, the reader gets drawn into his thought process, his pain and suffering, and his moments of transcendance. I am not all that sure that the milieu of Europe and sports writing quite did the same thing for Price as Italy, India, and Bali did for Gilbert. The other revelation is the process of writing. When Price had his a-ha moment about writing in his own words about his own thought, the thought became a double edged sword: it was both obvious and illuminating at the same time. Price's thought cycle involving Michael Jordan was interesting and yet also banal. I had guessed at what Jordan was about years ago, the portrait that Price painted revealed nothing new. But I did learn about Pakistani and Indian cricketers, Greek track doping scandal, skiing, Wimbledon, the Athens Olympics and just how paranoid the Greeks are. This is not a sit down and read book. There sections of that, but there are plenty of sit down and contemplate sections too. It is not an easy book to read, but it is well worth the effort.

Scott Price is not just a great sports writer. He's a great writer. I know him from college at UNC-Chapel Hill. He wrote for the college newspaper. Even then I thought he was one of the best writers I had ever read. He has only improved over the last ... hmmm ... 25 years. I am no sports fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned quite a bit not only about sports but about different cultures and political clashes. Think "Under the Tuscan Sun" with a brain. Price is the quintessential intellectual, yet he is not aloof. He writes honestly about his family and feelings about the world he found while traveling around Europe and countries even farther afield. The only disappointment was that the only photo of Scott was a side view. If I was as handsome as him, I'd have my picture on the book jacket! (Remember that for your next book, Scott!) So don't wait for the paperback. I agree with the comment above. I WOULD buy a grocery list if Scott Price wrote it. Treat yourself. Read this book! Enjoy!