During a year abroad, a writer explores the wide world of sports

(Simon Bruty)

If there is a truth in advertising award for books, specifically book titles, S. L. Price's "Far Afield" is on my short list for 2007 honors. It is literally all over the place, and that's meant as an unqualified compliment.

In 2004, Price parlayed a competitor's job offer into an opportunity to spend the year abroad, compliments of his employer, Sports Illustrated. As an unabashed fan of the sports Europeans hold dear - soccer, skiing, and cycling in particular - I've often been flummoxed by the refusal of Americans to see the value, even the artistry, in these great events. I'm not asking for acceptance, merely appreciation. Price gives these games the attention, and coverage, they richly deserve, while acknowledging the reality that "sports, like politics, is local." Price settled his young family in the Provence region of southern France, near Marseille, and his descriptions of the surrounding countryside are breathtaking. But his most compelling work is found in the games. From the tragicomic 2004 Olympics in Greece to the high-flying party atmosphere of World Cup skiing, and from the madness that consumes European soccer fans to the enmity between cricket fans in Pakistan and India, he probes for the angle that will captivate his American audience and often succeeds, holding it up for introspection. It is, in short, a fascinating study of sports as social barometer.

This work is a cathartic journey for Price, taking him not only to foreign outposts but also into his own history to find the reasons sports, and writing about them, have such a deep-rooted attraction. The resulting narrative can be a bit rambling at times, as Price bounces back and forth between his past in the States and his present overseas like a tennis ball being volleyed between Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams. The glue that holds everything together is the author's superb command of his craft. He blends an unerring eye for detail and nuance with fresh, crackling prose that gives these insights a startling authenticity. Yes, there are moments of annoying egocentricity, but they're brief and easily forgiven.

Interestingly enough, any concern that the book might be a tad dated - it spans the year of 2004 - should be quickly assuaged, as many of the events unfortunately remain current: The near-universal disdain for George W. Bush and his "my way or the highway" vision of the American Way; and the odd dichotomy of foreigners who love what this country offers (schools, clothing, music), yet abhor the power it wields over global politics. Price tiptoes delicately between being a man of strong ideas and convictions and being a foreigner fully aware of how his country is viewed overseas. "It's easy to dismiss most European anti-Americanism as fashion, but what do you say when it's justified?"

This literary journey inevitably takes Price to the Tour de France, and to Lance Armstrong in the midst of his seven-year dominance of this sacred event. The setup is pitch perfect. Price introduces Armstrong by way of a well-known fact among sportswriters: Most great winners, regardless of ethnicity or origin, have a ruthless competitive streak that they'd rather not reveal publicly. They win the hearts of millions by ripping out the heart of their opponents, a trait often masked by an easy smile or post-game politeness. And Armstrong, like Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, and Tiger Woods, stokes a fire that threatens to singe those who come too close. "No. Your hero is not nice," writes Price. "The hero is never nice."

Ultimately, Price has created what amounts to a glittering Christmas tree, one with a decidedly foreign accent. The ornaments adorning this tree aren't all created equal - some are brilliant, some slightly tarnished. There may even be a light or two that won't work at all. But, on the whole, it is a dazzling collection.

Far Afield: A Sportswriting Odyssey
By S.L. Price
Lyons, 247 pp., illustrated, $24.95

Brion O'Connor is a freelance writer and can be reached at brion@inspiredink.com.