{"product_id":"paperback-3516","title":"Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports by John Branch (Ex-Library HC\/DJ)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eBreathtaking tales of climbers and hunters, runners and racers, winners and losers by the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e reporter John Branch’s riveting, humane pieces about ordinary people doing extraordinary things at the edges of the sporting world have won nearly every major journalism prize. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eSidecountry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e gathers the best of Branch’s work for the first time, featuring 20 of his favorites from the more than 2,000 pieces he has published in the paper.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBranch is renowned for covering the offbeat in the sporting world, from alligator hunting to wingsuit flying. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eSidecountry\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e features such classic Branch pieces, including “Snow Fall,” about downhill skiers caught in an avalanche in Washington state, and “Dawn Wall,” about rock climbers trying to scale Yosemite’s famed El Capitan. In other articles, Branch introduces people whose dedication and decency transcend their sporting lives, including a revered football coach rebuilding his tornado-devastated town in Iowa and a girls’ basketball team in Tennessee that plays on despite never winning a game. The book culminates with his moving personal pieces, including “Children of the Cube,” about the surprising drama of Rubik’s Cube competitions as seen through the eyes of Branch’s own sports-hating son, and “The Girl in the No. 8 Jersey,” about a mother killed in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting whose daughter happens to play on Branch’s daughter’s soccer team.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43902703010041,"sku":"1028","price":3.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0475\/5806\/6334\/files\/103_1221_b71f86a8-198e-445a-be2d-5176b3c3e92a.jpg?v=1688577592","url":"https:\/\/folstmarys.com\/products\/paperback-3516","provider":"Friends of the St Mary's County Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}