Gay Talese refers to the setting at the Women’s World Cup final on 10 Jul 99—the tableau of winning penalty-kick taker Brandi Chastain mobbed by teammates in a swirl of confetti and California sun—as a “stadium sky jet-streamed with jingoism.” But his interest was in the Chinese player who missed her penalty kick, Liu Ying. Liu’s story takes up much of Talese’s memoir, A Writer’s Life. With podcast » (Photo of Talese © Joyce Tenneson)
An introduction to The Global Game: Writers on Soccer, the first anthology of soccer writing produced for a North American audience. Taking a cue from Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (left), what do we talk about when we talk about soccer?
The site supporting The Global Game: Writers on Soccer (University of Nebraska Press), edited by John Turnbull, Thom Satterlee, and Alon Raab. Site includes podcasts and classroom resources. Buy the book »

“I’m a soccer fan. If you are, too, this is the book for you” (Bill Littlefield, Only a Game, 5 Feb 09). Go to testimonials »
![]() Vladimir Nabokov (above) and James Joyce—goalkeeper and manager, respectively, on our writers' XI ("Ultimate XI: Writers Can Play, Too," Goal: The New York Times Soccer Blog, Mar 7)—never played football together, but they did kibitz with Hungarian footballers in 1937. Download writers' XI desktop » |

