What do you think?
Rate this book
Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure
- BIG GAME, SMALL WORLD was published in Warner hardcover in 1/02. It was named a "New York Times Notable Book of the Year, winning nationwide acclaim in publications, including the "New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and ESPN.com, among others.- Alexander Wolff is the "New York Times bestselling co-author of "Raw Recruits (Pocket, 1991), which upon publication was hailed as "the most important sports book in years," and the author of "100 Years of Hoops (Oxmoor House, 1991), with over 100,000 copies in print.- Like John Feinstein's "A March to Madness (Little, Brown and Company, 1997) and "Season on the Brink (Simon & Schuster, 1980), BIG GAME, SMALL WORLD appeals to the large number of readers fascinated by basketball.- Alexander Wolff is an award-winning senior writer for "Sports Illustrated, and is considered the dean of basketball writers within the magazine industry.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Alexander Wolff
24 books39 followersThanks for your interest in my books and me!
I spent 36 years at Sports Illustrated, leaving in 2016 as the longest-tenured writer on staff. Besides covering basketball at all levels, I filed from the Olympics, soccer’s World Cup, the World Series, every Grand Slam tennis event, and the Tour de France. SI story assignments took me to China, Cuba, and Iran, and dealt with such issues at the intersection of sport and society as race, ethnicity, gender, drugs, the environment, education, youth development, business, armed conflict, and ethics, as well as cultural themes like art, style, food, and the media.
I’m the author or co-author of seven books about basketball. They include Raw Recruits, a New York Times bestseller that examined college basketball recruiting; Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure, an account of a year spent chasing the game around the globe to take the measure of its impact, which was named a 2002 New York Times Book Review Notable Book; and The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama. I also edited and introduced a collection of basketball writing for the Library of America, Basketball: Great Writing About America’s Game, published in 2018.
In March 2021 Atlantic Monthly Press and Grove UK will publish Endpapers: A Family Story of Books, War, Escape, and Home, with DuMont Buchverlag of Cologne releasing a German edition in Fall 2021. The book explores the lives of my grandfather and father, both German-born men who became American citizens. Kurt Wolff, a book publisher of Jewish descent, went into exile to escape the Nazis and founded Pantheon Books in New York in 1941; his son, who because of a divorce remained behind in Germany, was left to fight in Hitler’s army before landing in the U.S. in 1948.
My writing for Sports Illustrated includes three pieces that appeared in The Best American Sports Writing. In 1996, with Hoop Dreams filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, I collaborated on Team of Broken Dreams, an Emmy-nominated documentary short that detailed the impact of the Yugoslav crisis on basketball players from the Balkans. Broadcast on NBC and based on one of my SI articles, the film won the International Olympic Committee’s Media Award.
As a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton in 2002, I taught a seminar called Writing About Sports and the Wider World. In 2010 I served as commencement speaker at Springfield College, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honored me in 2011 with its Curt Gowdy Media Award for contributions to the game as a print journalist.
At Brighton High School in Rochester, N.Y., I co-captained the varsity basketball team. In 1980 I earned a B.A. in History with honors from Princeton after having taken a leave to play basketball with a club team in Switzerland. In 2006 my wife Vanessa and I founded the Vermont Frost Heaves of the American Basketball Association, whose birth and life I chronicled in SI and on SI.com.
I love hearing from readers and am happy to speak with book clubs, collaborate with bookstores, libraries, and festivals on events, and otherwise affirm and spread literary culture. Books are in the family blood!
I spent 36 years at Sports Illustrated, leaving in 2016 as the longest-tenured writer on staff. Besides covering basketball at all levels, I filed from the Olympics, soccer’s World Cup, the World Series, every Grand Slam tennis event, and the Tour de France. SI story assignments took me to China, Cuba, and Iran, and dealt with such issues at the intersection of sport and society as race, ethnicity, gender, drugs, the environment, education, youth development, business, armed conflict, and ethics, as well as cultural themes like art, style, food, and the media.
I’m the author or co-author of seven books about basketball. They include Raw Recruits, a New York Times bestseller that examined college basketball recruiting; Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure, an account of a year spent chasing the game around the globe to take the measure of its impact, which was named a 2002 New York Times Book Review Notable Book; and The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama. I also edited and introduced a collection of basketball writing for the Library of America, Basketball: Great Writing About America’s Game, published in 2018.
In March 2021 Atlantic Monthly Press and Grove UK will publish Endpapers: A Family Story of Books, War, Escape, and Home, with DuMont Buchverlag of Cologne releasing a German edition in Fall 2021. The book explores the lives of my grandfather and father, both German-born men who became American citizens. Kurt Wolff, a book publisher of Jewish descent, went into exile to escape the Nazis and founded Pantheon Books in New York in 1941; his son, who because of a divorce remained behind in Germany, was left to fight in Hitler’s army before landing in the U.S. in 1948.
My writing for Sports Illustrated includes three pieces that appeared in The Best American Sports Writing. In 1996, with Hoop Dreams filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, I collaborated on Team of Broken Dreams, an Emmy-nominated documentary short that detailed the impact of the Yugoslav crisis on basketball players from the Balkans. Broadcast on NBC and based on one of my SI articles, the film won the International Olympic Committee’s Media Award.
As a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton in 2002, I taught a seminar called Writing About Sports and the Wider World. In 2010 I served as commencement speaker at Springfield College, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame honored me in 2011 with its Curt Gowdy Media Award for contributions to the game as a print journalist.
At Brighton High School in Rochester, N.Y., I co-captained the varsity basketball team. In 1980 I earned a B.A. in History with honors from Princeton after having taken a leave to play basketball with a club team in Switzerland. In 2006 my wife Vanessa and I founded the Vermont Frost Heaves of the American Basketball Association, whose birth and life I chronicled in SI and on SI.com.
I love hearing from readers and am happy to speak with book clubs, collaborate with bookstores, libraries, and festivals on events, and otherwise affirm and spread literary culture. Books are in the family blood!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 22, 2013
The first time I read this book was almost ten years ago. I was in a middle of my school research at a local library when I got bored and I thought I should entertain myself with an unrelated subject... while browsing the sports section, I ran into this book and I wasn't really planning to read something... when I checked the table of contents the first thing that caught my attention was the chapter concerning basketball in my home country (Philippines).
The chapter talks about the author's experience in the Philippines. Observing local basketball from the courts of the country's professional league to the streets of Manila, the author talked about mimicry in Philippine basketball, how Filipinos watched the NBA the night before and then emulate their idols the next day. The book also featured an interview of the living legend of Philippine basketball, Robert Jaworski who shared an incident early on his career when he bashed a referee that lead to his suspension. Another chapter that caught my interest was chapter concerning the break up of the decorated Yugoslav team in the late 1980s-1990 and the aftermath.
Unlike other basketball books who are more into trivias, this book is about basketball experience in the greatest basketball hot spots in the world.
The chapter talks about the author's experience in the Philippines. Observing local basketball from the courts of the country's professional league to the streets of Manila, the author talked about mimicry in Philippine basketball, how Filipinos watched the NBA the night before and then emulate their idols the next day. The book also featured an interview of the living legend of Philippine basketball, Robert Jaworski who shared an incident early on his career when he bashed a referee that lead to his suspension. Another chapter that caught my interest was chapter concerning the break up of the decorated Yugoslav team in the late 1980s-1990 and the aftermath.
Unlike other basketball books who are more into trivias, this book is about basketball experience in the greatest basketball hot spots in the world.
September 2, 2010
I got this book a few years ago from a teacher friend of mine as a thanks for sharing my passion of basketball with her. It set on the shelf for a while, but I picked it up not too long ago and finished it. It's one of the most well-written books I've ever read. Wolff does a great job of exploring the game's impact on the world by telling inspiring story after inspiring story. This is definitely a must-read for fans of basketball.
September 28, 2023
BIG GAME, SMALL WORLD, probably the best book ever written on the phenomenon of basketball, also happens to be a paragon of English prose. I read and recommend the Duke University Press 20th Anniversary Edition (revised and expanded). I review it in detail, along with another DUP basketball book, LOST IN THE GAME by Thomas Beller, here: https://youtu.be/m4TpEggyXQA
December 4, 2022
This is a must read for any basketball fan. It is well written and takes the reader around the world with stops in various countries. The author balances a touch of history, local politics and sports figures from each country.
It was educational, funny and will make you want to grab your passport and follow your favorite sport on a multi-country excursion.
It was educational, funny and will make you want to grab your passport and follow your favorite sport on a multi-country excursion.
June 19, 2018
I originally gave this book four stars but as time goes on I find myself coming back to it repeatedly, so I changed it to a five star rating. For someone who started watching basketball in the early nineties this was a very informative read. You don't have to like basketball to enjoy this book, but I can promise you it will give you a deeper appreciation for the immense cultural impact of the sport.
April 30, 2014
I'm a basketball fan in a big way, but this book made me fall in love with the game even more. Mr Wolff has a great writing style, and it's impossible to not be touched and moved by the stories of the game that he brings to life.
April 12, 2008
A great look at the world of basketball through the eyes of a true global witness.
June 13, 2008
I love this book! I could read it again and again
November 20, 2013
Great global perspective on the game around the world.
January 30, 2017
Nice book about the best ball-game. We met in Moscow and than Alexander kindly send me a signed copy of his book, thanks and best regards!
September 9, 2008
A great around the world look at basketball.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews