Book Log 2006 #16: A Sense of Where You Are by John McPhee

Coming off of The Game I was inspired to read this profile of a Princeton-era Bill Bradley. While addenda cover Bradley's senior season and turn with the Olympic team, the bulk of the book is an extended magazine article that McPhee wrote examining what made Bradley the sort of player - and person - he was at the time.

The tone of the book is kind of off-putting, more of a piece written by someone who is familiar with sports writing for folks who aren't (it's kind of the written equivalent of a piece from NPR's Only a Game). That's not a problem generally, but coming so close on the heels of The Game it was a little distracting. This is pretty easily offset by the great snap-shot of the period in college basketball, and in the life of a college athlete who actually has to concern himself with the college part of things. There are some good pictures at the end, too. So it's worth a look.