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The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse
From “the master of new journalism [who always] hits it over the fence” (New York Times) and “one of the finest writers on sports anywhere” (USA Today), the scintillating story of lacrosse, the game invented by the Iroquois, played with more passion than any other, that stubbornly mirrors America’s ongoing struggle with inclusivity
A millennium or more ago, Native Americans invented lacrosse as a means of training warriors and settling disputes. Co-opted by whites in the late 1800s, played for a century largely at elite east coast colleges, over the last thirty years lacrosse has exploded around the world, becoming the fastest growing sport in the U.S. while exposing the fault lines of prejudice and privilege that continue to dog its image. At the same time, the mystical, spiritual nature of the Native game has been elevated to center stage as the brilliant Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) play as a nation unto themselves, maintaining their deep traditions and hoping for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.
Based on a decade of research and observation, and crafted with consummate skill, The American Game takes readers inside a unique cultural landscape that nonetheless mirrors the wider world. Skillfully weaving in compelling action on the field from World Championships to tense NCAA tournaments, Price also chronicles the controversies and anomalies that have in many ways defined lacrosse. Racism stubbornly persists, as does resistance to the Iroquois nation’s aspirations. The Duke rape case and the murder of Yeardley Love still resonate, reinforcing the sport’s elite “laxbro” image, as does the remarkable longtime link between lacrosse and Wall Street.
Price introduces legendary individuals from Jim Brown (some say he was even better at lacrosse than football), Black superstar Kyle Harrison and the brilliant Iroquois stickman Lyle Thompson, to famed coaches Lars Tiffany and Kelly Amonte Hiller and Onondaga faithkeeper Oren Lyons. All of them, and all who play the game, pay homage to the mystical qualities of the lacrosse stick, which Denver coach Bill Tierney calls “the thing that makes you special.” A masterpiece of narration and investigation, The American Game is the powerful story of a sport that, perhaps more than any other, captures the complexity of America in its ongoing struggle towards a more perfect union.
A millennium or more ago, Native Americans invented lacrosse as a means of training warriors and settling disputes. Co-opted by whites in the late 1800s, played for a century largely at elite east coast colleges, over the last thirty years lacrosse has exploded around the world, becoming the fastest growing sport in the U.S. while exposing the fault lines of prejudice and privilege that continue to dog its image. At the same time, the mystical, spiritual nature of the Native game has been elevated to center stage as the brilliant Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) play as a nation unto themselves, maintaining their deep traditions and hoping for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.
Based on a decade of research and observation, and crafted with consummate skill, The American Game takes readers inside a unique cultural landscape that nonetheless mirrors the wider world. Skillfully weaving in compelling action on the field from World Championships to tense NCAA tournaments, Price also chronicles the controversies and anomalies that have in many ways defined lacrosse. Racism stubbornly persists, as does resistance to the Iroquois nation’s aspirations. The Duke rape case and the murder of Yeardley Love still resonate, reinforcing the sport’s elite “laxbro” image, as does the remarkable longtime link between lacrosse and Wall Street.
Price introduces legendary individuals from Jim Brown (some say he was even better at lacrosse than football), Black superstar Kyle Harrison and the brilliant Iroquois stickman Lyle Thompson, to famed coaches Lars Tiffany and Kelly Amonte Hiller and Onondaga faithkeeper Oren Lyons. All of them, and all who play the game, pay homage to the mystical qualities of the lacrosse stick, which Denver coach Bill Tierney calls “the thing that makes you special.” A masterpiece of narration and investigation, The American Game is the powerful story of a sport that, perhaps more than any other, captures the complexity of America in its ongoing struggle towards a more perfect union.
560 pages, Hardcover
Published May 20, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 17, 2025
As a former lacrosse player (surprise!), I was particularly excited to dig into S.L. Price's The American Game. (For the record, I am a "former" player not because I love the sport any less, but I am way too old and broken no matter what I tell myself.) By the end of the book, I felt only slightly better informed, but also sorely disappointed.
Price's narrative is all over the place. It starts at the World Lacrosse Championships in Israel in 2018. A lot of ink is spilled on the Haudenosaunee Team (you may know them as the Iroquois) and a debacle with their passports. This struck me as a strange way to introduce the reader to the subject. A person who knows nothing about lacrosse would be pretty lost and lacrosse is pretty secondary to the story in some ways. Later, this episode is used to spend a strange amount of time on Israeli-Palestinian relations with tenuous connections to American Indian/U.S. relations. Price couldn't know this when he was writing it, but these sections seem very under-baked in light of today's situation. This is just an example of how Price's chapters have so much packed into them, but ultimately feel like they are not in depth enough about what the reader came for. The book needed to be edited heavily and cut down significantly.
There is, however, a much larger problem. This book feels greatly weighted towards focusing on the problems with lacrosse and precious little time on what makes the sport attractive to a small but rabid fan-base. To be clear, the problems Price highlights are certainly an issue. The Duke sexual assault case showed just how quickly lacrosse players would be convicted by reputation alone, and the murder of Yeardley Love puts a personal story to excessive drinking/party culture. The question of diversity is certainly one that any lacrosse book needs to tackle and Price does that.
However, these negative issues felt like they took up most of the page space. Price is under no obligation to write a celebration of the sport, but the subtitle does mention history. There is some of that, but there is also a severe lack of American Indian history with the sport before the Europeans showed up (or really until the 1900s). One of the reasons I loved the sport so much was because it was the first American sport. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know in that respect. Other people, like the Gait brothers, are represented in a precious few lines in comparison to other characters when they are legends of the sport.
Ultimately, Price's book is long, but it doesn't feel like a cohesive story about the sport. Lacrosse lovers, like myself, may find the book too focused on the negatives without enough examination of the positives and why people love it. Non-lovers will probably not take the leap to read such a long book on a sport they don't have strong feelings about which isn't focused enough on any specific aspect of its controversies. It's overall a bit of a miss.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grove Atlantic.)
Price's narrative is all over the place. It starts at the World Lacrosse Championships in Israel in 2018. A lot of ink is spilled on the Haudenosaunee Team (you may know them as the Iroquois) and a debacle with their passports. This struck me as a strange way to introduce the reader to the subject. A person who knows nothing about lacrosse would be pretty lost and lacrosse is pretty secondary to the story in some ways. Later, this episode is used to spend a strange amount of time on Israeli-Palestinian relations with tenuous connections to American Indian/U.S. relations. Price couldn't know this when he was writing it, but these sections seem very under-baked in light of today's situation. This is just an example of how Price's chapters have so much packed into them, but ultimately feel like they are not in depth enough about what the reader came for. The book needed to be edited heavily and cut down significantly.
There is, however, a much larger problem. This book feels greatly weighted towards focusing on the problems with lacrosse and precious little time on what makes the sport attractive to a small but rabid fan-base. To be clear, the problems Price highlights are certainly an issue. The Duke sexual assault case showed just how quickly lacrosse players would be convicted by reputation alone, and the murder of Yeardley Love puts a personal story to excessive drinking/party culture. The question of diversity is certainly one that any lacrosse book needs to tackle and Price does that.
However, these negative issues felt like they took up most of the page space. Price is under no obligation to write a celebration of the sport, but the subtitle does mention history. There is some of that, but there is also a severe lack of American Indian history with the sport before the Europeans showed up (or really until the 1900s). One of the reasons I loved the sport so much was because it was the first American sport. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know in that respect. Other people, like the Gait brothers, are represented in a precious few lines in comparison to other characters when they are legends of the sport.
Ultimately, Price's book is long, but it doesn't feel like a cohesive story about the sport. Lacrosse lovers, like myself, may find the book too focused on the negatives without enough examination of the positives and why people love it. Non-lovers will probably not take the leap to read such a long book on a sport they don't have strong feelings about which isn't focused enough on any specific aspect of its controversies. It's overall a bit of a miss.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Grove Atlantic.)
October 6, 2025
The title of this book by S.L. Price, a long-time Sports Illustrated writer, is very appropriate for a book on the sport of lacrosse. While it is very well-known that Native Americans played the earliest known versions of the game, not much is known about their struggle to field their own team as a nation. That is just one of the topics Price covers about the sport in the book.
The Haudenosaunee (formerly Iroquois before taking back their original name) tried to enter Isreal for the 2018 world championships using their own passports instead of becoming part of the teams from the United States or Canada. This caused several issues, but they eventually competed in the tournament. The difficulties they faced is just one of several issues with the game that Price describes.
Other topics that are highlighted that trouble the sport is the lack of diversity, the lack of women in the sport, at least before Title IX was passed (it should be noted that Price does a really nice writeup of the recent state of women’s college lacrosse, including the fact that it is growing faster than the men’s game) and the “laxbro” attitude of the players who are mostly white, upper to upper middle class, and have a history of substance abuse. While it was very appropriate to include these topics, they were more of the focus of the book instead of the sport itself and for me, that was a disappointment.
However, when Price did write about the game, whether the growth of the women’s game, the “medicine games” played by the indigenous players in its earliest days and is still done by them today or just recapping how some schools such as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (men) or Northwestern University near Chicago (women) became powerhouses in the sport. While not at the level that a person who knows nothing about lacrosse would understand, Price’s text on actual game play and the positions are very good as well.
My thoughts on this book, as one can probably tell, are very mixed. On the one hand, it has great information on the sport at various times in its history, albeit a little uneven as Price switches from one topic to another and back often. Also as noted, the book did seem to concentrate on the hard issues of the sport instead of the beauty of the game. Nonetheless, it is worth checking out if one wants to learn more about the sport of lacrosse.
Note: My star rating was 3 1/2, rounded to four for this web site
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The Haudenosaunee (formerly Iroquois before taking back their original name) tried to enter Isreal for the 2018 world championships using their own passports instead of becoming part of the teams from the United States or Canada. This caused several issues, but they eventually competed in the tournament. The difficulties they faced is just one of several issues with the game that Price describes.
Other topics that are highlighted that trouble the sport is the lack of diversity, the lack of women in the sport, at least before Title IX was passed (it should be noted that Price does a really nice writeup of the recent state of women’s college lacrosse, including the fact that it is growing faster than the men’s game) and the “laxbro” attitude of the players who are mostly white, upper to upper middle class, and have a history of substance abuse. While it was very appropriate to include these topics, they were more of the focus of the book instead of the sport itself and for me, that was a disappointment.
However, when Price did write about the game, whether the growth of the women’s game, the “medicine games” played by the indigenous players in its earliest days and is still done by them today or just recapping how some schools such as Johns Hopkins in Baltimore (men) or Northwestern University near Chicago (women) became powerhouses in the sport. While not at the level that a person who knows nothing about lacrosse would understand, Price’s text on actual game play and the positions are very good as well.
My thoughts on this book, as one can probably tell, are very mixed. On the one hand, it has great information on the sport at various times in its history, albeit a little uneven as Price switches from one topic to another and back often. Also as noted, the book did seem to concentrate on the hard issues of the sport instead of the beauty of the game. Nonetheless, it is worth checking out if one wants to learn more about the sport of lacrosse.
Note: My star rating was 3 1/2, rounded to four for this web site
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
November 18, 2025
S. L. Price has done it AGAIN! “The American Game…Lacrosse” is his most recent literary sports triumph; a master class in sports journalism, a solid technical tutorial and an honest evocative - sometimes troubling - study of a rapidly rising American sport. Price’s stunning commitment to thorough research and historical detail are on full display. If you liked “Playing Through the Whistle” by S. L. Price, you will love TAG. You may not like all of the players, but you will LOVE Price’s determination to dispense accuracy and objectivity. For me, TAG is as much about American history and sociology as it is about the game of lacrosse. I can use only superlatives to describe this achievement and Price’s dogged determination to tell the true unvarnished story. Whether you love/like/hate lacrosse is irrelevant. What’s important is the way Price tells the story…perfectly.
Reviewed by Robert Sellari
December 1, 2025
This book isn't a conventional history of lacrosse, in the way that there are a thousand baseball history books and a handful of football and basketball history books. It's got a specialty angle that's akin to a book looking at the social aspect of lacrosse, and running through some of the game's history to buttress the discussion.
The argument made by the author (which I mostly agree with) is that the prep-school atmosphere associated with lacrosse in the US for a century began to show some cracks about 20 years ago as other cultures began to effectively assert their place in the game. This, of course, is good for the game, as it's always better to have more participants, both to grow the game and also to add whatever innovations new participants might produce.
The author focuses on two new groups. The first are Native Americans, who rightly should not be seen as new participants since they invented the game and never stopped playing it even after White American males codified rules and grew it into a formal sport. In particular, the Iroquois Nation reveres lacrosse as a quasi-religious experience, and the author spends a lot of time with them. Too much time for my taste, but he does present a fascinating portrait. First, it should be noted that the Iroquois (many of whom now prefer to be called Haudenosaunee) are arguably the most powerful tribal confederation in North America. Their members live in Upstate New York and Canada near the NY border, and they have a deep level of sovereignty that includes exemption from taxation by both nations. They also refuse to travel using either US or Canadian passports, instead making their own Haudenosaunee papers. When it comes to having a Haudenosaunee lacrosse team compete in an international tournament, this requires extensive negotiations for them to leave the US or Canada and be allowed entry on their passports to the other nation, and then for the US and Canada to accept their return. The book details 11th-hour negotiations for them to play in tournaments in Israel and Europe over this issue. And that's the author's (and the tribe's point): lacrosse is one wedge that this nation asserts its nationhood and brings its arguments to the public.
Because lacrosse is so important to the Haudenosaunee, they have developed dozens of world-class players. Many have been stars at the top US collegiate programs and continued to professional careers. Their exploits are discussed in the book, as well as individuals' decisions to either assimilate to the team without complaint or to assert their differentness. Again, the point of the book is to show how the seemingly monolithic lacrosse world of Connors and Treys who all come from Catholic prep schools in the East has been cracked open and democratized.
There are other big openings as well. One is geographic, as the game is now played at a high level coast-to-coast, rather than being isolated in a few areas in the East, most notably around Baltimore, Md. Today there are great players and teams in California and Denver and North Carolina, again all to the good of bringing more people to play and watch this exciting game.
The other opening is for Black players. A lot of this book covers the Black experience in lacrosse, which more or less begins with Jim Brown's legendary years at Syracuse. Brown was the greatest running back in pro football history and the first or second Black player at his university. He was its first Black lacrosse player and even more dominant in that sport. This book tells some of those stories but also busts a few myths about Brown. For one thing, it notes that he didn't play against the best teams of his era because they were in southern, racist states (like Maryland), and he didn't want to travel there and face Jim Crow restrictions. More power to him. But the result is that there's only one game, played in Baltimore after his senior season, when he actually faced the best of his contemporaries. He led the game in scoring, which pretty much answers the question of how good he was.
The book looks at efforts through the 200s and even before that to find a place for Black teens to play lacrosse. It has some interesting moments and shows that progress has been made in fits-and-starts. One of the themes of those parts is that lacrosse at the high school and, especially, college level is about more than the sport. It's about access to power in the US. So many lacrosse players come from privileged backgrounds and then go to fancy colleges that they are an informal job network for each other, particularly into lucrative fields like investment banking. So playing lacrosse is not just a four-year proposition, but it's a ticket to the good life. For players without elite family backgrounds (Black, Native or White), this is a pretty attractive thing.
In sum, this book is sociological and cultural more than it's about how to play great lacrosse or the feats of great players and teams. That latter stuff is in there as well, but lacrosse doesn't lend itself to the glories of sportswriting we see in baseball. I know a lot about lacrosse, and I didn't find the game coverage in this book to be all that interesting. If you don't know about lacrosse, you couldn't even follow that stuff.
My criticism is that the book is highly repetitive. One or two incidents for the Haudenosaunee would be enough, but there's 50 pages of it. Same with the Black experience; it's enough to know that there's a thriving program in Baltimore's inner city high schools, but I don't need to have interviews with seven or eight coaches who all talk about the opportunities that have arisen and the enthusiasm and skill of the players. Two examples would be enough.
As a final note, I'm not fully onboard with the early premise that lacrosse is a big deal on the sporting landscape. A bunch of statistics are thrown around about the game's growth, and I guess those are accurate. But this is still very much a niche sport, very much the playground of wealth suburbanites, and almost invisible outside of 10 or 20 perennial top college programs. I love lacrosse, and I'm totally comfortable with it being a niche. This doesn't detract at all from the greatness of the game, nor the benefits of it welcoming (or at least not impeding) participation by groups that were formerly ignored and excluded.
The argument made by the author (which I mostly agree with) is that the prep-school atmosphere associated with lacrosse in the US for a century began to show some cracks about 20 years ago as other cultures began to effectively assert their place in the game. This, of course, is good for the game, as it's always better to have more participants, both to grow the game and also to add whatever innovations new participants might produce.
The author focuses on two new groups. The first are Native Americans, who rightly should not be seen as new participants since they invented the game and never stopped playing it even after White American males codified rules and grew it into a formal sport. In particular, the Iroquois Nation reveres lacrosse as a quasi-religious experience, and the author spends a lot of time with them. Too much time for my taste, but he does present a fascinating portrait. First, it should be noted that the Iroquois (many of whom now prefer to be called Haudenosaunee) are arguably the most powerful tribal confederation in North America. Their members live in Upstate New York and Canada near the NY border, and they have a deep level of sovereignty that includes exemption from taxation by both nations. They also refuse to travel using either US or Canadian passports, instead making their own Haudenosaunee papers. When it comes to having a Haudenosaunee lacrosse team compete in an international tournament, this requires extensive negotiations for them to leave the US or Canada and be allowed entry on their passports to the other nation, and then for the US and Canada to accept their return. The book details 11th-hour negotiations for them to play in tournaments in Israel and Europe over this issue. And that's the author's (and the tribe's point): lacrosse is one wedge that this nation asserts its nationhood and brings its arguments to the public.
Because lacrosse is so important to the Haudenosaunee, they have developed dozens of world-class players. Many have been stars at the top US collegiate programs and continued to professional careers. Their exploits are discussed in the book, as well as individuals' decisions to either assimilate to the team without complaint or to assert their differentness. Again, the point of the book is to show how the seemingly monolithic lacrosse world of Connors and Treys who all come from Catholic prep schools in the East has been cracked open and democratized.
There are other big openings as well. One is geographic, as the game is now played at a high level coast-to-coast, rather than being isolated in a few areas in the East, most notably around Baltimore, Md. Today there are great players and teams in California and Denver and North Carolina, again all to the good of bringing more people to play and watch this exciting game.
The other opening is for Black players. A lot of this book covers the Black experience in lacrosse, which more or less begins with Jim Brown's legendary years at Syracuse. Brown was the greatest running back in pro football history and the first or second Black player at his university. He was its first Black lacrosse player and even more dominant in that sport. This book tells some of those stories but also busts a few myths about Brown. For one thing, it notes that he didn't play against the best teams of his era because they were in southern, racist states (like Maryland), and he didn't want to travel there and face Jim Crow restrictions. More power to him. But the result is that there's only one game, played in Baltimore after his senior season, when he actually faced the best of his contemporaries. He led the game in scoring, which pretty much answers the question of how good he was.
The book looks at efforts through the 200s and even before that to find a place for Black teens to play lacrosse. It has some interesting moments and shows that progress has been made in fits-and-starts. One of the themes of those parts is that lacrosse at the high school and, especially, college level is about more than the sport. It's about access to power in the US. So many lacrosse players come from privileged backgrounds and then go to fancy colleges that they are an informal job network for each other, particularly into lucrative fields like investment banking. So playing lacrosse is not just a four-year proposition, but it's a ticket to the good life. For players without elite family backgrounds (Black, Native or White), this is a pretty attractive thing.
In sum, this book is sociological and cultural more than it's about how to play great lacrosse or the feats of great players and teams. That latter stuff is in there as well, but lacrosse doesn't lend itself to the glories of sportswriting we see in baseball. I know a lot about lacrosse, and I didn't find the game coverage in this book to be all that interesting. If you don't know about lacrosse, you couldn't even follow that stuff.
My criticism is that the book is highly repetitive. One or two incidents for the Haudenosaunee would be enough, but there's 50 pages of it. Same with the Black experience; it's enough to know that there's a thriving program in Baltimore's inner city high schools, but I don't need to have interviews with seven or eight coaches who all talk about the opportunities that have arisen and the enthusiasm and skill of the players. Two examples would be enough.
As a final note, I'm not fully onboard with the early premise that lacrosse is a big deal on the sporting landscape. A bunch of statistics are thrown around about the game's growth, and I guess those are accurate. But this is still very much a niche sport, very much the playground of wealth suburbanites, and almost invisible outside of 10 or 20 perennial top college programs. I love lacrosse, and I'm totally comfortable with it being a niche. This doesn't detract at all from the greatness of the game, nor the benefits of it welcoming (or at least not impeding) participation by groups that were formerly ignored and excluded.
July 17, 2025
I fell in love with the game of lacrosse from the moment I saw it. Growing up on Long Island, I was a relatively late adopter. For the first 4-5 years, I barely knew the rules. Somehow, I found myself playing alongside soon-to-be legends of the professional level on one of the top high school teams in the country (some are even mentioned in this book!).
But after years of grueling practices, travel team circuits, a knee operation, and little time off, I began losing my passion for the game I once loved. While I regret opting out of playing D1, I can't begin to describe the ways the game improved my life — the friendships, the lessons, the coaches, the skills, the joy, and the bond with fellow players. In 2015, I got the opportunity to play for a US national team in Scandinavia, where we faced off against squads from Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and other European countries. We battled hard on the field and bonded over pints afterward.
This book was way different than what I was expecting. I almost walked by it in the bookstore since I figured I already knew most of the history of the game. But when I saw it on the "Staff Picks" shelf, I was intrigued. So I picked it up.
In The American Game, sports journalist S.L. Price examines lacrosse's growth and cultural challenges. Rather than a comprehensive history of the sport, Price explores the forces shaping lacrosse, especially its increase in popularity and related tensions. At the center of the story is the Haudenosaunee (formerly Iroquois) national lacrosse team, representing the originators of the sport. Also central to the narrative is the ongoing expansion of the sport from its niche position within American athletics to a much broader and more diverse placement. The book describes the ongoing debates about the sport’s trajectory, offering insights into what lacrosse represents to its many enthusiasts and where they believe it should be headed. In line with the game itself, Price concentrates on individual stories, detailing the personalities and institutions that are influencing lacrosse’s future.
✅ The good: Price’s reporting on Native sovereignty, Ivy‑League gatekeeping, and the sport’s global sprawl is fantastic. You’ll leave knowing why a wooden stick is a spiritual honor—and how America's elites turned it into a capitalistic land grab.
❌ The bad: Price can’t resist returning again and again to the sport’s worst stereotypes: the Duke scandal, “lax bro” excess, country‑club whiteness. Important, yes, but by the tenth reminder, the coverage felt less like journalism and more like a personal grudge. The timeline was also all over the place, switching from 19th century Montreal to last week's PLL draft without much reason or weaving between the two.
Overall, a unique book for understanding how sport represents deep social, economic, and cultural trends. Highly recommended for those interested in lacrosse’s future.
Rating: 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐⭐
But after years of grueling practices, travel team circuits, a knee operation, and little time off, I began losing my passion for the game I once loved. While I regret opting out of playing D1, I can't begin to describe the ways the game improved my life — the friendships, the lessons, the coaches, the skills, the joy, and the bond with fellow players. In 2015, I got the opportunity to play for a US national team in Scandinavia, where we faced off against squads from Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and other European countries. We battled hard on the field and bonded over pints afterward.
This book was way different than what I was expecting. I almost walked by it in the bookstore since I figured I already knew most of the history of the game. But when I saw it on the "Staff Picks" shelf, I was intrigued. So I picked it up.
In The American Game, sports journalist S.L. Price examines lacrosse's growth and cultural challenges. Rather than a comprehensive history of the sport, Price explores the forces shaping lacrosse, especially its increase in popularity and related tensions. At the center of the story is the Haudenosaunee (formerly Iroquois) national lacrosse team, representing the originators of the sport. Also central to the narrative is the ongoing expansion of the sport from its niche position within American athletics to a much broader and more diverse placement. The book describes the ongoing debates about the sport’s trajectory, offering insights into what lacrosse represents to its many enthusiasts and where they believe it should be headed. In line with the game itself, Price concentrates on individual stories, detailing the personalities and institutions that are influencing lacrosse’s future.
✅ The good: Price’s reporting on Native sovereignty, Ivy‑League gatekeeping, and the sport’s global sprawl is fantastic. You’ll leave knowing why a wooden stick is a spiritual honor—and how America's elites turned it into a capitalistic land grab.
❌ The bad: Price can’t resist returning again and again to the sport’s worst stereotypes: the Duke scandal, “lax bro” excess, country‑club whiteness. Important, yes, but by the tenth reminder, the coverage felt less like journalism and more like a personal grudge. The timeline was also all over the place, switching from 19th century Montreal to last week's PLL draft without much reason or weaving between the two.
Overall, a unique book for understanding how sport represents deep social, economic, and cultural trends. Highly recommended for those interested in lacrosse’s future.
Rating: 3.4 / 5 ⭐️⭐⭐
January 24, 2026
A complete disappointment.
Want to read about the Duke lacrosse case? The Love murder? The culture of alcohol? of drugs? Or of the systematic maltreatment of blacks? of Indigenous people? of Mexicans? Of Haudenosaunee women? Or perhaps you are interested in the elite, white boy finance industry mafia?
No. Then maybe you'll enjoy the bizarre, intense hyperfocus on the (inconsequential) World Championships in Israel, want to read 100 pages (it seems) on Lars Tiffany (sure, he's amongst the best of the current generation of coaches and a has a great back story, but - really - not a mention of Maryland's Tillman, Yale's Shay, etc.). The endless rifts on the Haudenosaunee Nationals is appropriate, but enough already.
Don't look for anything about the game itself. The role it played in six Nations peace. Or how Medicine Games were/are played then and now (the written and unwritten rules). Or how the Cherokee game was played. Or why the indigenous game was never farther west than the eastern Plains Indians. Or why Long Island and Baltimore became early foci for the field game (caisson workers, btw). Why the game became a province of the elite in Baltimore, but not in Long Island. Or how the college game developed, into the Ivies and then beyond.
Nor anything about how the game is played. No comparisons with the strategies of basketball (or hockey), how slide packages work, how box lacrosse came to have goalie wear like hockey, or anything of a strategy and tactics of the game. Nor how these have developed over time.
What little of the game you get is the occasional retelling of an individual game or two, with all the depth of a box score. Basically what you expect of a newspaper reporter.
We still await a book on The American Game.
Want to read about the Duke lacrosse case? The Love murder? The culture of alcohol? of drugs? Or of the systematic maltreatment of blacks? of Indigenous people? of Mexicans? Of Haudenosaunee women? Or perhaps you are interested in the elite, white boy finance industry mafia?
No. Then maybe you'll enjoy the bizarre, intense hyperfocus on the (inconsequential) World Championships in Israel, want to read 100 pages (it seems) on Lars Tiffany (sure, he's amongst the best of the current generation of coaches and a has a great back story, but - really - not a mention of Maryland's Tillman, Yale's Shay, etc.). The endless rifts on the Haudenosaunee Nationals is appropriate, but enough already.
Don't look for anything about the game itself. The role it played in six Nations peace. Or how Medicine Games were/are played then and now (the written and unwritten rules). Or how the Cherokee game was played. Or why the indigenous game was never farther west than the eastern Plains Indians. Or why Long Island and Baltimore became early foci for the field game (caisson workers, btw). Why the game became a province of the elite in Baltimore, but not in Long Island. Or how the college game developed, into the Ivies and then beyond.
Nor anything about how the game is played. No comparisons with the strategies of basketball (or hockey), how slide packages work, how box lacrosse came to have goalie wear like hockey, or anything of a strategy and tactics of the game. Nor how these have developed over time.
What little of the game you get is the occasional retelling of an individual game or two, with all the depth of a box score. Basically what you expect of a newspaper reporter.
We still await a book on The American Game.
September 24, 2025
S.L. Price presents a deep dive into the history, personalities, underpinnings and stories of the game: lacrosse….A game that predates baseball, football, hockey, soccer and even pickleball dating back to its Middle Ages origins by Native Americans. Extensively researched, carefully crafted, THE AMERICAN GAME, delves into its North American origins with the Iroquois Nation up to the present NCAA Division 1 collegiate play: ACC, Big 10, Ivy League (Duke,UNC,Virginia,Army, Navy, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Yale, Harvard, Michigan, Penn State etc.) and also the professional leagues now gaining traction.
Price examines personalities, politics, spirituality, equestrian lore, racial under and overtones, international intrigue all with captivating and entertaining story telling. Meet Oren Lyons, player, coach, college professor and founder of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Lacrosse, or preeminent coaches Lars Tiffany, Willie Scroggs, Roy Simmons Sr & Jr, Bob Scott, and insights for star players and not so star players including Jim Brown, Gaits brothers, Coker, Cowan, and Zimmerman.
Lacrosse as a major sport emerges in fits and starts but Price puts it in perspective: a great read for sports fans, history buffs, Native American culture enthusiasts: everyone.
This is not a book about how to play lacrosse. Or the rules and regulations. It weaves an historical narrative documenting sometimes difficult, sometimes irreverent but always entertaining rewarding journey by the sport which continues to grow in popularity worldwide.
Price examines personalities, politics, spirituality, equestrian lore, racial under and overtones, international intrigue all with captivating and entertaining story telling. Meet Oren Lyons, player, coach, college professor and founder of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Lacrosse, or preeminent coaches Lars Tiffany, Willie Scroggs, Roy Simmons Sr & Jr, Bob Scott, and insights for star players and not so star players including Jim Brown, Gaits brothers, Coker, Cowan, and Zimmerman.
Lacrosse as a major sport emerges in fits and starts but Price puts it in perspective: a great read for sports fans, history buffs, Native American culture enthusiasts: everyone.
This is not a book about how to play lacrosse. Or the rules and regulations. It weaves an historical narrative documenting sometimes difficult, sometimes irreverent but always entertaining rewarding journey by the sport which continues to grow in popularity worldwide.
July 9, 2025
I got so much more than I was expecting when I read “The American Game” by S. L. Price. I was expecting rules and how-to’s. I was expecting some history of the game of Lacrosse. This book didn’t give me much regarding the rules and how-to’s, but it was rich in the games history and personalities of those involved in the past 200+ years. It explained the cultural richness and traditions. It brought to light biases and conflicts. It shared triumphant stories and tragedies. This book is a resource for lacrosse in all of its details.
I enjoyed reading this book, especially the more I read it. It was a little hard for me to follow its format at first. It has a logical path, I just wasn’t as familiar enough with the game of lacrosse to see the logic. I felt it jumped around a bit at first that made it hard for me to track the story line. I would have liked a section on the variations of the game with the different types of rules for each variation. An explanation of the types and explanations of equipment would be helpful as well. This is a wonderful book for anyone who has an interest in the game of lacrosse. I know I will be looking forward to seeing this game played at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing this book and selecting me to review this book on NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheAmericanGame #AtlanticMonthlyPress #NetGalley #Lacrosse
I enjoyed reading this book, especially the more I read it. It was a little hard for me to follow its format at first. It has a logical path, I just wasn’t as familiar enough with the game of lacrosse to see the logic. I felt it jumped around a bit at first that made it hard for me to track the story line. I would have liked a section on the variations of the game with the different types of rules for each variation. An explanation of the types and explanations of equipment would be helpful as well. This is a wonderful book for anyone who has an interest in the game of lacrosse. I know I will be looking forward to seeing this game played at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
I wish to thank Atlantic Monthly Press for providing this book and selecting me to review this book on NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheAmericanGame #AtlanticMonthlyPress #NetGalley #Lacrosse
August 1, 2025
In this brilliant book about the history of lacrosse in the United States and the ways in which it has evolved from the original Indigenous game into an elite white collegiate sport, S L Price brings in historical documents, interviews with current and former players, and incredible details to create a brilliant mix of history and biography. Tracing the sport’s history and constructed over seven years of research, he explores the unique cultural landscape of lacrosse, particularly over the last fifty years. Paying equal attention to the players and the larger trajectory of the sport, the book balances the two angles perfectly and includes incredible stories and excellent details to bring the book to life. Looking to the sport’s future in the Olympics and back to the darker and more problematic issues of the late 2000s and early 2010s, Price does not shy away from these issues or the details, highlighting the need to address the good with the bad in order to make progress. Brilliantly written, packed with detail, and well-researched, this is a fantastic book for lacrosse players and historians alike, and Price’s incredible prose and brilliant language makes this an entertaining, immersive, and informational read that readers will struggle to put down.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Atlantic Monthly Press for the advance copy.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic, and Atlantic Monthly Press for the advance copy.
August 5, 2025
I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley.
Honestly, this book was a slog, and I can't fully figure out why. The concept was interesting, the facts were interesting, the people were generally interesting, but somehow this book felt like work to get through. Some editing in terms of sequencing and carrying a storyline through would have helped immensely. S.L. Price is a good, technical writer, but I will say that I've never found him to be an extremely engaging writer, even in his SI pieces. By writing out an entire book, it felt like he had so many things to jam in that he just kept putting more and more and more in, making it hard to keep track of who somebody was or how it all connected. I found myself having to go back and reread over and over again because I would glaze over at some point.
It's a bummer, because I went into the book wanting to be excited about lacrosse, but found myself feeling kind of "meh." If anything, I will probably keep an eye out for lacrosse at the Olympics now, but I doubt I dig into it much more than that, which is the main failure of the book. I felt like the aim was to bring a new group of fans into the fold, but instead, I feel like it's going to leave them cold.
Honestly, this book was a slog, and I can't fully figure out why. The concept was interesting, the facts were interesting, the people were generally interesting, but somehow this book felt like work to get through. Some editing in terms of sequencing and carrying a storyline through would have helped immensely. S.L. Price is a good, technical writer, but I will say that I've never found him to be an extremely engaging writer, even in his SI pieces. By writing out an entire book, it felt like he had so many things to jam in that he just kept putting more and more and more in, making it hard to keep track of who somebody was or how it all connected. I found myself having to go back and reread over and over again because I would glaze over at some point.
It's a bummer, because I went into the book wanting to be excited about lacrosse, but found myself feeling kind of "meh." If anything, I will probably keep an eye out for lacrosse at the Olympics now, but I doubt I dig into it much more than that, which is the main failure of the book. I felt like the aim was to bring a new group of fans into the fold, but instead, I feel like it's going to leave them cold.
June 18, 2025
A good book, providing a thoughtful commentary on lacrosse’s recent past and its hoped-for future. The author, sport journalist S. L. Price, examines lacrosse’s growth and cultural challenges. Rather than a comprehensive history of the sport, Price explores the forces shaping lacrosse, especially its increase in popularity and related tensions. At the center of the story is the Haudenosaunee (formerly Iroquois) national lacrosse team, representing the originators of the sport. Also central to the narrative is the ongoing expansion of the sport from its niche position within American athletics to a much broader and more diverse placement. The book describes the ongoing debates about the sport’s trajectory, offering insights into what lacrosse represents to its many enthusiasts and where they believe it should be headed. In line with the game itself, Price concentrates on individual stories, detailing the personalities and institutions that are influencing lacrosse’s future. A great book for understanding how sport represents deep social, economic, and cultural trends. Highly recommended for those interested in lacrosse’s future.
November 14, 2025
I really enjoyed Scott Price’s The American Game. It touched on a lot of things for me personally. My father played lacrosse and was all-MSA for Baltimore’s Gilman School in the late fifties, before becoming an All-American defenseman and captain at Princeton in the early sixties. He later coached lacrosse at Andover in the late sixties. He knew many of the people in Baltimore that Price mentions in his book, and he passed on to me this love of lacrosse, which I grew up playing and later coaching.
Price’s in-depth writing about the Haudenosaunee culture struck many chords, not only spiritually but also in terms of family and remembering your origins and appreciating how sport can cross barriers and open new ways of seeing.
I also appreciated Price’s structure, opening with the Iroquois stranded in Ontario, trying to get to the Worlds. And I was especially moved by the family stories—the Thompson brothers and Kyle Harrison and his father Miles—because in the end, that’s what lacrosse is about, to me—connections to each other and kin and something larger.
I highly recommend this book.
Price’s in-depth writing about the Haudenosaunee culture struck many chords, not only spiritually but also in terms of family and remembering your origins and appreciating how sport can cross barriers and open new ways of seeing.
I also appreciated Price’s structure, opening with the Iroquois stranded in Ontario, trying to get to the Worlds. And I was especially moved by the family stories—the Thompson brothers and Kyle Harrison and his father Miles—because in the end, that’s what lacrosse is about, to me—connections to each other and kin and something larger.
I highly recommend this book.
Read
August 24, 2025I’ve never considered myself much of a sports fan, but a book I stumbled across at my local library caught my eye. Something about it pulled me in, so I decided to give it a chance and checked out The American Game.
I’m glad I did. What makes The American Game so compelling is the way the author uses lacrosse as a lens to explore our society’s long struggle for social justice. The blend of cultural history and personal stories is not only illuminating but surprisingly engaging. I’ve even found myself enjoying the play-by-play details of the athletes and their matches—enough so that I’ve set my DVR to record an upcoming lacrosse game. With luck, I’ll watch it live, but either way, it’s a first for me.
Equally powerful is the book’s attention to Native American and African American history, woven through stories that give weight and context to the sport. It’s a reminder that lacrosse is more than just a game—it’s a living piece of cultural heritage and an ongoing conversation about identity and justice.
I’m glad I did. What makes The American Game so compelling is the way the author uses lacrosse as a lens to explore our society’s long struggle for social justice. The blend of cultural history and personal stories is not only illuminating but surprisingly engaging. I’ve even found myself enjoying the play-by-play details of the athletes and their matches—enough so that I’ve set my DVR to record an upcoming lacrosse game. With luck, I’ll watch it live, but either way, it’s a first for me.
Equally powerful is the book’s attention to Native American and African American history, woven through stories that give weight and context to the sport. It’s a reminder that lacrosse is more than just a game—it’s a living piece of cultural heritage and an ongoing conversation about identity and justice.
September 26, 2025
As a former lacrosse player and career coach, I was excited to dive into this book. Lacrosse is still a small niche sport in the larger sports world. I'm happy to see any mainstream coverage, even more so by an established sports writer like Price. I know many of the people featured in the book, which undoubtedly made it more engrossing personally. I was pleased that Price focused so much on the history and current experience of indigenous people, since they play such a central role in the history and character of the game. While I'd love to see more positive stories featured...there are plenty in the game...it didn't bother me that Price discussed some of the warts that still exist. As a sport we're still tackling some of those and the public impressions they create.
I tore through this. If you're a lacrosse person, I highly recommend. If not, it gives a great overview of some import segments of the game's history and growth.
I tore through this. If you're a lacrosse person, I highly recommend. If not, it gives a great overview of some import segments of the game's history and growth.
October 17, 2025
I wish you could give half-stars, because I was torn between 3 stars and 4 for this book. The central thread of the book is the Haudenosaunee history with the game overlaid with the sport's powers seeking entry for the sport into the Olympics in 2028, with the Haudenosaunee aiming to compete as their own nation. That's a compelling story. However, in the interest of telling a broader story of lacrosse, the author brings in many broad issues: race, class, gender, drug use, capitalism, in an effort to demonstrate that lacrosse mirrors America as a whole. I'm always skeptical of plots that try to tie niche subjects to broader societal truths, and some of these threads don't hold for me. But the individuals profiled are interesting and I learned a lot about a sport that I have enjoyed when I watched it but haven't closely followed.
November 16, 2025
I recently completed reading The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse, by S.L Price. Scott Price’s thorough reporting of the good and the challenges of all aspects of our modern game was extremely thorough and instructive. The author’s various themes of focus helped to tell the story of all that is part of this beautiful game.
Having grown up and learned Lacrosse in Syracuse, New York, I admired the acknowledgement and importance Mr. Price gave to the Haudenosaunee (especially the Onondaga) role in creating and carrying on the true nature of the game.
As a lifelong participant in and supporter of the game of lacrosse and its origins, I really enjoyed the read.
I highly recommend this well-written book.
Having grown up and learned Lacrosse in Syracuse, New York, I admired the acknowledgement and importance Mr. Price gave to the Haudenosaunee (especially the Onondaga) role in creating and carrying on the true nature of the game.
As a lifelong participant in and supporter of the game of lacrosse and its origins, I really enjoyed the read.
I highly recommend this well-written book.
May 23, 2025
This had the potential to be a great book. But like so many books today, over the top negativity and hate for America with a heaping of Trump Derangement Syndrome. I understand that racism is part of the history here. But to go on and on is excessive. It became repetitious, boring and ruined the flow of the book. I see the book was published by Atlantic Monthly and that explains everything. Too bad. As a big fan of the sport there were parts that were very good and I learned a lot. Cutting 150 pages of excessive explanations of the wrongs committed would have improved readability and add credibility to the effort.
July 26, 2025
A massive allegory of colonialism through the lens of lacrosse… the story follows the native Haudenosaunee and the sport they created. The story takes twists and turns as various subcultures of the sport are exploded. You can’t help but feel the taint of professionalism, money, and scholarship has put on it. However, it’s fascinating to see the people who hold true to the medicine game origin.
December 8, 2025
Knew very little about lacrosse before reading this book, incredibly interesting history especially the cultural appropriation from the Haudenosaunee people, a long a detailed read that was quite engaging!
July 7, 2025
A thoughtful, critical look at the game. Lacrosse belongs to the Haudenosaunee. I thank them for it.
August 13, 2025
A great collection of stories about the greatest of games
August 22, 2025
A great look into the contemporary issues facing the game today. Was able to examine multiple sides of the problem and help provide an update to where lacrosse is and is hoping to go.
October 16, 2025
S.L. Price - always a must read His research and reporting are off the charts, matched only by his crisp, graceful prose. Few writers capture the soul of sport and America quite like he does.
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