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Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life from the Back Roads of Sports
New York Times 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. Sidecountry gathers the best of Branch's work, featuring 20 of his favorites from the more than 2,000 pieces he has published in the paper.
Branch is renowned for covering the offbeat in the sporting world, from alligator hunting to wingsuit flying. Sidecountry features such classic Branch pieces as "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.
Branch is renowned for covering the offbeat in the sporting world, from alligator hunting to wingsuit flying. Sidecountry features such classic Branch pieces as "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.
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First published June 1, 2021
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About the author
John Branch
36 books64 followersJohn Branch is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for the New York Times. He is the bestselling author of Boy on Ice and The Last Cowboys and has been featured multiple times in Best American Sports Writing. He lives near San Francisco, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
September 14, 2021
Suffers due to the format - there's repetition in the multipart articles. Normally I'm picky enough to bump something down to a 4* for that, but then I found myself tearing up in public at the final story and realized it was too good for that.
July 10, 2021
Excellent! This book is best described by the author himself: "I write stories you didn't know you wanted to read." I found myself agreeing with that statement over and over as I finished each new story, from basketball and free climbing to alligator hunting and horseshoe throwing. John Branch does a masterful job peeling back the layers to show not just the thrilling adventure of his stories, but also the tender humanity of the people involved. I enjoyed the variety of topics and story lengths - some were only a few pages, while others took a few sittings to finish. Many of them lingered in my mind long after I had closed the covers. Highly recommend!
I received this as an ARC from Goodreads Giveaway, and my opinions are my own.
I received this as an ARC from Goodreads Giveaway, and my opinions are my own.
December 27, 2022
Branch's "Snowfall" is in this collection and is the reason why I brought it. However, there are several stories, in particular the last one, that will make you tear up.
October 12, 2021
A collection of articles by Branch exploring the edges of the sports world, and rather a mixed bag for me. The story of skiers caught in an avalanche had me riveted throughout, while a few other offerings went on a bit too long or weren't my cup of tea. This needed better editing, as the multi-part stories had too much repetition. And as much as Branch wanted to say these were all united in his chosen theme of the eponymous "Sidecountry", there really was not a connection or flow from one story to the next. He's a very good writer, but he should have had an equally excellent editor instead of just cutting and pasting his favorite articles over the years into a collection. 2.5 stars.
March 4, 2023
I enjoyed these stories a lot, and Branch is a very engaging writer (and New York Times sports reporter), but there were some editing decisions that made the longer pieces irritating and confusing.
October 12, 2023
A riveting reminder of what made the New York Times Sports department such a remarkable group - and what a massive mistake it was for NYT to disband it. These are some of the few sports stories on a national or local outlet level that go beyond last night’s stats and the major league team’s chances at making playoffs. Branch, like so many of his Sports colleagues, tells the stories that make us up as humans, the stories that show how everyday life is full of magic. What an absolute unforced error by the New York Times to shut down this department.
On a critical level, why 4 stars: the stories are wonderful but I did wish for more from a collection, like more reflection and explanation of how the stories were reported. I found myself going back to my phone to see the interviews and things where Branch talked about how he reported some of them. I also wish the editors had just included the publishing year at the start of every article so we could situation ourselves (instead I often would just look them up to figure it out) and would’ve been nice to include more photos and the photographers’ credits alongside them, since Branch’s stories are famously visual, too.
But, the storytelling: just wonderful. He clearly has an eye for finding stories that pack a punch, but alongside that he also has the reporting drive and skill (and, well, resources and funding thanks to the NYT) to fully see a story through. Branch also has a skill for describing scenes, whether he witnesses it firsthand or not.
I just can’t stop thinking about what an absolute loss it is for us as a culture to lose this kind of storytelling. These stories are what make sports so great! No disrespect to The Athletic but these serve two different purposes. I’ve been reading Branch for years because the stories he finds are unique and deeply moving and revealing, and allowing for that type of reporting takes newsroom resources - which is worth it! That’s why we do this work, to be able to uncover the stories of our lives as a people. I hope he and his colleagues, like Juliet Macur, find good footing, but more so I really hope the Times comes to their senses about this.
On a critical level, why 4 stars: the stories are wonderful but I did wish for more from a collection, like more reflection and explanation of how the stories were reported. I found myself going back to my phone to see the interviews and things where Branch talked about how he reported some of them. I also wish the editors had just included the publishing year at the start of every article so we could situation ourselves (instead I often would just look them up to figure it out) and would’ve been nice to include more photos and the photographers’ credits alongside them, since Branch’s stories are famously visual, too.
But, the storytelling: just wonderful. He clearly has an eye for finding stories that pack a punch, but alongside that he also has the reporting drive and skill (and, well, resources and funding thanks to the NYT) to fully see a story through. Branch also has a skill for describing scenes, whether he witnesses it firsthand or not.
I just can’t stop thinking about what an absolute loss it is for us as a culture to lose this kind of storytelling. These stories are what make sports so great! No disrespect to The Athletic but these serve two different purposes. I’ve been reading Branch for years because the stories he finds are unique and deeply moving and revealing, and allowing for that type of reporting takes newsroom resources - which is worth it! That’s why we do this work, to be able to uncover the stories of our lives as a people. I hope he and his colleagues, like Juliet Macur, find good footing, but more so I really hope the Times comes to their senses about this.
February 8, 2024
2-3 articles 5⭐️, bcp d’articles 2⭐️
September 28, 2022
I picked up Sidecountry in my search for an author who is comparable to Jon Krakauer. John Branch’s compilation of narrative nonfiction articles are within the same realm, and comparable, but not quite the same caliber of writing as Krakauer in my opinion. But, no need for more comparison. There are many things I love about Branch’s articles, which in this book are sometimes article series, so do not be surprised if certain series repeat the key elements of a story as they develop over time (how they were published). My favorites are interestingly the final five narratives that make up the book’s subsection titled Dying and Living. They are about Steve Kerr’s family, a football coach in Iowa, Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash, speedcubers, and a family connected to the Vegas mass shooting. I also loved the compilation of articles about the Carroll Academy correctional school basketball team and the alligator game hunters. I like compilations of adventure sport writing, so, of course, I was entertained :)
August 10, 2021
The first story was very compelling, but many of the stories were just light human interest sport stories. I was expecting the whole book to be thrilling sport/adventure stories. It was overall decent, honestly I would just find a copy of the first story from the New York times.
July 5, 2022
SUCH a moving a great collection of writing. Not only is Branch a great writer but the stories were moving, funny, and heartbreaking. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves the outdoors and sports but also humans and the emotions one goes through. Loved this book.
July 15, 2021
I couldn't put this book down! It went behind the scene of different sports and told the human story. I highly recommend it to others!
July 2, 2025
John Branch's "Sidecountry" presents a collection of adventurous sports stories compiled from his newspaper reporting. While Branch demonstrates his talent for finding compelling narratives—from Steve Kerr's struggles to the dedication of a high school football coach in Iowa—the book suffers from its origins as disparate newspaper articles shoved together into book form. The individual stories themselves are undeniably unique and moving, showcasing Branch's eye for finding the extraordinary.
One weakness is Branch's repetitive structural approach, where each story builds to a dramatic revelation at its conclusion. This surprise-ending formula might work effectively for weekly newspaper readers encountering each piece separately, but when read consecutively in book form, the pattern becomes predictable. Readers quickly learn to anticipate the withheld information, which undermines the intended emotional impact and makes the collection feel more like a writing exercise than a cohesive work.
Multi-part articles particularly suffer, as Branch repeatedly rehashes information to orient newspaper readers who might have missed earlier installments. This repetition becomes grating in book form, where readers have the full context readily available. Meanwhile, shorter pieces feel underdeveloped, lacking the descriptive depth and emotional resonance needed to create the profound connection that distinguishes great sports writing from mere reporting.
The whole thing just feels like a wasted opportunity. Branch clearly has the reporting chops to dig up fascinating stories, but the newspaper format—with its need for snappy, standalone pieces—really hamstrings what could have been great storytelling. The writing lacks the descriptive depth and emotional weight that separates memorable sports writing from just decent journalism. Instead of getting stories that stick with you, you get a collection that feels more like browsing through old newspaper clippings than reading a real book.
One weakness is Branch's repetitive structural approach, where each story builds to a dramatic revelation at its conclusion. This surprise-ending formula might work effectively for weekly newspaper readers encountering each piece separately, but when read consecutively in book form, the pattern becomes predictable. Readers quickly learn to anticipate the withheld information, which undermines the intended emotional impact and makes the collection feel more like a writing exercise than a cohesive work.
Multi-part articles particularly suffer, as Branch repeatedly rehashes information to orient newspaper readers who might have missed earlier installments. This repetition becomes grating in book form, where readers have the full context readily available. Meanwhile, shorter pieces feel underdeveloped, lacking the descriptive depth and emotional resonance needed to create the profound connection that distinguishes great sports writing from mere reporting.
The whole thing just feels like a wasted opportunity. Branch clearly has the reporting chops to dig up fascinating stories, but the newspaper format—with its need for snappy, standalone pieces—really hamstrings what could have been great storytelling. The writing lacks the descriptive depth and emotional weight that separates memorable sports writing from just decent journalism. Instead of getting stories that stick with you, you get a collection that feels more like browsing through old newspaper clippings than reading a real book.
December 2, 2024
I knew several of these stories—the Dawn Wall, Dean Potter’s death, Tunnel Creek—and I’m a little bit sorry to say that those, and the Everest disaster coverage, were my favorite. I’d hoped to enjoy the small-town sports stories hinted in the forward more than the big adventure tales, but I’m a big adventure gal, and those are the ones that called. I smashed through those sections and found myself slowing down significantly through the rest of the book.
That said, even though much of it was not really the thrill I was looking for, I do feel like the book embodied the spirit of “sidecountry”—passionate exploration of the world just off the beaten path.
It was fun and I’d recommend to anyone who likes reading the NYT.
That said, even though much of it was not really the thrill I was looking for, I do feel like the book embodied the spirit of “sidecountry”—passionate exploration of the world just off the beaten path.
It was fun and I’d recommend to anyone who likes reading the NYT.
September 17, 2021
This book is a compilation of previously written stories by the author that made up an unusual whole. While not all of the stories were obviously connected, which meant that there really wasn't a flow, most of the stories were fascinating. And, on a personal level, this book jumpstarted book reading for me after a long period of mostly reading online news, Facebook and various sports, travel and work stories. Very good.
January 5, 2026
ohhhhhhh my god. john branch. the man that you are. one of my top two writers ever and he def isn’t number two. he writes the kind of stories i wanted to write in j school. his ability to take anything in sports and make it into a completely unexpected story is so insane. loved that he was involved in some of the stories but not in an obnoxious way. truly the only reason it took me so long to read this book is that i was scared to be done with it. and yeah. i cried a little bit on an airplane in the middle seat between two scary dudes while reading this. snowfall is so insanely deserving of the pulitzer it won. i love you forever and ever, john branch.
favs include: snowfall, the dawn wall, the lady jaguars, seeing the world beyond the court, they heard the helicopter go down. then they prayed, and the girl in the no. 8 jersey.
favs include: snowfall, the dawn wall, the lady jaguars, seeing the world beyond the court, they heard the helicopter go down. then they prayed, and the girl in the no. 8 jersey.
July 11, 2023
Nice mix of short-form & feature profiles. “The stories you didn’t know you needed to hear” some tears, some laughs, some intrigues, some yawns, but all in all a good time
September 11, 2021
The stories were gripping, heart-warming, inspired... A look at the people behind sports and "out-there" activities. However, it's back to back pastings of articles. A little editing would have turned this into a 4 or 5 stars for me 🙂
October 11, 2022
Enjoyable stories. Engaging book. Three stars because I’m trying to get better about not defaulting to 4 stars with everything. Gotta make four stars more special so that five stars are truly special.
November 22, 2021
More stars than I can imagine!!!!! Read in one sitting, couldn't put in down.. Listened to the audio!
Cried alot!
Cried alot!
August 13, 2024
3 stars was generous, not the book I thought it was going to be, but there were some redeeming articles.
January 4, 2024
This was a compelling set of stories from the margins of the sporting world, all originally published in the NYT. The most striking ones to me were where the author revisited the subjects long after the initial story- the tornado town in particular. Removing the intervening time in the reading made them something else- more like a dramatic tragedy.
June 15, 2021
Summary: Other than wanting more, I loved everything about this collection of stories about offbeat sports! It really appealed to the part of me that loves learning about unusual jobs.
With the recent exception of some motorsports, I've not ever been much of a sports fan. However, I am as susceptible as anyone to a heart-warming sports story. I also love the quirky and the offbeat. This collection of journalist John Branch's favorite pieces promised to include plenty of both. Sports and competitions that are covered include everything from dog grooming to figure eight racing, horseshoes to rock climbing. Some of the sports I'd never even heard of. Others, I simply knew very little about. Many of the stories, especially the longer ones, were also really moving stories about people. There are a lot of emotions tied up in sports and the author captured this through detailed characterizations of the people involved.
I'll lead with my only complaint about this collection - I wanted pretty much every piece to be longer! Always a good problem to have. I went in to this imagining it as an essay collection. In reality, it's a collection of articles that have all been previously published in The New York Times. As such, there were a handful of pieces where the author was able to spend a long time unravelling a disaster (his Pulitzer prize winning opener on an avalanche, another on the retrieval of bodes from Mount Everest). There were also a few where he was able to revisit a team or a town multiple times (The Lady Jaguars team at a correctional institute, a town rebuilding after a hurricane). These pieces were my absolute favorites. I loved them. I was able to list them off for you without looking them up, because they all stuck with me. Even with many characters involved, as in the avalanche story, the author did a pretty good job helping me get to know and keep track of everyone. I think there was only one piece with significant repetition between segments because it was published in installments. Most of the longer pieces flowed as though they started life that way. Even in some of these longer pieces, I could have gone for some philosophical musings, a la Leslie Jamison, perhaps on the ethics of helping fellow climbers on Everest or on the role peer pressure played in the ski trip devastated by an avalanche.
The shorter pieces worked better for me than I expected they would though. Only one, on a man who died after bowling a perfect game, felt lacking. Only a few pages in length, I didn't feel I got to know the people and the sport was well known to me. The other essays all accomplished a goal of the author's - to write stories that people don't know they want to read, but that they'll be glad they did. (Oh, except I skipped the two articles on hunting, because I'm definitely not team human in those showdowns). I learned so much about so many incredible communities of athletes. I learned about interesting hobbies and passions. I met impressive and unconventional people. This particularly appealed to the same part of me that enjoys learning about jobs I'd never heard of. It's was just such a cool glimpse into parts of the world I didn't even know I wanted to know about. Honestly, the way my brain has been working lately, I also enjoyed that this came in digestible bites. I know some of you share my love of unusual jobs and many of you probably share my pandemic-exhausted brain. I recommend this to you particularly.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
With the recent exception of some motorsports, I've not ever been much of a sports fan. However, I am as susceptible as anyone to a heart-warming sports story. I also love the quirky and the offbeat. This collection of journalist John Branch's favorite pieces promised to include plenty of both. Sports and competitions that are covered include everything from dog grooming to figure eight racing, horseshoes to rock climbing. Some of the sports I'd never even heard of. Others, I simply knew very little about. Many of the stories, especially the longer ones, were also really moving stories about people. There are a lot of emotions tied up in sports and the author captured this through detailed characterizations of the people involved.
I'll lead with my only complaint about this collection - I wanted pretty much every piece to be longer! Always a good problem to have. I went in to this imagining it as an essay collection. In reality, it's a collection of articles that have all been previously published in The New York Times. As such, there were a handful of pieces where the author was able to spend a long time unravelling a disaster (his Pulitzer prize winning opener on an avalanche, another on the retrieval of bodes from Mount Everest). There were also a few where he was able to revisit a team or a town multiple times (The Lady Jaguars team at a correctional institute, a town rebuilding after a hurricane). These pieces were my absolute favorites. I loved them. I was able to list them off for you without looking them up, because they all stuck with me. Even with many characters involved, as in the avalanche story, the author did a pretty good job helping me get to know and keep track of everyone. I think there was only one piece with significant repetition between segments because it was published in installments. Most of the longer pieces flowed as though they started life that way. Even in some of these longer pieces, I could have gone for some philosophical musings, a la Leslie Jamison, perhaps on the ethics of helping fellow climbers on Everest or on the role peer pressure played in the ski trip devastated by an avalanche.
The shorter pieces worked better for me than I expected they would though. Only one, on a man who died after bowling a perfect game, felt lacking. Only a few pages in length, I didn't feel I got to know the people and the sport was well known to me. The other essays all accomplished a goal of the author's - to write stories that people don't know they want to read, but that they'll be glad they did. (Oh, except I skipped the two articles on hunting, because I'm definitely not team human in those showdowns). I learned so much about so many incredible communities of athletes. I learned about interesting hobbies and passions. I met impressive and unconventional people. This particularly appealed to the same part of me that enjoys learning about jobs I'd never heard of. It's was just such a cool glimpse into parts of the world I didn't even know I wanted to know about. Honestly, the way my brain has been working lately, I also enjoyed that this came in digestible bites. I know some of you share my love of unusual jobs and many of you probably share my pandemic-exhausted brain. I recommend this to you particularly.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
September 6, 2021
Really great writing, and very engaging...but I guess this isn't really my kind of book. I would have enjoyed each article in a magazine, but to have a whole book of articles was a bit much at times.
September 11, 2021
I loved this one. Twenty of New York Times sports writer John Branch's favourite stories written over the course of his career.
None of the stories are actually about sports, but stories about people. I sobbed at several. They range from a short blog post about a woman killed during the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, her young daughter soccer teammates with the author's daughter, to a massive multimedia story about a deadly avalanche that won the Pulitzer Prize.
There's a story about Sherpas bringing down the bodies of two Indian climbers who died on Everest. One about the death of BASE jumpers. Another about the first two men to free climb the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite (immediately followed that up with watching the documentary about it on Netflix, titled 'The Dawn Wall').
One of the longer ones I particularly liked was about the always-losing Lady Jaguars of Carroll Academy. A small, district-run school in a poverty-stricken area, Carroll Academy is a halfway-school of sorts for kids that are struggling with behaviour issues at their regular schools or minor crimes to give them structure and boundaries. Because there are only ever a handful of girls at the school, joining the basketball team is mandatory. That's where John Branch starts, letting you into the world of these children that you can't help but root for.
None of the stories are actually about sports, but stories about people. I sobbed at several. They range from a short blog post about a woman killed during the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, her young daughter soccer teammates with the author's daughter, to a massive multimedia story about a deadly avalanche that won the Pulitzer Prize.
There's a story about Sherpas bringing down the bodies of two Indian climbers who died on Everest. One about the death of BASE jumpers. Another about the first two men to free climb the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite (immediately followed that up with watching the documentary about it on Netflix, titled 'The Dawn Wall').
One of the longer ones I particularly liked was about the always-losing Lady Jaguars of Carroll Academy. A small, district-run school in a poverty-stricken area, Carroll Academy is a halfway-school of sorts for kids that are struggling with behaviour issues at their regular schools or minor crimes to give them structure and boundaries. Because there are only ever a handful of girls at the school, joining the basketball team is mandatory. That's where John Branch starts, letting you into the world of these children that you can't help but root for.
August 29, 2021
This is a collection of previously published stories about a wide variety of sports. All are well written but together they don't make a great book. Some are repetitive because they are from series of articles on the subject. Appreciated the short postscripts with updated info. I would prefer the photos be titled and dated on the page in book vs. forcing me to go to the credits to find the details.
August 4, 2021
I am biased against collections--short stories or articles--compiled into a single volume. More on my preconception in a moment.
John Branch’s SideCountry caught my attention with a collection of fascinating subjects. Branch writes about the best ever at throwing horseshoes, superstars in Rubik’s speedcubing, and a perfect 300 bowling game that didn’t end well…dangerous adventures like skiing in avalanche territory, free climbing 3,000 feet up El Capitan, and death atop Mt. Everest (a story that begins where others end)…and heartbreaking stories like Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash and a high school basketball team that loses games by huge scores like 44-1 and 69-9.
Even the book’s title was a draw. As the introduction explains, SideCountry “is a place just outside the controlled part of the ski area--not quite the backcountry, but beyond the ropes and wild enough. It seduces the daring with its illusion of safety, thanks to its proximity. It is an adventure within reach, but still out of bounds.” SideCountry is a real place at ski resorts and a thought-provoking metaphor for many of the articles in this collection. And it’s another reason I was drawn to the book.
But what about my preconception that collections (in this case former articles) don’t make satisfying reading? Perhaps it’s just confirmation bias, but I didn’t love SideCountry. Like many collections, this one is uneven, some articles more fulfilling than others, some topics more compelling than others. Because many of the articles are brief, they sometimes lack depth, and the frequent change of subjects can be disorienting. My enjoyment was, by definition, fragmented, not complete.
And in SideCountry, I found other flaws that’s particular to this collection. Some pieces are a series of articles chained together into a book entry. Because the articles were published over time for possibly different readers, there is frequent repetition of the basics like names, places, and definitions. Quite often I found myself saying, “Didn’t I just read that?” And in the stories with multiple characters, those characters sometimes become a jumble of names, no longer identifiable individuals; a tighter focus on fewer people might help.
So based on the topics (and the title), SideCountry originally held great promise, and I was excited to begin reading. By the end, I can say I enjoyed the book; however, taken as a whole, it ultimately fell short for me. No surprise, it’s a collection.
John Branch’s SideCountry caught my attention with a collection of fascinating subjects. Branch writes about the best ever at throwing horseshoes, superstars in Rubik’s speedcubing, and a perfect 300 bowling game that didn’t end well…dangerous adventures like skiing in avalanche territory, free climbing 3,000 feet up El Capitan, and death atop Mt. Everest (a story that begins where others end)…and heartbreaking stories like Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash and a high school basketball team that loses games by huge scores like 44-1 and 69-9.
Even the book’s title was a draw. As the introduction explains, SideCountry “is a place just outside the controlled part of the ski area--not quite the backcountry, but beyond the ropes and wild enough. It seduces the daring with its illusion of safety, thanks to its proximity. It is an adventure within reach, but still out of bounds.” SideCountry is a real place at ski resorts and a thought-provoking metaphor for many of the articles in this collection. And it’s another reason I was drawn to the book.
But what about my preconception that collections (in this case former articles) don’t make satisfying reading? Perhaps it’s just confirmation bias, but I didn’t love SideCountry. Like many collections, this one is uneven, some articles more fulfilling than others, some topics more compelling than others. Because many of the articles are brief, they sometimes lack depth, and the frequent change of subjects can be disorienting. My enjoyment was, by definition, fragmented, not complete.
And in SideCountry, I found other flaws that’s particular to this collection. Some pieces are a series of articles chained together into a book entry. Because the articles were published over time for possibly different readers, there is frequent repetition of the basics like names, places, and definitions. Quite often I found myself saying, “Didn’t I just read that?” And in the stories with multiple characters, those characters sometimes become a jumble of names, no longer identifiable individuals; a tighter focus on fewer people might help.
So based on the topics (and the title), SideCountry originally held great promise, and I was excited to begin reading. By the end, I can say I enjoyed the book; however, taken as a whole, it ultimately fell short for me. No surprise, it’s a collection.
July 31, 2021
I believe every possible human emotion and drama plays out on the many and varied arenas of sport: triumph and tragedy on the mountain, criminality under the waves, humility in the horseshoe pit, real life on the rural basketball court, history and tradition in the desert, Community and belonging found among fellow cubers and dog groomers. Sidecountry is a collection of all of the above and includes many more surprises. Branch invites you into the sometimes unimaginable lives of people who might be your neighbors. Like all the best nonfiction, you’ve learned something new when you’re done, and the world feels richer for it. (This also makes wonderful reading alongside the Olympics!)
December 19, 2021
John Branch is a sports reporter for the New York Times. But he doesn’t focus on regular sports as much as he enjoys finding the little known but life changing sports experiences. The avalanche survivors. The basketball team of juvenile delinquents. The winningest horseshoe throwing competitor in history.
This is a compilation of Johns stories. Most of them are compelling and memorable. The only challenge I had with the book is the lack of editing. Some of the stories he originally appeared as series’. When printing a series, each article inevitably has to repeat what happened in previous articles to ensure the reader knows what’s going on.
This repetition was not edited out of the book. Some paragraphs appear multiple times, word for word. Truthfully, I felt offended that John and the publisher were, frankly, too lazy to do some basic editing. It made me feel like they don't care about the reader. It definitely took away from the reading experience, creating more disjointedness and is the difference between a 3 and 4 star review.
Other than that, he finds some really compelling stories.
This is a compilation of Johns stories. Most of them are compelling and memorable. The only challenge I had with the book is the lack of editing. Some of the stories he originally appeared as series’. When printing a series, each article inevitably has to repeat what happened in previous articles to ensure the reader knows what’s going on.
This repetition was not edited out of the book. Some paragraphs appear multiple times, word for word. Truthfully, I felt offended that John and the publisher were, frankly, too lazy to do some basic editing. It made me feel like they don't care about the reader. It definitely took away from the reading experience, creating more disjointedness and is the difference between a 3 and 4 star review.
Other than that, he finds some really compelling stories.
July 26, 2021
This is (unknowingly) the second time I have read any of John's works. The first time was when I read the NYT article on the Avalanche at Tunnel Mountain. I didn't know the author after having read it, but reading it again in the context of this book was moving in a similar way. The rest of the stories, short and long, all held my attention throughout the book. It's a very good read, but a somber one. The happiness in any story is always accompanied by a somber side. I didn't quite recognize this until halfway through, and it did make for an emotional journey. I recommend the book and will probably read it again in a few years.
August 4, 2021
The book had interesting stories but repeated information in a story. My guess is that if a story was based on a multi-part newspaper story and he repeated background information each day in the serial it was left in the book.
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