Thursday, July 24, 2008

Stefan Fatsis @ The Central Library, Philadelphia PA

On Tuesday Stefan Fatsis returned to Philadelphia to read from his new book "A Few Seconds of Panic", a piece of particapatory journalism (similar to George Plimpton's "Paper Lion") chronicling Fatsis' attempt to become a Field Goal kicker for the 2006 Denver Broncos.

Fatsis was great - having graduated from U Penn, he saluted Philadelphia as his second home. He then followed up with some background on the book and dove into reading a passage about his first day on the practice field. Afterward Fatsis illuminated the excerpt by mentioning the training he had gone through prior to camp. Ultimately he felt that his effort paid off as he believes the players accepted him as more of a player than as a reporter.

I was fortunate to get Fatsis to sign not only "A Few Seconds of Panic" but also copies of his previous books drawn from my collection. His first book was a terrific book on the non-affiliated Northern League "Wild and Outside" - a great read for any baseball fan - and Fatsis seemed genuinely delighted that someone had brought a copy to his reading/signing.

Fatsis was thoroughly entertaining and gracious throughout the reading and signing. I am looking forward to kicking off football season by reading his new book.

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a thousand words

a thousand words
2008 World Champions