Be on That Hill

More than two decades of sports journalism in 28 essays from ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham, the New York Times bestselling author of American Kings and It’s Better to Be Feared

“Wickersham stands with Plimpton and Halberstam among the finest sports chroniclers.” —Jonathan Eig

New foreword by Wright Thompson

Seth Wickersham is among the greatest sportswriters of his generation and one of the most accomplished journalists working today. Throughout his career, he has taken readers inside the psyches of the biggest-name athletes and into the most secretive boardrooms of the executives and team owners making key decisions that shape the games that fans love. 

Every day in America, men and women take to fields of competition ready to risk everything for a chance to make their dreams come true. They are willing to suffer physically, emotionally, mentally—all for that moment when they might overcome the odds and become legendary. A natural storyteller and fan of sport, Wickersham travels across the globe to find masterful new ways of seeing what’s on our TV screens and getting inside the minds of those we idolize, revile, but most of all, can’t look away from. 

Featuring stories from within the NFL about Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Sean McVay, Deion Sanders, the league itself, and many, many more.

And unexpected stories about Kobe Bryant,  Alex Honnold, the creation of “We Will Rock You,” globalization vs. local fandom, improvisation vs. planning, the role of violence in games, the toxic relationship between a NASCAR racer and his girlfriend (who claimed to be a government assassin), and whether climbing that hill of achievement day after day gives athletes what they really want.

A perfect companion to his American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback and It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness, the stories of Be on That Hill are Seth Wickersham’s best: probing profiles, epic investigations, and personal columns.