Across the River

KENT BABB is a reporter for The Washington Post and author of the acclaimed Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson. His writing examines the intersection of sports and culture, and three of his stories appeared in The Best American Sports Writing. The Associated Press Sports Editors have three times honored his features as the nation’s best, and Not a Game was shortlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. He lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife and daughter.

“In Across the River Kent Babb keeps it real as he deftly and eloquently negotiates the sidewalks, the sidelines, and the streets of New Orleans.” — GLENN STOUT, editor, The Year’s Best Sports Writing"I've always thought the best books are those that combine great reporting and great writing. That's exactly what Kent Babb's Across The River does. It combines deeply detailed inside reporting with a wonderfully told story." — JONATHAN FEINSTEIN, New York Times Bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled"A penetrating, wide-screen story of what it means to mentor under the toughest of circumstances." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“This is an essential American read and an intimate look into the soul of New Orleans.” — WRIGHT THOMPSON, ESPN senior writer and author of Pappyland“ Masterful . . . an equal parts heartbreaking and life-affirming look at a city, a school, and a football team whose players and coaches spend as much time fighting for survival as they do grid triumph.” — JEFF PEARLMAN, New York Times bestselling author of Three-Ring Circus“There is no better storyteller in the country than Kent Babb. Period. I’ve never learned more about the fabric of one of America’s greatest cities than I did in this book.” — IAN RAPOPORT, NFL Network Insider"This is the story the country needs to read--raw, expertly told, stripped of political agendas and preconceived notions. This is not a story about football, but about what football can mean." — MICHAEL ROSENBERG, senior writer, Sports Illustrated“At the Karr High School introduced to us by Kent Babb there is the expression, ‘Give Em The Real.' This book is ‘the real.' It’s as real as birth and death and all the heartache in between. Through Babb’s eyes, the story of Karr football is so much more than a sports book. This is the other America that too many people don’t know - or care to know – exists.” — DAVE ZIRIN, sports editor, The Nation“Babb takes us to a place most of us would never go, telling us a story we’d never know. This book is so important.” — PETER KING, NBC Sports"A moving and evocative portrait of football and life" — Publishers Weekly"a literary masterpiece. Lyrically written and deeply reported, Across the River reads like a gripping, can’t-put-it-down novel.” — LARS ANDERSON, New York Times bestselling author of The Mannings and Chasing the Bear“This spectacular book carefully fuses voice and tone to transport the reader into a world few can imagine and transforms the tales of disparate individuals into a narrative that is both touching and tragic.” — DeMAURICE SMITH, executive director, NFL Players Association