The definitive collection of beloved late journalist Grant Wahl\'s work--a masterclass in the art of sportswriting After Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collapsing in his press seat during a quarterfinal match, tributes to Wahl poured in from around the globe.
More than a collection of Grant Wahl\'s best work, World Class is a portrait of a journalist at the height of his powers, always evolving with the times, revealed by the stories he found and the unflinching way he told them..
The book showcases the daring and important positions Wahl took in Qatar in the weeks before he died, supporting miGrant workers and LGBTQ+ people.
Some pieces capture prodigies early in their careers, like LeBron James and Landon Donovan; others lift the voices of the women athletes to whom Wahl paid early attention--stars like Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe.
Barcelona to the dusty sandlots of Nacogdoches, Texas, as well as accounts of trophy lifts that have a first-draft-of-history definitiveness.
Included are explorations of soccer subcultures from Buenos Aires and F.
C.
Arranged thematically, World Class demonstrates how Wahl\'s career aligned with the evolution of sportswriting.
Wahl was the multi-tool modern sportswriter: clear and direct; able to write long, short, or in between; cosmopolitan; socially aware.
Spanning four decades of storytelling, World Class collects for the first time the finest writing of Grant Wahl, from op-eds for his college newspaper to twenty-five years of reporting at Sports Illustrated to his deeply personal work for Fútbol with Grant Wahl on Substack.
He was also one of the best sports journalists of his generation.
Wahl was beloved for good reason--he was kind, generous, and unflinching in the face of injustice.
The definitive collection of beloved late journalist Grant Wahl\'s work--a masterclass in the art of sportswriting After Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collapsing in his press seat during a quarterfinal match, tributes to Wahl poured in from around the globe
