James Zug received a masters in nonfiction writing from Columbia in 1999. He has written for the  New York Times, Atlantic, New Criterion, Tin House and Dartmouth Alumni Magazine A former book review columnist for Outside, he has reviewed books for the Wall Street Journal, Daily Beast, Boston Globe, New York Times Book Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Fast Company. Having written a bi-weekly blog at Vanity Fair, he now has a Substack newsletter on obscure ball & wall sports, Spin for Serve. 

He is the author of a half dozen books: a history of U.S. squash (Scribner, 2003; revised paperback 2025); a biography of John Ledyard (Basic Books, 2005) that was named an Editor’s Choice by the New York Times Book Review; a history of the Guardian, a Cape Town anti-apartheid newspaper published in the 1940s and 1950s (Michigan State and UNISA Press, 2007); a history of Sidwell Friends School (2008); and Run to the Roar (Penguin, 2010), a book about leadership and mentoring through the life story of the winningest coach in U.S. collegiate history. He also edited John Ledyard’s collected writings (National Geographic, 2005). 

He has appeared on numerous media outlets including NPR and BBC Radio, podcasts and newspapers and in two documentaries related to his books. James Zug can be contacted at jameszug at gmail dot com.