Most Americans view ping pong as either a basement recreation or the focus of a fraternity-party drinking game. Yet ping pong is an Olympic sport and one of the most popular athletic activities in the world. The Ping Pong Player and the Professor is a quirky memoir about the adventures of a Jewish anthropologist and his son, an elite player, in the colorful world of competitive table tennis. The tale of their exploits is peppered with anthropological wisdom—the professor can’t help himself—on a range of topics, including ethnicity, religion, sport, family, and how humans create and discover meaning. In a deeply divided world, this window into a hidden subculture provides a refreshing glimpse of people from myriad ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds coming together around a common passion. At its core, though, The Ping Pong Player and the Professor is a heartwarming story about the love between a father and son, two introverts who share a common bond over a nine-foot by five-foot table.
