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The Boundless Game

“Through a life spent playing soccer, Tim Bascom captures the global and personal nature of the game. He shares experiences from around the world, taking readers from dusty African streets to sweltering Kansas fields. His passion for the game will resonate with anyone who loves sport.” –Paul Carr, ESPN & FOX World Cup researcher

“Equal parts touching memoir and fascinating history, The Boundless Game reminds readers of the power of sport to provide connection in an increasingly fragmented world.”–Peter Jasso, director of “From Football to Futbol”

About the Author

Tim Bascom, who spent half his childhood in East Africa, has served as Director of the Kansas Book Festival and, before that, as Director of Creative Writing at Waldorf University, Iowa. His books include The Boundless Game (nonfiction from University Press of Kansas, 2026), Continental Drift (fiction from Main Street Rag, 2025), Climbing Lessons (essays from Light Messages Press, 2020), Running to the Fire (memoir from University of Iowa Press, 2015), Chameleon Days (memoir from Houghton Mifflin, 2006), plus an earlier collection of essays from InterVarsity Press and a novel from New Day Press, Philippines.  His writing has been chosen for the Bakeless Literary Prize in Nonfiction, recognized as a Finalist for the IndieFab Memoir of the Year, awarded editor’s prizes at The Missouri Review and Florida Review, and selected for the anthologies Best American Travel Writing and Best Creative Nonfiction.  He lives, now, in Topeka, Kansas.

Continental Drift

“Nqobile guessed the Afrikaner must be more than twenty-five years old, but his barrel chest and broad face reminded her of someone slightly younger whom she had known long ago—back before she buried him in the cellar of her mind.  The cock-eyed mouth and sandy hair and ruddy skin, these were all so familiar that she wanted to reach right out and slap him.  How could it be?  After thirty-five years, to still feel this way?”  

Climbing Lessons

When Doc Bascom tries to show his grade school sons how to climb a huge sycamore, he ends up dropping 12 feet flat-out on his back. Stunned, he finally gasps, “So that’s how it’s done.” And in that moment, he becomes an emblem for all fathers—trying to lead the way, failing, then getting up and trying again. This “climbing lesson” is just one of 40 playful, sometimes poignant stories by award-winning author Tim Bascom, who illustrates the special bond between fathers and sons–and how that relationship must change with time.

Chameleon Days

“As we left the Addis Ababa airport and started across the city, my brother Johnathan and I stared out the windows of the Volkswagen van like dazed astronauts.  He was six and I was only three, but we were both old enough to sense that life might never be the same.  A torrent of brown-skinned aliens streamed by on both sides, treating the road like a giant sidewalk, their white shawls and bright head wraps bobbing as they weaved around each other.  Donkeys and oxen bumped into the van, whipped along by barefoot men in ballooning shorts. . .”