The journalist Seth Berkman discusses his debut book A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History (Hanover Square Press, 2019), covering the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team, and more, with Joseph Planta.

A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History by Seth Berkman (Hanover Square Press, 2019). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: A Team of Their Own

Text of introduction bu Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the more compelling books of the season is debut book from the journalist Seth Berkman. A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History tells the story of the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team, how it came together, and the meaning on its South Korean, North Korean players, as well as those of Korean background from the United States and Canada. These are players who are thrust together, from various backgrounds, and how barriers from language to cultural to political were overcome. Mr. Berkman, who joins me now, covered the team for the New York Times, where his work regularly appears, in the run up to and during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. He provides insight into the personal relations of the players, as well as the greater meaning that emerged, such as two very different societies coming together with the world watching, not to mention the rhetoric between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump. Seth Berkman was born in Seoul and raised in New Jersey. His first trip back to South Korea was for the last year’s Olympic games. He has been a regular contributor to the New York Times since 2012, and has had his work published in the New Yorker, SPIN, ESPN, and sundry other publications. He is a graduate (with honors) of the Columbia University Journalism School. This new book is published by Hanover Square Press, which is an imprint of Harlequin. The website for more is at www.sethberkman.com. The Twitter handle is @ateamoftheirown. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Seth Berkman; Mr. Berkman, good morning.

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