About Bob
Bob Katz is the author of several acclaimed books, including the novel Third and Long, winner of the 2011 Independent Book Publishers Association fiction award, Elaine’s Circle, a non-fiction account of a dramatic year in the rural Alaska classroom of an innovative school teacher, the novel Hot Air, which was optioned by actor Michael Keaton and MGM for a movie. His novel, Waiting for Al Gore, was published in early 2024. Bob’s commentary and journalism has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, Mother Jones, Slate, Alternet, and many other outlets.
Praise for Bob’s Works
“…Bob Katz here gives us a book that gets to the heart and soul of teaching, of learning, by telling an unforgettable story of one teacher, one class, one year, one fourth grade child.”
“If John Steinbeck had known as much about sports as Bob Katz does, he would have been proud to have written Third and Long. Katz has offered us a smart, moving, beautiful and important book.”
—E. J. Dionne Jr., syndicated columnist, NPR commentator
“The Whistleblower is as great a tour guide to the game of basketball—and thus the game of life— as any that I’ve ever come across.”
—Ira Berkow, Pulitzer-Prize winning former New York Times sportswriter
“Bob Katz has worked magic with this story {EZ and the Intangibles.} He has entwined exciting basketball plays with engaging math and statistics, and mentions of classic literature.”
—The Children's Book Review
“This novel (Third and Long) is so good-hearted, so life-affirming, it’s a joy to read... some of the descriptions of their feelings are so beautiful you’ll want to read whole paragraphs several times.”
—Mary Ann Grossman, St. Paul Pioneer Press
“Third and Long is an American classic. It’s a story about hope and possibilities, crumbled dreams, and surprising redemption.
I loved it!”
—Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antarctica
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