James Zug (born 1969) is an American writer. He is the author of six books.
His fiction has appeared in the anthology Stress City: A Big Book of Fiction By 51 DC Guys (Paycock Press, 2008) ISBN 978-0-931181-27-6. He also appeared in South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the Last Generation Under Apartheid (Ohio University, 2000) ISBN 978-0-89680-213-1.
Zug was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1969. He studied at Dartmouth College, where he captained the squash team, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University. [1]
Zug has written extensively on sports, culture, and history for publications including The New York Times [2] , The Atlantic [3] , Vanity Fair , Fast Company , Outside , The Boston Globe , The Daily Beast [4] , and Tin House . [5] He is a longtime senior writer for Squash Magazine [6] and chairs the US Squash Hall of Fame Committee.
His 2003 book, Squash: A History of the Game published by Scribner (Simon and Schuster, was the first comprehensive history of squash in the United States and featured a foreword by George Plimpton. [7] It remains the best-selling squash book in the country. A revised and updated paperback edition was released in the fall of 2025 [1] , reflecting developments in the sport, including its inclusion in the Olympic Games.
Other works include American Traveler: The Life and Adventures of John Ledyard (2005) [8] and Run to the Roar: Coaching to Overcome Fear (2010, with Paul Assaiante). [9]
