How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
by Franklin Foer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Franklin FoerEdition: Paperback
Published: 2005-07-01
ISBN: 0060731427
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Book Review: this BOOK should be "relegated" (hope you know the term)
Summary: 1 Stars
I could write another BOOK as to why this tome should NEVER have been written.
For all those who understand my title caption of the review,no more needs to say. For the USian uninitiated to world football, you can look up the concept of 'relegation' on internet, no problem and you will understand what I mean by this title.
1st , a side note, if you really want an educated and informed story of the HISTORY of futebol* (*f?tbol, calcio, fussball....PLEASE no call it 'soccer', hahahahaha!), read the englishman David Goldblatt's remarkable book "the Ball is Round" (or as we say , "A bola ? redonda"!).
Em Breve, Mr Foer is a newcomer to the beautiful game, and has NO historical background for it.
Mr Foer writing a book on futebol can only be equalled as a supremo absurdo , if , por ex. Madonna (the singer) wrote a book on Cabala (Jewish numerical mysticisms that she experimented , and well documented by the USA "news" media, ih!!).
Or Michael jackson writing a manual on, say " how to romance women in ten easy (moonwalk) steps" would be another humorous(?) way to view this ???
Either way, Mr Foer has not the background , even with the research he did (and I commend him for that), he has no "muscle memory" regarding great moments of futebol both distant and recent past.
How can he describe how ,ex.~ in 1982 , Rossi's THREE gols destroyed one of the best sele??o brasil even appeared on a pitch, what it meant to Rossi personally in his life,italia and brasil em geral...How can he know, futebol did not even exist for him in 1993, alone 1982!
He can research it, but can he feel this in his bones , not only as an italian or brasilian can, but almost ANY longtime football fanza?o do/did?? I am STILL torn between my admiration for the sele??o and my beloved Azzurri of the impact of Rossi's momentary brilliant light that Copa!
NO, because he is from USA where futebol is STILL out of favour, even if milliards and milliards of immigrants and children of soccer moms play futebol daily at their neighborhood pitch, the sport gets minimal press, and is denigrated regualr basis by these sportstalks show idiotas, more/less!
A note-- Mr Foer is editor of a center-right journal in USA.
I had hoped this would have minimal influence on his "new love for the game" when he writes this book (which for reason unknown, is found in the POLITICAL SCIENCE section of local book stores!!!???)
,That this book is in the Poli Science section seems to denegrate political science discourse, as Mr Foer's book is a "lightweight" and more belongs to ficcion than poli-sciences.
Mr Foer's futebol "worldview" seems to be that of a partisan right winger/ super patriot (pun intended, obvious I mean his political preference), and this premeates the book perspective.
The first chapter, he rehashes what he has READ from futebol books written in Engleesh,after this "lesson" about futebol, he is to make right wing politics out of each passing chapter, including a chapter where he berates "soccer moms" as being "left wing" and goes on the attack! (??)
Personally,it seems that most USian "mammas" become very CONSERVATIVE after having children, and I make a guess more than a few these women voted BUSH as for the "opposition", no??
(I think there is even a study-report that "liberal" people become more conservative in USA once with child/children, no??)
If I remember, and I believe it so as it got me quite angry at time I read this book, Mr.Foer also attacks liberal parents in the book,I not impressed by that at all to publish derogatory comments about one's famiglia.
Sad sad, as I see it.
Again, Mr Goldblatt's book is poesia (or romantic prosa), a loving and THOROUGH history of the beautiful game as well as very non partisan overview of the world as applies to each country he "visits".
Mr Foer's book, sacanagem puro!
He cannot possible show how "soccer explains the world", futebol does NOT "explain" the world, but is an integral part of it (as , again, Mr Goldblatt's wonderful book indicates).
To sum, Mt Foer has an axe to grind, I have seen some of his political writing, and it is even worse than what is contained in this book.
As David Zirin has written, Mr Foer seems a proponent of the Freidman school of globalisation, and this is BAD BAD for everyone on the planeta, save the few elitistas in USA who profit from this arrangement.
In Italian football terms, this book is barely "C-2" division as a football book, as a political book, it not worth to use the pages to wrap fishbones..
To be charitable for Mr Foer's entusiasms for the world game,and a passable first chapter for all USian football "new boots", I allow the one star to be kind for a ZERO stars offering
o mundo gira ? a bola rola
PS in the spriti of full disclosure, Eduardo Galeano's delightful (an partisan, so call me a hipocrite!) football book is translated ingl?s, "Football in Sun and shadow" , and takes a delightful PROGRESSIVE worldview, and of course,
Sinh? Galeano is an 'aplicado discipulo' of the world game since a boy in uruguai. A MUCH better choice also than this book, a "classic" of futebol literature.
Summary of How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
The global power of soccer might be a little hard for Americans, living in a country that views the game with the same skepticism used for the metric system and the threat of killer bees, to grasp fully. But in Europe, South America, and elsewhere, soccer is not merely a pastime but often an expression of the social, economic, political, and racial composition of the communities that host both the teams and their throngs of enthusiastic fans. New Republic editor Franklin Foer, a lifelong devotee of soccer dating from his own inept youth playing days to an adulthood of obsessive fandom, examines soccer's role in various cultures as a means of examining the reach of globalization. Foer's approach is long on soccer reportage, providing extensive history and fascinating interviews on the Rangers-Celtic rivalry and the inner workings of AC Milan, and light on direct discussion of issues like world trade and the exportation of Western culture. But by creating such a compelling narrative of soccer around the planet, Foer draws the reader into these sport-mad societies, and subtly provides the explanations he promises in chapters with titles like "How Soccer Explains the New Oligarchs", "How Soccer Explains Islam's Hope", and "How Soccer Explains the Sentimental Hooligan." Foer's own passion for the game gives his book an infectious energy but still pales in comparison to the religious fervor of his subjects. His portraits of legendary hooligans in Serbia and Britain, in particular, make the most die-hard roughneck New York Yankees fan look like a choirboy in comparison. Beyond the thugs, Foer also profiles Nigerian players living in the Ukraine, Iranian women struggling against strict edicts to attend matches, and the parallel worlds of Brazilian soccer and politics from which Pele emerged and returned. Foer posits that globalization has eliminated neither local cultural identities nor violent hatred among fans of rival teams, and it has not washed out local businesses in a sea of corporate wealth nor has it quelled rampant local corruption. Readers with an interest in international economics are sure to like How Soccer Explains the World, but soccer fans will love it. --John MoeSoccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a perfect window into the cross–currents of today's world, with all its joys and its sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide–ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.
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