How Soccer Explains the World : An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
by Franklin Foer
List Price:
Our Price: $11.21
You Save: $13.74 (55%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.97 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Franklin FoerEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2004-07-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 272
Book Reviews of How Soccer Explains the World : An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Book Review: good but not great
Summary: 4 Stars
just finished this on my kindle. a must if you like soccer. the fc barcelona chapter is outstanding. it leaves a scary feeling knowing there is still so much hatred around the world
Summary of How Soccer Explains the World : An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Soccer 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.
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 Moe
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in The New Republic Books List
Conversations with Stanley Kaufmann (Literary Conversations Series)University Press of Mississippi; Published: 2003-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
Albums of a Life: A Memoirby Stanley Kauffmann
Sheep Meadow; Published: 2007-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.13
Price in other shops:
The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in Americaby Jeffrey Rosen
Vintage; Published: 2001-06-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.28
Price in other shops:
The Most Democratic Branch: How the Courts Serve America (Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands' Adolescent Mental Health Initiative)by Jeffrey Rosen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-06-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.91
Price in other shops:
The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined Americaby Jeffrey Rosen
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2007-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Televisionby Lee Siegel
Basic Books; Published: 2007-06-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mobby Lee Siegel
Spiegel & Grau; Published: 2008-01-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Nuclear War, Nuclear Peace: The Sensible Argument about the Greatest Peril of Our Ageby Leon Wieseltier
Henry Holt & Co (P); Published: 1983-09; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Against Identityby Leon Wieseltier
Small Press Distribution; Published: 1996-10; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
The New Republic: A Voice of Modern Liberalismby David Seideman
Praeger Publishers; Published: 1986-05-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $106.95
Similar Books and other products
The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italyby Joe McGinniss
Broadway; Published: 2000-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.15
Price in other shops:
Outliers: The Story of Successby Malcolm Gladwell
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2008-11-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.74
Price in other shops:
YAO: A Life in Two Worldsby Yao Ming, Ric Bucher
Miramax; Published: 2005-09-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.57
Price in other shops:
The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cupby Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops:
Among the Thugsby Bill Buford
Vintage; Published: 1993-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccerby Chuck Culpepper
Broadway; Published: 2008-08-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.89
Price in other shops:
Soccer in Sun and Shadow, New Editionby Eduardo Galeano
Verso; Published: 2003-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.39
Price in other shops:
Fever Pitchby Nick Hornby
Riverhead Trade; Published: 1998-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Soccer Against the Enemy: How the World's Most Popular Sport Starts and Fuels Revolutions and Keeps Dictators in Powerby Simon Kuper
Nation Books; Published: 2006-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccerby David Goldblatt
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2008-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: