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How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization | 
 enlarge | Author: Franklin Foer
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 15647
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0060731427
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1
EAN: 9780060731427
ASIN: 0060731427
Publication Date: July 1, 2005
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Condition: The book is clean but may have highlights.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 72 more reviews...
 The world in 90 minutes--and a great read to boot! May 16, 2008
My only real complaint about this one is the title, and it's hard to hold such a thing against the author since authors often don't title their own works. Foer does an admirable job using soccer to expand on such topics as the inherent racism of the European game, the effects of globalization that has weakened the Brazilian leagues into a feeder for the "real" clubs in the work, and a primer on the Italian game and why they dive so *(@#&$*(#@ much. The book is a quick read and gives exactly as much information as needed to catch many of the nuances of complex systems. Worth a read even if you're not a footy fan.
 i haven't finished, but its tough to April 17, 2008
This book is difficult to start. I think the idea is interesting but I'm really having trouble picking this book up and reading it. I'm not the only one with that complaint either. Hopefully it gets better.
A Near-Perfect Introduction to the Culture of a Perfect Sport March 28, 2008
I had heard mutterings about this "collection of essays", as others have put it, starting roughly when this particular edition hit the shelves. For whatever reason, I didn't pick it up until I was in a small bookstore in Portland, Maine. Had my party not been dawdling in the shop's vicinity for so long, I doubt I would've given the book more than a glance. To satisfy my own curiosity, however, I sat down with a copy and rifled through the pages.
I was searching for a theme I (correctly) assumed would have been awarded a chapter: the epic Celtic-Rangers rivalry. As an Irishman and positively rabid Celtic supporter myself, I hoped the section would prove an adequate example in my efforts to explain my love for the club, hatred for our rivals, the overall premise of the conflict and some of the underlying justifications as to why the particular rivalry is so rancorous. I was generally satisfied with the chapter as I believed it would help my father's understanding to be exposed to the views of an impartial observer, in this case Mr. Foer. Of course I maintain the expected gripes a Celtic supporter would have with a relatively objective study of the Old Firm rivalry, most notably the absence of a commentary describing the Celtic fan base's passion as proud Irish/Catholic nationalism and that of Rangers as an exercise in pure hatred of an ideological and ethnic minority. Other than that, however, the only issue of note I have with Franklin Foer's examination of sport and globalization is that many of the chapters left my appetite of historical curiosity unsatiated.
The first chapter, highlighting the awesomely vehement Serb nationalism and dark history surrounding the club Red Star Belgrade, had me certifiably enthralled. When I turned the final page of the essay, I found myself wishing that the entire book had been devoted to chronicling the histories of Red Star Belgrade and FK Obilic and their roles in the Balkan Wars and ethnic cleansing campaigns, and further examination of the criminality embedded in the ownership of the two clubs.
Predictably, I felt similar feelings in regards to the chapter on sectarianism in football, which used the Old Firm as a case study. I wanted to argue with Mr. Foer that he, while trying valiantly, failed to scratch below the surface of the staggeringly complex situation by lending most of his studious efforts to observing the Rangers point of view. At the risk of sounding subjective, I think he gave the club a bit too much credit in terms of honor while simultaneously neglecting to illustrate the Celtic spirit of pride and overcoming adversity. I also think that the author didn't employ the best examples to evince his explanatory intentions. I would be remiss if I didn't say that this happened rarely, and when it did, such as in the case of using FC Barcelona's Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov to show the inherited nationalism some foreign players possess when they play for a side with strong ties to a particular ethnic minority (Celtic's Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc would have been an equally acceptable, if not superior, example, though it has to be said the book was written before Boruc went to Celtic), Mr. Foer was still able to articulate his point clearly.
While I was disappointed in the lack of explanatory depth in some of Franklin Foer's odysseys, I can both appreciate and champion his adeptness in the art of being succinct. World football is a forum in which one can draw an infinite number of parallels to an infinite number of topics, and the author did a stellar job of hand-picking and articulating real-world examples to illustrate his various points, which are conveniently broken into chapters. I consider myself a mild authority on both the sport of football and its connections to unique non-sport situations around the world, and I certainly went away from this work with new knowledge. While the book in some ways lacks a thesis, it introduces a universality of football that knowing the game's rules and history cannot: the unique links the sport has with the many different breeds of people who love it. Foer writes with wit and wisdom, and newcomers to the sport will be presented with a new understanding of the culture of the game, while lifelong die-hard fans like myself will learn idiosyncrasies of various world cultures' connections to it.
 Fun, Fascinating. March 14, 2008
This guy has such interesting insights. The writing is just random enough to keep you always interested, but still packs in real info to help understand cultures around the world and the world of football / soccer.
 Biggest disappointment in a book ever. January 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was, by far, the most disappointed I've ever been in a book. It's probably my own fault, but I was expecting stories of the cultural importance of soccer/football in different parts of the world. Instead, I feel I've gotten a poorly written set of stories about psychotic fans/owners/players, etc that take the game too far. So much so, in fact, that I'm afraid to go to a game overseas ever for fear that it's either fixed or that I'll be beat up for no apparent reason other than the fact I'm there.
To be fair, I don't think of politics a lot, so that doesn't interest me as much, but even the writing was sub-par. Many of the chapters ended as if the writer just ran out of things to say.
Very disappointed.
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