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whimsisadie's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.5
probably great for casual reads. not so much for educated ones. interesting premise, but poorly executed for my taste in terms of structuring and staying on task with answering the main question.
Content Warnings
some minor dark topics and adult themes you might not expect, but it is entirely educational and framed respectfully. discretion is advised
thesauraz's review against another edition
5.0
Not the best book I ever read, but the perfect book for me. This was an especially pertinent topic given the recent World Cup in Qatar, and to understand soccer’s relationship to global politics almost made Qatar…understandable. I just found it neat to consider elements beyond the rivalries I know and clubs I hate, and while I think Foer emphasized European nations too much, it’s hard to pick much from this one that didn’t entertain me.
divroyalty's review against another edition
2.0
Quite disappointed in this book. The writer does a good job of explaining the history and social situations explored but I think he did not do enough in linking soccer itself to the different situations he explored.
ear33wig's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure i learnt anything about globalization but it was a good insight into a few soccer teams i didn't know anything about. Also a reinforced why i think italian soccer is rubbish and they are a bunch of cheating *****
mcf's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag of solid, informative research and blinding pretension and generalization -- the quality depends on the subject matter of chapter you choose to read.
jdemster's review against another edition
5.0
I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It seems, and begins, a little dry and clunky. There is an abundance of information here and a lot of backstory and description of setting and history. But the overall experience that the writer creates here is a unique and informative one. He explores culture and circumstance in a really interesting way, using this game as the star that it all orbits. There is both beautiful side and ugly side explored in this text, and it's all worth it.
drecords's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting way to look at the impact of globalization. I knew sports have always been political, but damn. Curious what an update would look like in the post-Qatar World Cup and sport-washing era of soccer.