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jsisco's review against another edition
5.0
An intriguing look at international relations through the scope of the Greatest Game. I went in to this book expecting a hackneyed metaphor about how football works for IR, but he actually used the sport AS his basis for discussing the problems. Football players, clubs, fans, et cetera became his concrete examples for modernization, globalization, acclimation, and other pressing issues in the the forefront of politics and society today.
Well-written, superbly researched, and completely approachable, I recommend this to anyone who is interested in politics, contemporary society, football, or good writing in general.
Well-written, superbly researched, and completely approachable, I recommend this to anyone who is interested in politics, contemporary society, football, or good writing in general.
sabbirbt1212's review against another edition
2.0
Inspired by Simon Kuper's "Soccer against the enemy" this is the work of American Journalist Franklin Foer who grew as a soccer afficionado in the first half of 80s in the football illiterate USA.
in this expedition of 8months he visited places- each differnt in culture,ecomomics,ethicity.But the theme remains the same.Praise/Scrutiny of globalizatiom through the prism of Football.
From the Red star Belgrade Hooligan's influence in the rise and fall of Milosevic,to the religious rivalry of Rangers-Celtic,to the obscure Jewish only Austrian Champion Team in the 20s, Foyr Encountered Serb Gangster,Chelsea Hooligan Leader,Nigerian Import in Ukraine,Corrupt Brazilian Football Administraor-each colorful character in their own charismatic way.
The chapter on Italian Football is a bit dull apart from his chance encounter with the Milan Team of 2003 in the Milanello.As a Barca fan like him,was less than intrigued by the Barca chapter.Brazilian and the opening chapter on the Serbian Football was most enthralling.
Foer is a Jew himself,that is not a problem.But his legitimacy of Israel and its military action without a modicum of self reflection clearly portrayed him as a Zionist,which is a problem.
In the chapter of Footballa and Islam,like a good American he focussed on Iran.The imaged he concoted of the Deposed Shah,anybody without a history lesson,will consider the Shah as a progressive leader who only thinks of the Iranian people.He did manage to write a page or two of all the Arab world.
From his writing it is also evident,he is a Islamophobe and like the lay person constitutes Muslims as Arabs,which poses a serious question of his Journalistic Integrity
It is nowhere near as good as Kuper's.Will recommend the newbies to go for Kuper's book first then this
my rating 2/5
in this expedition of 8months he visited places- each differnt in culture,ecomomics,ethicity.But the theme remains the same.Praise/Scrutiny of globalizatiom through the prism of Football.
From the Red star Belgrade Hooligan's influence in the rise and fall of Milosevic,to the religious rivalry of Rangers-Celtic,to the obscure Jewish only Austrian Champion Team in the 20s, Foyr Encountered Serb Gangster,Chelsea Hooligan Leader,Nigerian Import in Ukraine,Corrupt Brazilian Football Administraor-each colorful character in their own charismatic way.
The chapter on Italian Football is a bit dull apart from his chance encounter with the Milan Team of 2003 in the Milanello.As a Barca fan like him,was less than intrigued by the Barca chapter.Brazilian and the opening chapter on the Serbian Football was most enthralling.
Foer is a Jew himself,that is not a problem.But his legitimacy of Israel and its military action without a modicum of self reflection clearly portrayed him as a Zionist,which is a problem.
In the chapter of Footballa and Islam,like a good American he focussed on Iran.The imaged he concoted of the Deposed Shah,anybody without a history lesson,will consider the Shah as a progressive leader who only thinks of the Iranian people.He did manage to write a page or two of all the Arab world.
From his writing it is also evident,he is a Islamophobe and like the lay person constitutes Muslims as Arabs,which poses a serious question of his Journalistic Integrity
It is nowhere near as good as Kuper's.Will recommend the newbies to go for Kuper's book first then this
my rating 2/5
vyorgov's review against another edition
5.0
I have read this book dozens of times. The stories that Foer shares are fascinating and easy to thumb through. This book is one of the best cross sections of everything the sport can be to people around the world, for better or worse.
manaledi's review against another edition
2.0
ehhhhh. I wanted to like this and to learn something from it. BUT. This was just a journalist using a book as an excuse to go around the world and talk to soccer stars. There was no explanation of the world.
All that aside, my biggest pet peeve was that it was supposed to explain "the world" and remained centered around men in Europe. Women were mentioned some in a chapter on Iran. Nigerian immigrants were mentioned in how hard it is to adjust to the cold. But, no, this was still a Eurocentric, white, male navel-gazing experience.
All that aside, my biggest pet peeve was that it was supposed to explain "the world" and remained centered around men in Europe. Women were mentioned some in a chapter on Iran. Nigerian immigrants were mentioned in how hard it is to adjust to the cold. But, no, this was still a Eurocentric, white, male navel-gazing experience.
tracithomas's review against another edition
2.0
This book lacks any real critical thinking. Would love kore depth and less casual assertions. Just mediocre.
borna761's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a little bit disappointed after reading this book. While there are good connections between football (yes, I choose to call it that) and events in societies and countries around the world, there doesn't seem to be much of an explanation but rather correlation or at best causation. The style of writing is good and capturing, but each section and chapter just left me waiting for the real punchline or some sort of pointer on how/where things were going, but there were no predictions or anything there. Good read, but still slightly disappointing.
denj's review against another edition
3.0
Actually pretty interesting. The anecdotes are where the book shines. There are good analogies to political and ethnic climate of their respective nations/regions but other than analogies, there's not much explaining. Wrapped in a different looking package, this would easily be great.
hannahbright's review against another edition
5.0
Completely absorbing. Gave me Say Nothing vibes. You do not have to like soccer or even know anything about it to like this book. In fact, it is way more about the culture/history/current events that play into it. I learned so much about globalization and the unique cultures/histories/nuances of places like the Balkans, Brazil, Iran, etc and how those relate back to soccer. Truly a brilliant piece of journalism and I cannot recommend it highly enough!
tonythep's review against another edition
5.0
it's been a few years since i read this (before the great soccer awakening of 2010!), but i do remember that it blew me away.