false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166154945m/10395.jpg 10395 7 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 <I>How Soccer Explains the World</I>, but soccer fans will love it. <I>--John Moe</I> 13106 1 7 2004 How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization total:1560|5:243|4:608|3:568|2:121|1:20| 1560 5613 2306 276 4 4 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 07 19:30:19 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 07 21:30:54 -0700 2008
The title promises more than the book delivers, but titles are often the work of publi...more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Mar 13 15:57:55 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 18 23:31:12 -0700 2007
Unfortunately, the sport he chooses is soccer. Which American's don't give a...more...]]> 3 2 true false Fri Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 20:57:53 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 11:28:48 -0800 2008 1
And yet Franklin Foer uses soccer as a brilliant ex...more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 18 13:25:38 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 18 13:45:31 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 2 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 08:13:25 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 08:25:34 -0700 2007 saving grace. Hours upon hours of soccer games helped pass the idle days spent in bed fretting about the future.

Thus, by no means am I an expert of soccer. I've co...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 15 12:51:55 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 13:28:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Oct 09 14:05:32 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 16:32:13 -0700 2009
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I gave this book a quick read. The cover’s title and the gravitas the book gives off makes you feel like you really are reading something amazing here. Think about the oppurtunities in a book that examines the world’...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 12:41:54 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 11 16:40:57 -0800 2009 I enjoyed this book, probably because, like Foer, I like soccer. I learned something new about world soccerdom in each chapter. The title of the book, however, is a bit overstated. Since each chapter is related to the others only in the largest thematic ways, Foer fails to really present any k...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 08 16:53:17 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 16:53:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 11 11:12:46 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 11:13:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 06:10:59 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 06:14:54 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Aug 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 08:39:18 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 19:09:37 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 18:45:26 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 21:00:57 -0700 2009
The author takes us on a journey around the globe looking at soccer and how it interacts or relates to certain regions, peoples, nations, and events. Mr. Foer shows us genocidal soccer fans/owners in Serbia, tackles the "Jewish question" ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 23 10:36:57 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 10:49:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 16:58:53 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 17:37:06 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 11:32:35 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 10:35:27 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 13:51:58 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 13:57:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 28 15:35:15 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 22 16:42:31 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 11:30:32 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 13:50:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 18:40:32 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 18:55:05 -0700 2008
Franklin Foer relates globalization well in some chapters to the incidental experiences of the socio/economic trend and in other chapters it is more about another topic which might be summarized as modernity.
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