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24th out of 138 books
—
75 voters
The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America
by
Grant Wahl
In 2007, David Beckham, the golden boy of soccer, shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Under the direction of his manager, Simon Fuller, the mastermind behind American Idol and the Spice Girls, Beckham was ready for a monumental challenge and a risky adventure–ready, as Fuller put it, to e...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
July 14th 2009
by Crown Archetype
(first published 2009)
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Wahl has produced an interesting, well written and balanced account of David Beckham's self-proclaimed proselytizing mission on behalf of the most popular sport in the world in the one nation that refuses to accept it: America.
This book is as enlightening in its description of the inner workings of Major League Soccer as it is in the journey undertaken by Beckham, the corporate interests behind his transfer to the LA Galaxy, and his various minders.
The author, commendably in my view, strives to...more
This book is as enlightening in its description of the inner workings of Major League Soccer as it is in the journey undertaken by Beckham, the corporate interests behind his transfer to the LA Galaxy, and his various minders.
The author, commendably in my view, strives to...more
This quick and interesting read gives a lot of insight to inner workings of American soccer and why the MLS does not and cannot function in the same way as a European league.
Wahl was ready to spread the blame for what is arguably a disastrous "experiment" as he described issues with the ownership, management, coaching and Beckham himself.
I see a flaw, however, in his praise of Donovan frequently calling him "America's best player" etc, while acknowledging that Donovan has failed now 3 times to...more
Wahl was ready to spread the blame for what is arguably a disastrous "experiment" as he described issues with the ownership, management, coaching and Beckham himself.
I see a flaw, however, in his praise of Donovan frequently calling him "America's best player" etc, while acknowledging that Donovan has failed now 3 times to...more
Good inside account of the factors leading up to David Beckham signing with the LA Galaxy, including the relationship between 19 Entertainment and AEG. Also a breakdown of why the Galaxy, who were once among the best in MLS, have been one of the worst teams in MLS recently.
Mr Wahl is no stranger to drumming up controversy. While a significant amount of American sports journalists questioned the Beckham signing from the get go, Mr Wahl only brings that in to his narrative midway through Beckham’...more
Mr Wahl is no stranger to drumming up controversy. While a significant amount of American sports journalists questioned the Beckham signing from the get go, Mr Wahl only brings that in to his narrative midway through Beckham’...more
This was a decent read. Very fast paced and interesting to boot. The author follows David Beckham from Real Madrid to LA and covered the sixteen month saga of the Beckham move to LA Galaxy. Grant Wahl does a good job of explaining who all of the major players are behind the scene, (not so much the ones on the field that is) and how the politics behind the MLS and LA Galaxy interfered with the experiment that is Beckham. Yes, his deal was one of the most lucrative deals in decades, but did it rea...more
Very readable and well-written account of David Beckham's time with the LA Galaxy, and why it hasn't exactly worked out as hoped (at least on the field). Wahl had lots of access to Galaxy players and management, so it's quite a behind the scenes work. Although I'm not a Galaxy fan, I learned a lot about MLS that I had not gleaned from following the Crew.
Despite some of the previews that suggested the book would be a hit piece on David Beckham, I didn't think he came off as an evil character. He...more
Despite some of the previews that suggested the book would be a hit piece on David Beckham, I didn't think he came off as an evil character. He...more
What is MLS? Whereas soccer news, rumors, trash talk, questionable journalism, and scandals consume the daily lives of sports fans elsewhere here in the US soccer isn't a joke, just no one cares. Well, we are aware of soccer as a sport during the World Cup, but I'm sure that's mainly an excuse to get drunk on a weekday.
The Beckham Experiment tells the story of the one time people cared, or at least were aware of, MLS. The January and July of Beckhams' journey to the states and the Los Angeles Ga...more
The Beckham Experiment tells the story of the one time people cared, or at least were aware of, MLS. The January and July of Beckhams' journey to the states and the Los Angeles Ga...more
I'm not a fan of MLS (altho I do like some of the players) and I'm really not a fan of beckham, at least not as a footballer (his underwear modelling is a different story!) but I did enjoy this book. Donovan IS one of my favorite players, I looked at this book more to learn about his experiences and life than I did about Beckham.
As a Premier League follower (and die-hard Liverpool fan) it was interesting to read how the MLS differs from the EPL in business practices alone, which is basically wha...more
As a Premier League follower (and die-hard Liverpool fan) it was interesting to read how the MLS differs from the EPL in business practices alone, which is basically wha...more
The Beckham Experiment is a fascinating book. On the surface, it is about David Beckham coming to America, joining the LA Galaxy and playing in Major League Soccer (MLS). But in reality, the book is about so many things including: the growth of MLS as a whole; trying to make the Galaxy a standout “SuperClub” in MLS ala a European one like Manchester United or Real Madrid (Beckham’s two prior clubs); Beckham the brand vs. Beckham the player; the diehard American soccer players who were Beckham’s...more
As pop culture studies go, I suppose this was pretty standard. It's a weird cross between Sports Illustrated and People magazine, hip, savvy, but soulless. The emphasis here is not on Beckham as a soccer player but as a cultural commodity. Of course, Wahl is perfectly aware of this double persona and is careful to explain this as an effect of pop culture. But his handling of the synthesis veers too much toward tabloid-style gossip and too much away from the sociological analysis that I prefer.
I...more
I...more
So when I turned soccer nut, as an American I suppose it was inevitable that I'd get to this. I enjoyed it. It's in the tradition of the insider-story nonfiction narrative, and specifically, the season(s)-long look at a team and an organization. But it's not too soccer-heavy and instead focuses more on the business machinations. I like this kind of behind-the-scenes book and you could very easily take out "David Beckham" and the "LA Galaxy" and put, in their place, "Dick Cheney" and the "Iraq Wa...more
First things first, this book will only be enjoyable to a fan of MLS. If reader is merely interested in the "celebrity" of Becks, this book won't give you much. And the insights into his world that it provides are in the first 3rd, as it handles he Beckham clan's arrival in SoCal.
The rest is pure insight into what an MLS team goes through in a season. Sure, the focus is David Beckham. But the book really seems to use him to help reader understand the game of soccer here in America, the state of...more
The rest is pure insight into what an MLS team goes through in a season. Sure, the focus is David Beckham. But the book really seems to use him to help reader understand the game of soccer here in America, the state of...more
I'm generally not into "tell-all" books about celebrities. I always figure that their private lives really aren't any of my business. But this book was really interesting in that it got into the inner workings of the LA Galaxy and what the team and entire organization went through when they signed Beckham. It also got into the inner workings of Major League Soccer and all the challenges it faces. I had no clue about any of it--which I guess is part of MLS's problems.
The only thing I really could...more
The only thing I really could...more
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The book was a very good account of David Beckham's experience with the LA Galaxy up to that point in time. Why I am writing a short review now is that in the time since the book was published I believe the goal of making the US public more aware of MLS and fr more on field success for the Galaxy has been achieved. The latter is obvoius with LA winnimg the MLS Cup in 2011 and 2012..The other part is more subtle but still notable by the expansion of MLS and its stability on the American sports sc...more
Being a soccer fan and a Galaxy fan, this story has personal meaning as I suffered through the Beckham Experiment first hand as a supporter. To me this book isn't so much an indictment of David Beckham the man as it is an indictment of David Beckham the brand...and the LA Galaxy...and Major League Soccer. Grant Wahl manages to write about a compelling story while maintaining a necessary bias. His access to all parties involved (save for Terry Byrne and most of the 19 Entertainment team that hand...more
More than being about Beckham, I loved the insider look at any team, the dynamics involved in a long season or two. The protagonist, even though it doesn't really have a POV of its own, is the Galaxy.
Of course, it helps to have some big, dynamic characters like Beckham, Lalas and Donovan. (I doubt this would have been quite the same covering Claudio Lopez, Curt Onalfo and Josh Wolff in Kansas City).
Great that Wahl got so many people to talk so candidly, though Donovan really should have remembe...more
Of course, it helps to have some big, dynamic characters like Beckham, Lalas and Donovan. (I doubt this would have been quite the same covering Claudio Lopez, Curt Onalfo and Josh Wolff in Kansas City).
Great that Wahl got so many people to talk so candidly, though Donovan really should have remembe...more
I found it absolutely fascinating learing about the business of stardom and depressing learning about the machinations behind MLS and world soccer. As a soccer fan, I may never see a soccer game in the same way ever again. Some parts of the book were a bit repetitive and the ending felt a bit rushed, as I'm sure it was in order to get the latest info out just before Beckham returned to the US. But overall Grant Wahl did a great job and I'm sooo interested in finding out what's going on at the Ga...more
An interesting insider's account of the MLS perhaps, however this read simply as a really, really, really unnecessarily long Sports Illustrated article. What's worst is that this writer obviously has an agenda and an opinion about European Football... A negative opinion of course (I'm sure the writer's nationality will therefore be easy to derive!).
An OK book for what it was, but I wouldn't be unhappy if I had the few hours it took to get through it.
An OK book for what it was, but I wouldn't be unhappy if I had the few hours it took to get through it.
Wahl appears to have had great access to those who watched this show unfold, which made the reading truly interesting to one who cares about soccer. I was disappointed to see that soccer took a back seat to the "Beckham Show" so often, but I can't say I was surprised. Multi-million-dollar marketing machines tend to do all they can to perpetuate their existence (and profitability). I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Wahl also does a great job of elucidating the peculiarities of the MLS...more
A pretty interesting account of David Beckham's journey to the states to play in the MLS, a lightly regarded league.
Fascinating to read about group dynamics on a squad in which Beckham earned 6.5 million dollars but some younger players earned 12.5 thousand. Beckham, it seems, has deep pockets but short arms, and repeatedly refused to pay for team meals at restaurants.... don't know if i needed to know that, but pretty interesting nonetheless.
Fascinating to read about group dynamics on a squad in which Beckham earned 6.5 million dollars but some younger players earned 12.5 thousand. Beckham, it seems, has deep pockets but short arms, and repeatedly refused to pay for team meals at restaurants.... don't know if i needed to know that, but pretty interesting nonetheless.
When I saw this book, I remembered hearing of Beckham going to the LA Galaxy awhile back to popularize soccer in the US. Obviously this didn't happen, and so I picked up this book in hopes it would shed some light on the subject. It gives a behind-the-scenes look into what went wrong in the early stages, Beckham's leadership within the team (sometimes lack thereof), and of all the people pulling the strings of the team.
This book was a bitter disappointment. I hoped to read an engrossing portrait of Beckham and issues surrounding U.S. soccer but instead got a magazine article that wasn't worth the time (or money). And please, don't use a book to plug your employer (Sports Illustrated) and taking every chance you get to rip ESPN. I don't have much love for ESPN, but this was unfair.
Just very disappointing.
Just very disappointing.
This was a fun and light read. Grant did a great job of giving life to the secondary characters who formed the backdrop to Beckham's arrival to the US. In terms of conclusions, obviously the hiring of Bruce Arena since then and success of the Galaxy makes the book look dated, but the Galaxy really were a colossal flop at first. And the celebrity bandwagon certainly played a part.
The most interesting thing about this saga is all the behind the scenes stuff that the casual fan (i.e. myself) had no knowledge of while watching the Galaxy implode during Beckham's first two seasons in Los Angeles.
Wahl is an excellent columnist for SI and I have always enjoyed his work (and continue to for that matter). The only criticism I could make about the book is that it kind of reads like a series of columns at times. That said, they are at least good to excellent columns, so it's not t...more
Wahl is an excellent columnist for SI and I have always enjoyed his work (and continue to for that matter). The only criticism I could make about the book is that it kind of reads like a series of columns at times. That said, they are at least good to excellent columns, so it's not t...more
Wow, this book reminded me, once again, to never take anything at face value. Never believe everything you hear in the media. Everything is a business. Money runs this country. Yada yada yada. Even after reading this I still like David Beckham as a person and as a soccer player but I think "his" decision to come play soccer in America was a big mistake for his career and for the MLS. I guess when you have so many people behind you making all of your decisions and you have big corporations seeing...more
flt like I was reading an issue of People magazine for large parts of it. Some was interesting, like how Beckham sandbagged a lot of his time at the Galaxy for his first two years, and basically had his entourage take over the club. Overall, the best thing about it is that buying it didn't put even more money into Beckham's pocket.
This book did a good job of describing what went wrong during Beckham's first two seasons with the Galaxy. It didn't really get to the bottom of why he came to America in the first place. That will probably stay with the man himself and his closest entourage. I got the feeling, based on the fact that all the one-on-one stuff in this book was with Donovan and the others, that Becks didn't participate wholeheartedly with the author.
This book is a little out of date at this point, but is still a great look into the world of MLS. It is not all about Beckham, but rather what a player of his notariaty is doing for and to the industry. I suggest it for anyone that is even mildly interested in soccer as it is full of well written insider information.
Great book for anyone who's a fan of MLS.
The book is interesting not just for the parts about the last two years of Beckham in America; it's also a fascinating portrait of the bread-and-butter players that make up the vast majority of MLS teams. There's more meat to the book than what's already been in the press.
The book is interesting not just for the parts about the last two years of Beckham in America; it's also a fascinating portrait of the bread-and-butter players that make up the vast majority of MLS teams. There's more meat to the book than what's already been in the press.
Wahl did a great job...somehow I finished the book without any resentment towards Beckham, Donovan, OR Lalas. Terry Byrne and Simon Fuller on the other hand? They both still suck....and I have all of these new reasons to think that now too!
Definitely worth reading...quick read too.
Definitely worth reading...quick read too.
Interesting book about the rise and fall of Beckham in American soccer. I felt that it would have been more interesting if it had come out a few years down the line after the so-called experiment had concluded but nevertheless Wahl does a good job reporting information that I had never heard of before.
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