Publisher: Harper Perennial
Authors: Franklin Foer
List Price: $13.95
Amazon Price: $11.16
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Reviews:
Summary: Derivative, ignorant
This is a terrible book, written by somebody who
is totally ignorant about football (please, use the
proper name for the game) and seems to have decided
to write a book based on secondary sources, puff
pieces and ignorant oversimplifications.
It would take too long to discuss the
numerous inaccuracies, exaggerations, mistakes and
so forth present in this horrid tract. Just as an
example, when dealing with Jewish football he
never mentions the peregrinations of Israel through
UEFA and Oceania (for WC qualifications). Yet this
would be exactly the kind of topic to be dealt with
in a book purporting to explore the intesection of
'soccer' (sic) and geopolitics.
Compare this with Kapuscinski's 'The football war' for a
vastly superior and more intelligent treatment.
Summary: Bad research, condescending tone
Wow, was this book a disappointment. What a pompous title for a little book full of anecdotes that seem to be based on a two week research trip. This book says nothing about globalization and little about soccer that anyone living outside the US doesn't already know.
Foer's research is less than poor. A lot of his information is based on hearsay, entire chapters seem to be derived from other people's writings. Obviously Foer wasn't aiming for the academic analysis his poorly chosen title suggests, but even anecdotal journalism needs more than one or two sources per story.
As a Half-American living in Europe, I was hoping for a fresh perspective, a look at soccer from "the outside", but most of what Foer delivers is so old and has been rehashed so many times it's almost become a cliché.
His tone is often self-righteous and his pious political correctness just drove me insane (in a book about soccer!!! Dude, it's a working class sport!!!) His attitude toward his protagonists is unbearably condescending and arrogant. One example out of his chapter about racism toward black players in the Ukraine:
"Ukranian feelings are too primitive to even warrant the suffix "ism". They feel something closer to a naif's dislike of the unfamiliar, like an eight-year-old refusing to try dinner at an Ethiopan restaurant."
Wow. I wonder how many months he stayed in the Ukraine to come that sweeping conclusion. Based on the rest of the chapter I would guess not even one week.
Summary: Brilliant work on soccer around the globe and at home
Franklin Foer's creative and intelligent work on the impact of soccer around the world is a great read, a real page-turner. His nine essays show how soccer can be seen as an important part of globalization, but at the same time, has helped burgeon the anti-globalization sentiment in many locations. Foer's expeditions around the world give the reader a chance to understand the meaningfulness of soccer to different societies, with all the positives and negatives that come with it. A must-have for any fan of the world's game.
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