Start reading Football Against The Enemy on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Try it free

Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.

Share your own customer images

Football Against The Enemy [Kindle Edition]

Simon Kuper (Author)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews) |

Print List Price:	�8.99
Kindle Price:	�4.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via *Amazon Whispernet*
You Save:	�4.00 (44%)
Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.
	This price was set by the publisher

Length: 256 pages
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

	Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Kindle Edition	�4.99	--	--
Hardcover	--	--	--
Paperback	�4.76	--	--
Show # more paperbacks
Show fewer paperbacks

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Football Men by Simon Kuper
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

�5.99
Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football... by Jonathan Wilson
4.4 out of 5 stars (55)

�4.99
Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball

�5.65
Why England Lose: And other curious phenomena expl... by Simon Kuper
3.8 out of 5 stars (37)

�4.99
Ajax, The Dutch, The War: Football in Europe Durin... by Simon Kuper
4.8 out of 5 stars (8)

�5.99
Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World by Graham Hunter
4.7 out of 5 stars (29)

�5.49

Product Description

Throughout the world, football is a potent force in the lives of billions of people. Focusing national, political and cultural identities, football is the medium through which the world's hopes and fears, passions and hatreds are expressed. Simon Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them. At the same time he tried to find out what lies behind each nation's distinctive style of play, from the carefree self-expression of the Brazilians to the anxious calculation of the Italians. During his journeys he met an extraordinary range of players, politicians and - of course - the fans themselves, all of whom revealed in their different ways the unique place football has in the life of the planet.

About the Author

Simon Kuper is the author of Football Against the Enemy and writes for the Observer and the Financial Times.

Product details

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1085 KB
Print Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Orion (21 July 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.� r.l.
Language English
ASIN: B005AVIZEW
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #127,292 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Would you like to give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Simon Kuper Page

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Football Men by Simon Kuper Kindle Edition
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

�5.99

Inverting The Pyramid: The History Of Football Tactics: A History of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars (55)

�4.99

Soccernomics by Simon Kuper Kindle Edition

�4.99

Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball Kindle Edition

�5.65

› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

barca(2)

jimmy burns(2)

la roja(2)

manchester city(1)

are we nearly there yet(1)

jonathan wilson(1)

sports(1)

Customer Reviews

1 star

4.2 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Dated and almost a little conceited 29 Sep 2010

By M. Howell

Format:Paperback

I wanted to love reading this book. However, it didn't quite live up to expectations.

It has clearly suffered from being written so long ago, as so many of the political circumstances described have changed hugely in the intervening years. Having read other reviews it's clear that, when it was first released, this was a pioneering attempt at examining the socio-political background of football.

Aside from the outdatedness, the writing style grates a little. So many passages begin with an 'exclusive interview' with a certain character. While it's impressive that the author has these connections, you begin to imagine that you are being told a story by the man in the local pub who claims he's friends with everyone 'off the telly.' As such, the regular "XXXX told me in the strictest confidence that..."-style passages become irritating. Conceited is perhaps the wrong word, but it's certainly getting that way.

Ultimately though, anyone with an interest in international football (club or country) will be able to appreciate and enjoy this book. If you find yourself lagging after the first chapter - stick with it, it gets better.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

not as good as I'd hoped 24 Nov 2008

By legslikeaspider

Format:Paperback

Given that this book won a major award, I had high hopes for a well-crafted exploration of the relationship between football and politics and perhaps a bit of travelogue-type writing thrown in there too. The book certainly covers these bases well but is just a little dull. The author is the only one I have read who has managed to downplay the intensity of a Rangers-Celtic derby. He also failed to expound properly on the relationship between a national team's playing style and the national character. That said, he describes some memorable encounters and writes in a quite enjoyable manner.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Should be required reading for sociologists and sportsmen. 12 Oct 1999

By tjensen@dmfirm.com

Format:Paperback

Simon Kuper's work shows exactly how football can penetrate any aspect of day to day life in the most unsuspecting and subtle ways. Not just a football book, Simon Kuper illustrates how only one medium in the world could encompass such a wide range of seemingly divergent subjects. From gulags in Russia to Apartheid in South Africa, military corruption in Argentina, religious conflict in Scotland...the list goes on. In chapter after chapter the author makes his point that the world would not be the same place without the boundless reach of the influence of football. Mr. Kuper deftly tells stories of his travels and makes his point as neatly with his pen as a player like Pele did with his feet on the football pitch. This book belongs on the reading list of college political science courses and should be required reading for any American yet convinced that there is no force in the world like the sport of real football, of soccer.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

› See all 18 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Write a customer review

Would you like to see more reviews about this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews

Were these reviews helpful? Let us know

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Superb

I first knew Kuper from his columns in FourFourTwo magazine and had heard good things about this book. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Uncle Mike

The essence of football

Simon Kuper manages to write a book that touches the true essence of football: a game that's much more than a game. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Miguel Pereira

The book that started it all

First, this is a groundbreaking work. Before it, literary football books came by once a decade or so. Now, there's a new "quality" title out every week. Read more

Published 19 months ago by DcLonChi

Overated

If you like football read it, if you don't read it. I think not. This book is slow and boring. I wouldn't recomend it at all. Read more

Published on 23 Jun 2008 by Mrs. K. White

How football reflects, filters and shapes a culture's self-image

Football Against the Enemy deserves classic status, even if for no other reason than it was one of the first books to use football as a topic for 'serious' cultural study. Read more

Published on 17 Mar 2008 by A A Catenaccio

Football geography/politics lesson

This is a book about football politics around the globe. It was written in the 92-94 period. It starts with a look at the Dutch national team and their hatred of the Germans. Read more

Published on 14 July 2006 by Tim Roast

Well Rounded

This book's laudability stems from primarily:
1) It's sweeping through the globe with football as the prime theme. Read more

Published on 5 Oct 2004 by "catenaccio"

From the sublime ... to the average

If the rating system allowed half stars, I would give this book three and a half, because overall I would recommend it (and three stars does not imply recommendation quality). Read more

Published on 25 Aug 2002 by "jezmondinio"

Conspiracies,politics, the underworld....and football.

From football related conspiracies such as how Herrera stole the credit for re-inventing defensive football to how Argentina`s brutal miltary junta stole the game, from the... Read more

Published on 9 Oct 2001

Sociological P**h

Simon Kuper might write well enough with his Oxbridge et al. education and his journalese hack credentials but I doubt that he's much of a footie fan when it boils down to it. Read more

Published on 10 May 2001

Popular Highlights

(What's this?)

Dynamo, he told me, have licences to export nuclear missile parts, two tons of gold per annum, and metals including platinum. &quote;

Highlighted by 3 Kindle users

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }