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How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

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How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization (Paperback)

by Franklin Foer (Author)

2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper
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Product details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd (2 Mar 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0099492261
ISBN-13: 978-0099492269
Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm

Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 106,481 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Review

" 'Significantly entertaining if you like soccer, and entertainingly significant if you do not.' Adam Gopnik. 'He engages each city and team with the spirit of a true fan, and he emerges with impressions so vivid they feel like they've been whispered into your ear over a nice pint of lager... This superbly written and elegantly reported book.' - Chicago Tribune. 'Funny, sharp, waspish, alert and reflective.' - Independent. 'An excellent reporter... An eccentric, fascinating expose of a world... The book starts off like a house on fire.' - New York Times"

Product Description

What in the world has the power to liberate women in Iran while provoking antagonism between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland, to lure Nigerians to the cold of the Ukraine while heating up class warfare in the US heartlands, and both profit local gangsters and create local - and international - celebrities? Foer presents an unexpected, uniquely revealing tour of the politics and culture of football from Milan to Tehran. He examines the game's role in sustaining ancient hatreds and rivalries (Serbia's Red Star and Croatia's Dinamo); in supporting the migration of players and the rise of the football oligarchs (such as Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan - and of Italy); and in defending the virtues and vices of old-fashioned nationalism. As Foer brilliantly illuminates, the Balkan War, anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, racism, social integration, media manipulation, and American patriotism have all been influenced by, as well as have had a dramatic effect on, football. On his travels, Foer encounters a collection of fans that is stranger than fiction: from a British hooligan with a Jewish mother, a Nazi father and a career as a soldier of fortune, to a fan club in Serbia that turns into a brutal anti-Muslim paramilitary unit. The result is an unforgettable parade of uniquely memorable fans - each set into his - or her - unique political and cultural context.

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	66% buy the item featured on this page: How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization 2.7 out of 5 stars (6) �5.90
	15% buy Football Against The Enemy 4.1 out of 5 stars (14) �7.19
	10% buy Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics 4.5 out of 5 stars (19) �6.97
	6% buy The Beautiful Game?: Searching the Soul of Football 5.0 out of 5 stars (10) �6.97

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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4 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

2.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kuper-Lite, 17 Mar 2006

By	"hiua12" - See all my reviews

This review refers to the US version of the book, which I presume is virtually the same, save for a minor change to the title.

The first thing to be said is that the title is rather misleading. Foer doesn't really exlpain quite how "football explains the world" - which is understandable was such a grandiose claim seems a little overblown. The blurb of the book also refers to globalisation and its effects on football, an issue that Foer sometimes loses track of. The chapter titles are also rather tiring, each begins, 'How Football Explains...' (eg, "How Football Explains Islam's Hope"). However, that said the book is well worth reading. The chapter on Serbian fans is particularly informing, showing just how the conflicts in the region express themselves and even had their roots in football and the fans of teams such as Red Star. The Nigeria-Ukrian connect is also good, showing how trends and fashions in football are quickly made and then jumped on by other clubs.

Foer's major argument - that globalisation has eliminated neither local cultural identities nor violent hatred among fans of rival teams - is clearly explained, though most football fans could have told you the same thing.

How Football Explains the World is very similar to (some might say derivitive of)Simon Kuper's superb 'Football Against the Enemy'. If you haven't read 'Football Against the Enemy' then read it before you buy this, it is the better book, and it did what Foer has done more than a decade before him. Still, Foer's book is worth picking up, sort of as a companion piece to Kuper's.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your time, 1 Feb 2007

By	Willy Pilgrim (Finland) - See all my reviews

For me this book seemed like a shallow copy of the now classic "Soccer Against the Enemy". It's not a very interesting read, the writer has chosen a few hot potato topics, like; racism & sectarianism, which he uses a basis for his own half baked theories about globalization.

The last drop is Franklin Foer's blatant way of taking sides, from what he suggests, a naive reader with no previous knowledge might actually think that the sectarianism involved in the Old Firm (Glasgow Rangers vs. Glasgow Celtic) is purely a case of Protestant majority abusing the Catholic minority, who have never set a foot wrong. Further on in the course of the book, Foer goes onto label many famous football teams as racist clubs. What ever happened to objectivity, the most important guide line of every journalist?

Foer, armed with the general knowledge of your average North American football (sorry dude, I mean soccer) fan, comes across as someone who should still need to take lessons about the sport and not give them.

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1.0 out of 5 stars What explanation?, 9 Dec 2008

By	Oldevers (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews

What explanation? Where is it? Whaere is the unlikely theory of globalisation?

I read this cover to cover and couldn't find it. A more realistic title would have been something along the lines of 'A few examples of how people are passionate about football around the world'.

There are some good anecdotes in here showing how people's cultural identities, religion, politics and race spill over into the Beautiful Game, but as others have pointed out it is really a poor imitation of Simon Kuper's classic 'Football against the Enemy'.

Poorly researched, lacking in accuracy, lacking in objectivity. Foer clearly has some pre-conceived ideas and opinions and desperately tries to fit the facts round them - he fails.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars a great read
I thought it was an fascinating read, showing how much more there is to the wonderful game of football.

Published 16 months ago by N. B. Taylor

3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Going
I am what you could call an avid reader of any book relating to football and therefore I attempted to tackle this book as I felt it would reflect my own thoughts and experiences... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Catherine Sara

4.0 out of 5 stars An ambitious book. Well worth reading
I may not agree with all of the author's conclusions but he should be congratulated for tackling such an ambitious project. Read more

Published on 12 Jun 2007 by M. Smith

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