Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
29 used & new from £2.24

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
 
See larger image
 

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)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
24 new from £3.64 5 used from £2.24

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper

How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization + Football Against The Enemy
Price For Both: £12.98

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Football Against The Enemy

Football Against The Enemy

by Simon Kuper
4.1 out of 5 stars (14)  £5.99
Football: A Sociology of the Global Game

Football: A Sociology of the Global Game

by Richard Giulianotti
£17.09
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football

The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football

by David Goldblatt
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £11.20
The Damned Utd

The Damned Utd

by David Peace
4.1 out of 5 stars (87)  £3.96
A Game of Two Halves: Football Fandom, Television and Globalisation (Comedia)

A Game of Two Halves: Football Fandom, Television and Globalisation (Comedia)

by Cornel Sandvoss
£20.89
Explore similar items

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: 185,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Globalisation Studies
   DMU.ac.uk    Postgraduate globalisation studies. De Montfort University. 
  
 

Product Description

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.

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
64% buy the item featured on this page:
How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization 2.7 out of 5 stars (6)
£6.99
Football Against The Enemy
12% buy
Football Against The Enemy 4.1 out of 5 stars (14)
£5.99
The Beautiful Game?: Searching the Soul of Football
9% buy
The Beautiful Game?: Searching the Soul of Football 5.0 out of 5 stars (10)
£6.99
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football
8% buy
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
£11.20

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Kuper-Lite, 17 Mar 2006
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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your time, 1 Feb 2007
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
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 12 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 13 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

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]

   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

Discover Health & Beauty

 

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

More info on Wish Lists

 

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates