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Kicking: Following the Fans into the Orient
 
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Kicking: Following the Fans into the Orient (Paperback)
by David Willem (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 customer reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.59 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £15 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.40 (34%)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 9 to 13 days. Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.

18 used & new available from £1.30
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Number of Reviews: 5
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1-5 of 5

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good - buy this book....., 4 Jul 2003
Very readable, very enjoyable, very insightful. If you're interested in Japan, in football, or in sharp observation and writing, then you will definitely enjoy this book. Willem is a new writer (I can't find any of books written by him), and I look forward to reading whatever he writes in the future.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best travel book about Asia for years, 19 Dec 2002
"Kicking" is a spectacularly good read.

The author explores the impact that the Japanese had on the thousands of English fans who toured the country for the World Cup. Employing a dependably gentle and humorous style, he mutely observes the osmotic effect which Japanese culture had on the "hoolifans", disarming them more effectively than years of heavy policing and government regulation has achieved in Europe.

Willem is a gifted travel writer, with a ready wit and evident sympathy for the people he encounters. His next book is eagerly awaited.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Anthropology and Football, 22 Nov 2002
By Tim Palmer (Alton, Hampshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
If someone offered you a book on football and anthropology, you'd probably pull a face, politely turn it down or crack a joke and order another pint. But if you took the road less travelled and decided to read it, you would find that you had given yourself a truly enjoyable treat. Kicking is a well-observed, witty and touching account of a bloke's journey to Japan in an attempt to look again at a place where he spent some happy times once before, coinciding this with a chance to watch some world class footie and indulge in some people watching. En route he passes through some fascinating cities and experiences several changes of heart in trying to establish what he really thinks about Japan and, more particularly, the Japanese. Its a good read and would make a great gift for anyone who is interested in football, anthropology, or just chatting to people in a pub. Give it a go.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't cry for me Argentina!, 6 Nov 2002
By S J Everson (Lytham St Annes, Lancs United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
I got this book on the basis of the cover, but I'm mighty glad I read what was inside too! This is a funny and intelligent study of what it is to be English, what Japan is like, how both countries have changed, but above all it really brings to life the real experiences of fans following the World Cup. If you watched it all in a pub, like I did, then you've got to read the story of what really went on for those who were there on the night we beat Argentina. A must read for fans.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - what you didn't see on television !!, 1 Nov 2002
This is a fascinating insight into the other side of the World Cup - outside the stadiums and inside the bars, hotels and homes of the Japanese people.
Willem lived in Japan for two years teaching English, and gives two views of the anticipated culture clash, from the fans he travels with and the Japanese friends he stays with. He can give a unique view of both Japanese people and the dreaded "Fooligans"
and the similarities and differences between the two, from toilets to tea ceremonies.

The empathy which develops when the fans discover that the Japanese...can party with the best of them, and the locals discover that the fans aren't all hooligans is touching and provides a view of the World Cup which I didn't get from watching television, and I now wish that I been there in the middle of it.
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in football, Japanese culture or the human beings caught in between.

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1-5 of 5
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