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AuthorFoer, Franklin.TitleHow soccer explains the world : an unlikely theory of globalization / Franklin Foer.PublishedNew York : HarperCollins, c2004.FormatBook
Description261 p. ; 24 cm.

NotesIncludes bibliographical references (p. [249]-252) and index.
ContentsHow soccer explains the gangster’s paradise -- How soccer explains the pornography of sects -- How soccer explains the Jewish question -- How soccer explains the sentimental hooligan -- How soccer explains the survival of the top hats -- How soccer explains the black Carpathians -- How soccer explains the new oligarchs -- How soccer explains the discreet charm of bourgeois nationalism -- How soccer explains Islam’s hope -- How soccer explains the American culture wars.
Abstract"Soccer is a perfect window into the crosscurrents of today’s world ... Franklin Foer takes us on a tour through the world of soccer, shattering the myths of our new global age along the way"--jacket.
Religious, economic, political and ethnic divisions around the world are dramatically illuminated using the world’s most popular sport as a lens and metaphor. A groundbreaking work. Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. In fact, it’s a perfect window into the cross–currents of today’s world, with all of its joys and sorrows. Soccer clubs don’t represent geographic areas; they stand for social classes and political ideologies. And unlike baseball or tennis, soccer is freighted with the weight of ancient hatreds and history. It’s a sport with real stakes: one that is capable of ruining regimes and launching liberation movements. In this remarkably insightful, wide–ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shattering the myths of our new global age. Instead of destroying local cultures, as the left predicted, globalization has revived tribalism. And far from the triumph of capitalism that the right predicted, it has entrenched corruption. In his travels, Foer encounters a collection of fans that is stranger than fiction: an English hooligan with a Jewish mother, a Nazi father and a career as a soldier of fortune: a soccer fan club in Serbia that turns into a brutal anti-Muslim paramilitary unit; and a raucous crowd of Scots who urge him to take sides in their age-old rivalry between Catholic and Protestant teams. Telling stories in turns wild, violent, funny and tragic, the author is able to shine a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy and just about everything in between.
From Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye–opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it’s terrorism, poverty, anti–Semitism, or radical Islam – issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colourful characters, wry humour, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times. Publisher’s description.
ISBN00662123409780066212340SubjectGlobalization.
Soccer.

<a href=?pst>p</a>St. Petersburg/Gibbs~1Circulation~2JZ1318~2.F64 2004<a href=?pst>p</a>St. Petersburg/Tarpon Springs~1Circulation~2JZ1318~2.F64 2004 p All itemsCover Image