Football Fanatics Read--sometimes!
I've just finished, embarressingly late, _Fever Pitch_, by Nick Hornby. It was probably the hardest of his books to find in the US and I was complaining about it in my regular blog a couple of weeks ago, and that day I went to the bookstore and there it was, mis-shelved in all it's "Now a Major Motion Picture" glory (btw, I didn't see the American Fever Pitch film but I hate baseball and Jimmy Fallon is also really annoying so it's probably for the best). Rather than do a review, because I am not a literati, I'd just say if you're a half step above functionally retarded, as I am, and you've not read it yet, you should pick it up. I can lend it you if you want.
I have the following on my wish list from Amazon.com (my birthday is in less than a week if you're wondering what to get that FootieBird in your life).
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization (Paperback)
National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer (Hardcover)
Football Against the Enemy (Paperback)
Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism. (Paperback)
What can I say? My degree is in a social science (Political Science). I'm very interested in this gap between the US and the rest of the world about the game. I've gone off at length (and when I'm not on my lunch break I'll do it again) about why I believe football is not as popular in the US as it was 80 years ago. (A Short Lesson: I think it's because too many American Middle Class Yuppie/Preppy/Frat Boy assholes are the ambassador of the sport over here).
The Gaffer at EPLTalk did a review of the book Soccer In A Football World and it looks interesting. I will probably order it from him at some point today.
Has anyone read any of the above? Does anyone care to share what they think or recommend more books to me on football--more than the stats and the club profiles and autobiographies?
Keep in mind, most of them I will have to order online, because I went to the bookshop here and all the Soccer books are like "The Baffled Parent's Guide to Soccer" or "Holy shit my kid wants to play soccer instead of football is he a fag?? Is it too late??!"
I've read the Foer one. Marvellous book.
something_something said... February 12, 2007 at 1:50 PM
Foer's book is a quick, fascinating read. His last chapter, about the US, was not quite as convincing or as interesting as the segments on Spain, Italy, England, etc. I suppose that some things, like Americans' disdain for soccer, just can't be explained.
Anonymous said... February 13, 2007 at 10:29 AM
Thanks for the plug.
Birds rule!
Cheers,
The Gaffer
The Gaffer said... March 10, 2007 at 10:29 PM
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