How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
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Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It's a perfect window into the crosscurrents of today's world, with all its joys and sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide-ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times. Publishers Weekly Foer, a New Republic editor, scores a game-winning goal with this analysis of the interchange between soccer and the new global economy. The subtitle is a bit misleading, though: he doesn't really use soccer to develop a theory; instead, he focuses on how examining soccer in different countries allows us to understand how international forces affect politics and life around the globe. The book is full of colorful reporting, strong characters and insightful analysis: In one of the most compelling chapters, Foer shows how a soccer thug in Serbia helped to organize troops who committed atrocities in the Balkan War-by the end of the war, the thug's men, with the acquiescence of Serbian leaders, had killed at least 2,000 Croats and Bosnians. Then he bought his own soccer club and, before he was gunned down in 2000, intimidated other teams into losing. Most of the stories aren't as gruesome, but they're equally fascinating. The crude hatred, racism and anti-Semitism on display in many soccer stadiums is simply amazing, and Foer offers context for them, including how current economic conditions are affecting these manifestations. In Scotland, the management of some teams have kept religious hatreds alive in order to sell tickets and team merchandise. But Foer, a diehard soccer enthusiast, is no anti-globalist. In Iran, for example, he depicts how soccer works as a modernizing force: thousands of women forced police to allow them into a men's-only stadium to celebrate the national team's triumph in an international match. One doesn't have to be a soccer fan to truly appreciate this absorbing book. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Prologue 11 How Soccer Explains: the Gangster's Paradise 72 How Soccer Explains: the Pornography of Sects 353 How Soccer Explains: the Jewish Question 654 How Soccer Explains: the Sentimental Hooligan 895 How Soccer Explains: the Survival of the Top Hats 1156 How Soccer Explains: the Black Carpathians 1417 How Soccer Explains: the New Oligarchs 1678 How Soccer Explains: the Discreet Charm of Bourgeois Nationalism 1939 How Soccer Explains: Islam's Hope 21710 How Soccer Explains: the American Culture Wars 235Afterword: How to Win the World Cup 249Note on Sources 259Acknowledgments 263Index 267
