Sunday, July 29, 2007

How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer

I borrowed this book from Nathan and read it a few months ago (I'm still behind on writing reviews for all the books I've read this year). Read his review. He summed up my feelings about the book. His argument about why the US is so antagonistic towards soccer made a lot of sense. It explains why David Beckham's tenure at the L.A. Galaxy may attract the People Magazine crowd, but not the die hard, flag bearing, NASCAR watching American sports fan to the world's sport. The story about the Iranian women's struggle for equality was insightful, too. My favorite however, was Foer's explanation as to why Barcelona is, hands-down, the best soccer team in the world.

This "unlikely theory of globalization" is a quick, entertaining read even if you don't much like soccer. Go Barca!

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