2 posts tagged “football”
Bill Buford is best known these days for his bestseller Heat : An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany (a book I plan to read soon), but I first became acquainted with his writing earlier this year with his firsthand account of English soccer hooligans, Among the Thugs.
In the book, Buford descends into the hooligans' culture, attending games and even becoming accepted into their groups. The book not only covers his own experiences, but he also delves into the history of British football violence. The writing is sharp, and Buford puts himself into many awkward (and personally dangerous) situations. Less about soccer and more about the mob mentality, The book is fascinating.
Though it has become my favorite sport, I haven't read many soccer books, but this year (in between my 52 Books and Book Notes projects), I have managed to read a couple. The World Cup energized me to pick up Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World. In a nutshell, Foer attempts to explain globalization in terms of soccer around the world. His political metaphors often miss their mark, but as he presents of the state of soccer around the world in every chapter, the reader realizes his love for the game.
If you want to read about globalization, pick up something by Thomas Friedman. If you love soccer and want to read about how it is played around the world, this book is a GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!
