How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization » (~)

Franklin Foer is the editor of The New Republic. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, Slate, and New York magazine. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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 1

1 How Soccer Explains: the Gangster's Paradise 7

2 How Soccer Explains: the Pornography of Sects 35

3 How Soccer Explains: the Jewish Question 65

4 How Soccer Explains: the Sentimental Hooligan 89

5 How Soccer Explains: the Survival of the Top Hats 115

6 How Soccer Explains: the Black Carpathians 141

7 How Soccer Explains: the New Oligarchs 167

8 How Soccer Explains: the Discreet Charm of Bourgeois Nationalism 193

9 How Soccer Explains: Islam's Hope 217

10 How Soccer Explains: the American Culture Wars 235

Afterword: How to Win the World Cup 249

Note on Sources 259

Acknowledgments 263

Index 267