The World Is a Ball: The Joy, Madness, and Meaning of Soccer
Oct 2010 · Sold by Rodale Books
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About this ebook
Globe and Mail columnist John Doyle explores the international phenomenon of soccer
In A Great Feast of Light, John Doyle viewed his childhood in Ireland through the television screen. Now, he turns his eye to the most popular sport on the planet: soccer. It's a journey that begins with the first game John saw, in 1960s-era Ireland, through soccer in the 21st century—the World Cups in '02 and '06, the European Championships in '04 and '08. And Doyle has traveled the globe during the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.
In between the drunken fans, crazed taxi drivers, leprechauns and lederhosen, Doyle muses on the evolution of soccer as a global phenomenon. He shows a sport where for 90 minutes on the pitch anything seems possible. A game where colonized nations can tackle the power of their colonizers; where oppressed immigrant groups can thoroughly trounce their host countries.
This book examines soccer from a new angle. John Doyle offers a compelling social history of the ultimate sport, each country and team competing in the historic 2010 World Cup, and how the game has kept pace as the global village has sprung up around the playing field.
In A Great Feast of Light, John Doyle viewed his childhood in Ireland through the television screen. Now, he turns his eye to the most popular sport on the planet: soccer. It's a journey that begins with the first game John saw, in 1960s-era Ireland, through soccer in the 21st century—the World Cups in '02 and '06, the European Championships in '04 and '08. And Doyle has traveled the globe during the build-up to the 2010 World Cup.
In between the drunken fans, crazed taxi drivers, leprechauns and lederhosen, Doyle muses on the evolution of soccer as a global phenomenon. He shows a sport where for 90 minutes on the pitch anything seems possible. A game where colonized nations can tackle the power of their colonizers; where oppressed immigrant groups can thoroughly trounce their host countries.
This book examines soccer from a new angle. John Doyle offers a compelling social history of the ultimate sport, each country and team competing in the historic 2010 World Cup, and how the game has kept pace as the global village has sprung up around the playing field.
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About the author
JOHN DOYLE has been a critic for The Globe and Mail since 1997 and has written the Globe's daily television column since 2000. His first book, the memoir A Great Feast of Light, was published to great acclaim in the US, UK, and Canada. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs to talk about popular culture, television, soccer, and Ireland. His writing has appeared in Report On Business magazine, Elle Canada, Flare, En Route, Books in Canada, The Irish Times, and the Toronto Star, among others. Doyle lives happily in Toronto.
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