David Goldblatt (2) (1965–)

Tour de force, no less. A very quality narrative of global football, which also provides a vast array of historical, sociological, political and cultural information about societies where soccer is important and where it is not yet.

A monumental history of the beautiful game - and a history of the modern world, too. The amount of research that must have gone into this book is mind-boggling, yet Goldblatt corrals his data and leads the reader towards understanding and knowledge. Well-written and informative, this is a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone with a love of football.

Tons of info but it all feels like reporting from the outside, like it was drawn from vast reading of the papers rather than from living it or getting to know people. Some interspersing of travelogue-type material, some adventures in world football, would have made it livelier.

Really a book about globalization and corruption. Shocking look into the greed driving world football at every level everywhere. Yet, the bits of pure joy that manage to come through anyway make me love the sport even more.