Soccer Books

[Tyree]

I went to the book store looking for somthing soccer related and could only find instructional books or rules of the game sort of things.

Can any of you recommend any good novels etc.

I've read Fever Pitch and Where the Thugs Are.

I just recently completed a really good book called the Miracle of Castel Di Sangro.

I'm hungry for somthing else.

Any recommendations?

[XYZ]

The Grass of Another Country by Chrostopher Merrill

[Dr. Wankler]

It's Among the Thugs, actually. Don't take it to seriously, either, as the author was known to exaggerate quite a few things...Anyway,


I'll mostly stick with books that are easy to find in the US:

Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism by Andrei S. Markovits and Steven L. Hellerman. The first chapter is really, really dull (unless you're working on a Ph.D. in sociology), but it gets pretty good after that. A decent library should have a copy, and you can skim the dull stuff in order to pick up some useful bits of history of the game.

There's a book about Dynamo Kiev during WWII when the Ukraine was occupied by the Nazis: can't remember what the AMerican title is, but the English title is Dynamo: Defending the Honour of Kiev

I've seen this in a few used bookstores, one of which gave me my copy: My Favorite Year edited by Nick Hornby. A series of essays by British fans talking about their favorite seasons as soccer fans. Great stuff.

Soccer in Shadow and Sun )or Sun and Shadow, I can't remember) by Eduardo Galeano. A personal history of 20th century soccer by a Uruguayan writer.

The Glory Game by Hunter Davies: the first "inside" account about life with an English soccer team, in this case, Tottenham Hotspurs. Oh: it's their 1971-72 season, so it's fun to see how the game has changed in the past 30 years.

Shep: The Education of an American Soccer Player by former NY Cosmos goalkeeper (and current Metrostar commentator, I think) Shep Messing. Life in the Old NASL.

And two of my favorites that are a bit harder to find:

Manchester United Ruined My Life by Colin Shindler. About his life as a Man City supporter, and I actually liked it better than Fever Pitch, myself.

and...

Don't Give Up the Day Job by Des McKeown: the subtitle, "A year in the life of a part-time footballer" says it all. He plays for a Scottish second Division team part time, and works full time as a sales director for a large Glasgow stationary company. Great, great stuff (Des is now a commentator, since his leg was broken in two places right before the start of last season by a bad foul in an allegedly friendly pre-season match.)

[jamison]

A season with Verona is also quality. It's at Amazon.com, but harder to find in stores. I managed to snag one in a Borders.

There is also a thread about this in the TV Books and Music forum if you hunt for it.

[Nogra Rover]

I loved "The Far Corner," by Harry Pearson. He's a Middlesbrough fan and the book details, somewhat like Fever Pitch (but very different in approach), a number of games played in Northeast England. Much of the focus is on the levels below the Conference, which made it very interesting, at least to me.

The subttitle is "A Mazzy Dribble through Northeast Football."

Here's a link:

http://www.footballchoice.com/Books.asp?club=safc&category=9&number=95


Also, I read a few years ago "The World's Game" by Bill Murray, an Australian writer, Very readable history.

http://www.press.uillinois.edu/s98/murray.html

[Steigs]

If you really want a wide variety, check out Amazon UK. They've got a huge selection, if you're willing to pay a few extra bucks for shipping.

The obvious classics have been mentioned -- Fever Pitch, Soccer in Sun and Shadows, Miracle of Castel Di Sangro.

A few others -- Tor (about German soccer), Football Against the Enemy, the Beautiful Game, Barca, and you can actually learn a lot from the Rough Guide to European Soccer even though it's mostly intended to help with soccer tourism.

[Blue Eyed Soul]

A very big "thumbs up" to 'The Game of Their Lives' about the 1950 US team that defeated England in the WC. A very personal and well-crafted book that tells the story of the players' lives, and the events of that day, sort of all interwoven together. Amazon is a great place to get it.

Another good one is 'Dynamo', about the Dynamo Kiev team in WWII, the German-occupied Soviet Union. Very interesting how they survived the hell of playing through those years and enduring forced labor, deprivation, etc.

[Dr. Wankler]

Originally posted by Steigs
A few others -- Tor (about German soccer), Football Against the Enemy, the Beautiful Game, Barca, and you can actually learn a lot from the Rough Guide to European Soccer even though it's mostly intended to help with soccer tourism.

Damn... I haven't read Tor, though I'd like to, but I can't believe I forgot Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kupar, which is one of the top five, IMO. Also, I think you can get it from Amazon.com, which saves a fair bit of shipping costs.

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by USWins06
A very big "thumbs up" to 'The Game of Their Lives' about the 1950 US team that defeated England in the WC. A very personal and well-crafted book that tells the story of the players' lives, and the events of that day, sort of all interwoven together. Amazon is a great place to get it.



I checked Amazon for this book and all they had available was a used copy for $150!!!

Ouch!!! I guess I'll have to wait for the movie!! :)

[Chelsey]

Originally posted by FlashMan
I checked Amazon for this book and all they had available was a used copy for $150!!!

Ouch!!! I guess I'll have to wait for the movie!! :)

Yeah I noticed that a few days ago when I was looking it up. Bummer.

2 books that haven't been mentioned but should be(though I think I've seen this thread done a few times before :D ):

Captain for Life-Obvious. Be prepared to cry at certain points, it's a must have for an American Soccer fan. Fever Pitch was ok, but I didn't cry as much during it b/c it was written in a British perspective.

23 Days in Korea-Also cried during this book, even though one of the sob fests took place while waiting in a doctor's waiting room. I really liked the style of this book, though he does talk about food alot in it. So it's like a soccer/food book, I swear.

((Also I don't know how to write in italics or underlines, so sorry the books aren't done like that.))

[nicodemus]

This book is beyond awesome.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0747264090.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[nyrmetros]

I have read: Fever Pitch, and Hand of God........... I need more!

[jamison]

Having watched a J league soccer game in Japan I take the reinvented tag with a bit of skepticism, but that looks like an interesting book.

Withouth ruining it, can you talk a bit about what the book focuses on? Footie culture in Japan or technical innovations of Japanese players?

[nicodemus]

Originally posted by jamison
Having watched a J league soccer game in Japan I take the reinvented tag with a bit of skepticism, but that looks like an interesting book.

Withouth ruining it, can you talk a bit about what the book focuses on? Footie culture in Japan or technical innovations of Japanese players? The book is misnamed a bit, but it mainly focuses on the football culture of Japan. It talks about how the football culture didn't so much develop as they actively sought to have one instantly. There are interviews with Steve Perryman and other foreigners working in the league as well as time spent amongst the samba band of Shimizu S-Pulse's cheering sections. A lot of funny, uniquely Japanese stuff.

[ratfacejt]

Game of Their Lives is among my favorites -- being re-released in about 3 months.

[FlashMan]

Have read many of these books - they're almost all good.

Can't wait for the re-release of Game of Their Lives. I'll be first in line.

Am currently reading Futebol: Soccer, the Brazilian Way , a fascinating look at Brazilian futebol culture. About 2/3rds of the way through, for the most part am enjoying it immensely.

[jamison]

Originally posted by nicodemus
The book is misnamed a bit, but it mainly focuses on the football culture of Japan. It talks about how the football culture didn't so much develop as they actively sought to have one instantly. There are interviews with Steve Perryman and other foreigners working in the league as well as time spent amongst the samba band of Shimizu S-Pulse's cheering sections. A lot of funny, uniquely Japanese stuff.

Ahh. Sounds cool.

[Mglnbea]

Some reading suggestions:

"U.S. Soccer vs. the World", by Tony Cirino;

"Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts", by Pete Davies;

"The Story of the World Cup", by Brian Glanville;

"The Simplest Game", by Paul Gardner;

"The Encyclopedia of American Soccer History", by Roger Allaway, Colin Jose and David Litterer;

also, the autobiagraphy of Michelle Akers is very good (I cannot remember the exact title name, and I have loaned it out. . .);

"Gooool", by Andres Cantor;

"Captain for Life", by John Harkes;

"The Game of Their Lives", by Geofrey Douglas

[FlashMan]

Originally posted by jamison
A season with Verona [/b] is also quality. It's at Amazon.com, but harder to find in stores. I managed to snag one in a Borders.



Am about 1/3 of the way through this book and I absolutely love it. The guy's a great writer and I'm getting a lot of insight into the Italian game.

And more!

[greenbill]

Read "Hand of God", a biography of Maradona. Then watch the video "Napoli Corner", a documentary about him helping Napoli to their first ever scudetto. Its interesting to see the unparalleled idol-worshipping of him at Napoli in the video, while the book gives you a great understanding of the highs and lows of Diego's life. It left me thinking..."I wonder want he's up to now?"