Product Description
The real story behind 'The Great Aussie Game' is told in this unauthorised history - a book for all Australian football scholars and fans.

A team of football historians and enthusiasts has combined to provide a detailed account of the development of Australian Rules football and its subsequent national growth.Here is an absorbing narrative of the major incidents that have formed the structure and operation of Aussie Rules football.A fresh, interesting and full account, this is an original and accessible contribution to the history of Australia's only 'home-grown' sport. ... Read more

Product Description
A full football season of facts, history, and nostalgia, this book will tell you the date the record for passes attempted was broken (94 on 11/1/53) as well as the game in which a defensive tackle lined up as a tight end to make the only touchdown reception of his career (William Perry, Chicago Bears, 11/3/85), and much, much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fun, Easy-to-Read Football Book!
If you enjoy reading about the NFL and the history of the game then this book is for you. The author does a great job of putting together a fun, easy-to-read, book on the events that helped shaped the NFL. This is a book that you can go back to and read over and over or if you want to stump your family or friends. Highly recommended. Chris W.

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Product Description
The Netherlands has one of the World's most distinctiveand sophisticated football cultures. From the birth of Total Footballin the sixties, through two decades of World Cup near misses to theexiles who remade clubs like AC Milan, Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelseain their own image, the Dutch have often been dazzlingly original andinfluential. The elements of their style (exquisite skills,adventurous attacking tactics, a unique blend of individual creativityand teamwork, weird patterns of self-destruction) reflect and embodythe country's culture and history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

I love Orange!
Not only about the sport of soccer, but provides great insight into the culture of the Dutch!

Great Football History
I just began reading football (soccer) books dealing with the history of the sport and how it relates to the culture of the nations in which it is played. Being a soccer coach and former player I am well aware of the artistic and calculated approach that the Dutch take with football, but I had no idea how deep the history of the sport was intertwined with the Dutch culture. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone that in interested in dutch history and football.

Amazing book.
Brilliant Orange is a soccer book, an exploration of European history, a socio-psychological profile of a people, and an exhilirating read. Loved every page and I've recommended it to many friends and acquaintances.
Buy it!

Soccer
Good book not great but good.Enjoyed learning about the Dutch and their development of total football. The author did a good job of obtaining information about the early players and coaches.I cant really recall the author discussing Catholics, Muslims or Protestants but for some reason he kept trying to tie Judaism into Dutch culture and soccer.Not here or there but ALOT. ?? I dont see what this religion had to do with the developent of Totalfootball to the extent of which he wrote about it?I thought I was buying a book on the development of soccerbut maybe I was buying some agenda he was pushing as well. I dont know. If you can borrow it from a friend, its worth looking at. Ciao

'Winning is not the most important thing. The most important thing is playing a good game." - pg. 144
Brazil has 'jogo bonito', but running around in their orange kits on the field, originators of 'total football', Netherlands is really a team that plays a flowing beautiful game. The concept of 'total football' is in fact, part and parcel with the famed Ajax team.

I don't quite agree with a minor statement the author made about the Dutch are the tallest race on earth, really?? I wonder why Lithuania is such a dominant perennial basketball world and European power but Holland is not.Netherlands (or Holland, actually a part of the larger country) plays cricket and yes, even fielded a top-notch baseball team to the baseball world cup so I doubt it would be only because they are not interested in basketball.

One other issue I believe the author isn't quite correct on, is the extent that Holland blossomed as a football power. True, they improved exponentially as one of the best teams beginning in 1974 with Cruyff and in fact, shaped the football landscape. However, they really were not that bad before this and it was exciting to read about their rivalry with neighboring Belgium (and on that note, their national football team deserves a treatise, being on the periphery, they've definitely had their successes as well). Again, the Ajax during the war would attest to this.

This is a good primer on Dutch soccer, not the final word by any means but it discusses the structure of their game, rivalries and history along with trying to connect the dots to the culture and malaise of the nation itself. After this book, there are a number of other books to read on Dutch soccer for further understanding such asAjax, the Dutch, the War: Football in Europe During the Second World War, Ajax has the status of being legendary with the football it developed, total football and it's players while lacking the monetary resources the famous rich European clubs have had.

Be on the watch for this book coming out under two different covers, Brilliant Orange The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer this being the other edition, otherwise, I don't know how the two vary. I think the handsome orange is the one to have.

Hup, Holland, Hup!

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Customer Reviews (8)

Not the book the title promises
I pulled this title having read Lars Anderson's book on the 1915 Carlisle-Army game and Mark Bowden's book on the 1958 NFL championship. I would recommend either of those without qualification.Both provide a thorough background leading up to and culminating in a particular pivotal game, which game itself is described in exciting detail (although not quite down-by-down).Anderson and Bowden provide nice little mini-bios of the key players and a taut history of football leading up to the game in question (in fact it might not be a stretch to say that Bowden's book proivdes a better retelling of football's becoming a more "open" game than this volume.) The background provided here is not the same level or quality and the game description itlsef is lacking.Quite tellingly, the game of the title taks place at the mid-way point of the book. The rest of the book to follow the game account, and much of what precedes it in fact, is really just a hagiography of Harper.The exciting history of ND football deserves better.

Best Football Book I've Read
An insightful, INTERESTING book about, among other things, reasonable people developing rules intended to keep people alive as they engage in sport.It is astonishing to know that there were actually people who opposed the new rule of the forward pass.Maggio's well-researched hindsight gives much deserved credit to Harper's foresight, and gives us all a timely reminder that intelligence is never out of style.The book reads anecdotally, and is a must for anyone interested in the history of football, the history of education, the history, really, of the game that defines in large part the character of our land.Maggio's well developed story telling style is a pleasure.You'd be well advised to buy two: One for you, and one to make sure you won't have to loan yours out.

Interesting, but a lot of repetiton
I learned some interesting and previously unknown things about the pre-Rockne days at ND, but there was a lot of repetition and needless details that didn't add anything. The book could have been much shorter.

Notre Dame wasn't the first throwing team
I like the subject of the book, but really the Army game was long after Carlisle and LSU had been throwing the ball with great effect in the years of 1906-1909.

The game of 1913 wasn't the first forward pass and many years after Pop Warner had made the Indians a passing machine. The Indians with Jim Thorpe and the great passing game of 1907-08 were a one of the best early football teams.

Its Carlisle in the North and LSU in the South that put the passing game on the map and near every football team in America started following thier lead.

Army had already been beat by Carlisle great team of 1912 and between Jim Thorpe's running and the Indians passing game, Army was destoryed by the score of 27-6.

Coach Wingrad comes to LSU and has the pass as his key weapon in the 1907 and 08 seasons, Joe Pitchard uses the same offense in 1909 at LSU. Its the two key passing plays vs Auburn on plains that lead to the victory over the Plainsmen, both passes were Fenton to Seip in a 10-2 victory. Read up on Doc Fenton, he is in the Hall of Fame and was the key passer on those teams.

Hollywood made the myth out of the Army-Notre Dame game and today we are still hearing the myth, its time to put it to rest.

So unlike the movie shows, no one by 1913 and in no way was Army surprised by the farward pass.

And Notre Dame like all the smaller teams of those times saw and knew that the small Indian teams had beat the football powers of Harvard, Yale, Penn, Army, Navy, etc using the passing game.

The author defends his position.
I enjoyed Homer Martin's review of my book, but I stand by my position that the Notre Dame vs. Army game of 1913 was indeed the game that changed football. I understand that many teams had used the forward pass prior to the 1913 game, including the great teams at the Carlisle Indian school. Sally Jenkins in her recent book points this out very well. However, I would point Mr. Martin, Ms. Jenkins and others to Chapter 3 of my book concerning the evolution of the rules governing the forward pass and also the change in the shape of the ball. Prior to the 1913 season the rules and the shape of the ball virtually prohibited the full and free passing attack that Notre Dame used against Army in 1913. Notre Dame gained 213 yards in the air that day. An unheard of statistic at the time.The evolution of the rules and the change in the shape of the ball made all the difference. Note also that ESPN, see the final chapter of my book for the citation, called Jesse Harper's decision to to pass against Army in 1913 the number one college coaching decision of the 20th Century. Hollywood did not make a myth out of the 1913 game. The credit for the game being the game that changed football has been asserted by numerous sport's writes since the day the game was played - starting with 2 and 1/2 columns on the game in the Sunday edition of the New York Times the day after the game was played. The Times article quoted Bill Roper, the former head football coach at Princeton, who was one of the officials in the game to the effect that "he had always believed that such playing was possible under the new rules, but that he had never seen the forward pass developed to such a state of perfection." So I submit, there is no myth to put to rest. It is a reality. Best regards to Mr. Martin and all who read this. Frank P. Maggio, the author. I can be contacted at "maggioND@msn.com"
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Product Description
Seldom has the gap between national expectation and actual achievement been so wide as in the case of England's hapless football team..."Don't Mention the Score" is the tragic-comic story of how one small nation tried and failed to dominate world football. Littered with fouls, sendings-off, and more than a handful of off-the-ball incidents, "Don't Mention the Score" is a hilarious and often exasperating journey through England's 135-year history of footballing underachievement. It features a cast of cheating Argentinians, phenomenally boring but metronomically reliable Germans, and dreamily gifted Brazilians - all of them itching to hand out a technical masterclass in one-touch football to the recreation-ground clodhoppers of Olde Englande...In November 1872 England played Scotland in Glasgow in the world's first official international football match. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Home internationals excepted, England remained haughtily aloof from international football for decades. When they finally deigned to compete in a World Cup they were stuffed one-nil by ...the USA.Four years later, in a match described by one England player as 'like playing people from Outer Space', they were beaten 6-3 by Hungary.In 1966 a Soviet linesman who'd had it in for the Hun ever since he copped a bullet at Stalingrad took pity on England and helped them win the World Cup. But since then it has been downhill all the way. In the rumbustious style of his bestselling "Stiff Upper Lips and Baggy Green Caps", Simon Briggs charts England football's rare highs and all-too-frequent lows. Embellished with some 75 black-and-white photographs, and incorporating more than 100 of the wittiest and most wounding quotations about footballers past and present, "Don't Mention the Score" is the perfect gift for any football fan, from eighteen to eighty. ... Read more

Product Description
For pure spectacle, passion and tradition, nothing in sports beats a college football rivalry and the Big Ten has some of the best. Whether it is Wisconsin and Minnesota renewing their ancient battle for Paul Bunyan s Axe, or Ohio State and Michigan scrapping for conference dominance, you will discover the history, ritual and color of some of football s oldest and greatest blood feuds. ... Read more

Product Description
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Complete Illustrated History documents the great moments in a tradition that stretches back more than seventy-five years and offers an unmatched legacy of success. Fresh on the heels of a record sixth Super Bowl victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a team steeped in history and success. The roster of players who have donned the black and gold reads like an all-star team, and the 1970s dynasty alone featured nine players currently enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This book celebrates those players and many more, as well as coaching legends such as Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, and the passionate fans throughout western Pennsylvania and across the nation who have never failed the team that never failed them. Lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white images from throughout the team's history, Pittsburgh Steelers brings to powerful life the on- and off-field exploits of this iconic franchise. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice book but the book does contain mistakes
I bought two of these books for Christmas at Costco's for $18.99.Looks like a great book for any Steelers fan, and living in Pittsburgh, we are all Steelers fans!Gave it to my nephew today and he and my brothers were looking at it.Clearly on page 165 it lists the year by year win/losses.Our record was 15-1 in the 2004 season and the book says we were 12-4, 2007, 2003 and more are wrong too!

Too bad....was a great book but the mistakes are just too glaring.

Any sports collection will find this a popular history
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Complete Illustrated History is a pick recommended for any sports library and documents some great moments in the history of the sport. From the players who have produced winning plays to teams, legendary coaches, and fans that have made the game successful, color and black and white images pack a record of the Pittsburgh Steeler's many successes. Any sports collection will find this a popular history.

Good shipping - disappointed in the book
We were happy with the delivery and shipping of the book; however, there were BIG mistakes in the Steelers stats for this decade in the book -- I mean they got the win-loss record wrong and the scores of various games were completely off.In the book, it indicated that Steelers had a LOSING season last year -- They WON the Super Bowl for Heaven's Sake -- losing season?!Disappointed in the book. Contacted the publisher and received a response that was little more than an "oops, sorry" letter -- they could have at least reimbursed us for the cost.This is not the book for a true Steeler fan. ... Read more

Product Description

Celebrated author and die-hard Bama fan Winston Groom provides a lively illustrated history of the team that has dominated college football and has been ranked consistently among the best in the nation, now with 13 national championships to its credit. Beginning in 1892, when William G. Little first introduced the game at the Capstone, to the stellar 2009 season during which the Crimson Tide went undefeated and won first the SEC Championship against poll-favorite Florida and then the BCS National Championship against Texas, this story includes all the illustrious moments, players, teams and coaches, fans and stats that collectively make Alabama a proven winner, time after time.

 This revised and updated National Championship Edition contains two new chapters to cover the dark days at the beginning of the 21st century (2001–2006) and the dawn of the Nick Saban era (2007–2010); a new foreword by Allen Barra; updated appendixes for all-time lettermen, game records, bowl appearances, national and SEC championships; over 60 fabulous new full-color photographs; and two new sidebars on the historic Heisman Trophy win by Mark Ingram and Jeremiah Castille’s view of Alabama’s championship tradition.

Product Description
Carlton is the most successful club in the AFL both in premierships and financially. This book looks at the develpment of the club as an institution as well as the history of the fans. All the club's playing and boardroom chatracters appear, their greatest games, all-ins, goals and disgraces. Here is the tale of how the local team of the most enthusiastic football suburb in Victoria became a professional, financially secure club in a national competition, a club which has won more premierships in the first hundred years of VFL/AFL than any other. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Non-Fiction
A version of the story of the Carlton Football Club.

As far as football books go, this one is reasonably decent, so Carlton fans or other interested bodies shouldn't be disappointed with this book, even if not great.

We Are the Navy Blues, indeed, so one for the blueboys collection.


3.5 out of 5

A history of the Carlton Football Club
All supporters of the Carlton Football Club should own this book.We need the memories of the glorious past to sustain us through the bleak present into the promise of the future.

The Carlton Football Club (formed in 1864) is one of the oldest football clubs in the world.This book was published in 1998: three years after Carlton had won its 16th (and most recent) AFL Premiership. This book provides a history of a proud and successful football club that is currently going through what might euphemistically be called a bit of a rough patch.

We, the true believers, know this will pass. We just wish it would pass a little quicker.

Highly recommended to all supporters of 'The Old Dark Navy Blues' and to anyone else who wants to gain some insight into Australian Rules Football from the perspective of one of the most successful clubs ever.

In AFL, there is always next year!

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Proud member of the Carlton Football Club

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Customer Reviews (1)

Quarterback U comes to life
This book is a good game-by-game synopsis of the first 90 or so years of Purdue football history. It kept my interest quite well and had my heart pumping mightily at times. It was enjoyable to read about Mackey and Ross Ade, Len Dawson, Mike Phipps and Bob Griese from the perspective of 1974. These are guys I have never seen play, but know they helped build the reputation of Purdue football. The only complaint I have is the description of every single game got a bit tiresome at points. I would have liked some of that space used to detail other aspects of the program, like the change in recruiting, evolution of the Big Ten, etc. Overall, this is a must read for any Purdue sports fan, especially since it is the only book that chronicles this era. ... Read more

Product Description
In this compellingly argued and deeply personal book, respected sports historian Michael Oriard--who was himself a former second-team All-American at Notre Dame--explores a wide range of trends that have changed the face of big-time college football and transformed the role of the student-athlete.

Oriard considers such issues as the politicization of football in the 1960s and the implications of the integration of college football. The heart of the book examines a handful of decisions by the NCAA in the early seventies--to make freshmen eligible to play, to lower admission standards, and, most critically, to replace four-year athletic scholarships with one-year renewable scholarships--that helped transform student-athletes into athlete-students and turned the college game into a virtual farm league for professional football.

Oriard then traces the subsequent history of the sport as it has tried to grapple with the fundamental contradiction of college football as both extracurricular activity and multi-billion-dollar mass entertainment. The relentless necessity to pursue revenue, Oriard argues, undermines attempts to maintain academic standards, and it fosters a football culture in which athletes are both excessively entitled and exploited.

As a former college football player, Oriard brings a unique perspective to his topic, and his sympathies are always with the players and for the game. This original and compelling study will interest everyone concerned about the future of college football. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

no future for the SCHOLAR-athlete?
Michael Oriard, a former Notre Dame and Kansas City Chief player writes, what is essentially a history of big-time college football from the 60's to the beginnings of today's big bowl championships. For those who believe in a scholar athlete he says proposing reforms is a fool's task.
There are some interesting charts and statistics included that compare and show SAT scores , graduation rates, the college program's expenses and revenues.
He includes some interesting points: how the jocks of the 60's became the law and order types - the straight guys as opposed to the hippies and protestors, even the NCAA supported the Vietnam War. The problems of integrating college football, and the beginnings of player protests are covered. He sums up a huge factor in the change of college football because ofthe introduction of the one year scholarship where it was contingent on the coach's satisfaction with the athlete, not his academic scholarship. The grade scandals are covered as is the player's growing sense of entitlement and bad, even criminal behavior.

All of this is not news for anyone who even half way listens to the sports news, but it is somewhat of an eye-opener to see the facts gathered here. It can be a depressing book for those with an optimistic and glorified picture of college football; but anyone interested in sports, especially football and even the social history of the changes brought about by the 60's might enjoy reading this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For the USC Football fan
This is such a great book! I love how it has so many little things to "pull out"! It really is like a scrapbook! It's the most interactive and creative book I've seen. It has such great facts on the history and anyone who is a USC fan will love this book! I can't wait to see my husband's face when he opens it! :)

excellent book
i would highly recommend this book to any gamecock fan.its really cool to see how the program has changed. ... Read more

Product Description
Presented here are 60 games featuring some of the most outstanding efforts in history--dramatic comebacks (such as USC's 1974 triumph over Notre Dame), stunning upsets (Columbia's 21-20 win over Army in 1947 or Appalachian State's over Michigan, 34-32, in 2007--see front cover), great individual efforts (Jim Brown's 43 points in a single game), bizarre plays (Roy Riegel's wrong-way run that helped Georgia Tech defeat California), and Yale-Harvard, 29-29, in 1968 (the latter scoring 16 points in the final 42 seconds). Each story includes the highlights of the games, with quotes from many of the principals, a look at the contest's effects on football overall, career follow-ups for the key participants, and seasonal wrap-ups for the teams involved. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Outstanding!!
The book is filled with excellent artistic history of the Minnesota football program.Wonderfully done and worth every penny!A must-own for any Gopher football historian and/or fan! ... Read more

Product Description
Guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment--and to spark spirited debate--The 50 Greatest Plays in New York Giants Football History ranks and brings to life the most memorable moments in the long and storied life of Big Blue. The 50 chapters describe the action, profile the participants, and reveal the rich story behind each play. Quotes, game statistics, memorable photographs, and Xs and Os diagrams of selected plays make this the most comprehensive and unique book ever written about the New York Giants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

let's go giants!
Great book with lots of information.A great book for new fans of the greatest team in football.

Trip Down Memory Lane
A life long New York Giants, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, recommend it to other fans, and give it four of five stars.Nevertheless, for NFL fans in general or those interested in the history of the game, I give it only three of five stars.

The title is somewhat misleading as the topic covered was not truly the 50 greatest plays, but rather the 50 most memorable games, for both good and ill.In addition to the expected highlights (three Super Bowl victories, early generation champoiships, etc.) we also get the 2002 Giants collapse in the playoffs against the San Francisco, the 1978 Fumble, the defeat against the Minnesota Vikings in the 1997 playoffs, and other disappointments.I remember these games vividly and they are significant, yet not "Great."I also quibble with some of the plays/games selected for the book, such as the 2000 NFC Championship game.The Giants destroyed the Vikings 41-0 in a game over by halftime.So was Greg Comella's touchdown catch, which made it 14-0, a great play?As a Giants fan, I enjoyed reminiscing about that game, but it was not great.

But the book uses photos and sidebars very effectively and lays out important games in New York Giants history.A very enjoyable read and a lot of fun for fans of Big Blue.

Finally, the book could have used a more thorough fact checking.I found easily verified/corrected errors to be distracting, and it made me question what else was wrong that I did not recognize as such.

Two errors:(1) after defeating the Dallas Cowboys on the last game of the 1981 season, the Giants had to await the outcome of the Jets-Packers game the next day to see if they had earned a wildcard.That game was played at Shea Stadium, not at the Meadowlands as this book states.

(2) The final 2007 regular season game was a defeat by the score of 38 - 35, not 35-31 as this book states.

These are minor errors, but indicative of editorial sloppiness.

NOT ONLY FOR GIANTS FANS
Its no doubt in bad taste for one of those few mentioned on the acknowledgment page to review a book but this is truly one for the Giants fan. When a historical perspective is written by an academic researcher skilled in his profession, one that can craft a communicative dialogue, and has a burning passion for the team and sport he is writing about, you have a winner. The presentations of 50 Greatest Plays is a presentation of Giants history, nicely illustrated, with a wonderful balance of the old and new that will appeal to fans of the Giants and pro football that will span the appreciation from Mel Hein through the Gifford-Huff-Tittle years, with plenty for the contemporary fan who has enjoyed LT and the 2007 season Super Bowl Championship. In short, any football or football history lover will want this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For any Texas fan
Bought for my husband - he loved it.Texas football up to lat years Rose Bowl game - with excellent pictures.

Great Gift Idea
I bought this book for my dad for his birthday. He absolutely loved it. He graduated from Texas and has followed Texas football since the 60's and there were still some things in here that he didn't know. This is a great gift idea for those Texas Longhorn fans ... Read more

Product Description
Continuing its series of spectacular coffee-table books for the holiday season, Sports Illustrated presents The College Football Book, the ultimate gift for America's most passionate fans.

SI launched this series in 2005 with The Football Book, devoted to the professional game. A New York Times best-seller that year, the book has taken root as a perennial, selling more than 200,000 copies to date. Now the editors of Sports Illustrated return to the gridiron, this time to serve the most avid football fans of all.

With the best words and pictures SI has to offer, The College Football Book, brings to life the game's unparalleled excitement and pageantry, its legendary players, historic teams and epic rivalries.

In 288 pages of the greatest photography and writing available anywhere, The College Football Book spans the sport's history, from its infancy in the 1800s right up to the postseason showdowns of 2008. The book is packed with stunning pictures, award-winning stories, original stats, decade-by-decade all-star teams and iconic artifacts photographed exclusively for this book at the College Football Hall of Fame--the same exciting mix of elements that makes each book in the SI series a must-have for sports fan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Great book for all College Football Fans
This book is so amazing!My wife and I are huge college football fans and I was excited when I first heard about this book because of our love for college football.We knew it would be a great addition to our coffee table books and it is a great book to have on the table during the fall because of all the rich history of college football that is in the book.I would highly recommend buying this book if you are a huge college football fan and enjoy learning about the early years of college football and how it has transformed into the sport it is today.

gift
Purchased as gift for grandson.

Sports Illustrated publications are a wonderful way to motivate both children and adults.

Great
Great service
Book was new
Lower cost than borders even with shipping
Order and had within 6 days

Great service

College football fans should love it
This coffee-table book is a more-or-less pictorial history of college football, and contains many great full-color pics along with info and stories, and should make a great gift for a college football fan! While not the comprehensive history of college football such as say Ken Burn's is for baseball it contains many great full-page pictures from the last 100 years.In addition it includes summaries by decade of the great college football teams, epic games, "all-decade team,"Heisman winners, and innovative figures of the decade (although I'd personally say listing the conference Commissioner who created the "BCS" is a suspect honor...).

Also listed are fun "Campus Culture" tidbits by decade including major books, movies, news stories of the day, and other - everything from "the foxtrot" and Thomas Edison in the early part of the century to "facebook" and the O.J. verdict in the latter part.But the book is mainly devoted to college football - throughout the book are also featured great pieces on such legendary figures as Bear Bryant, Ernie "The Express" Davis, Dick Butkus, Knute Rocke, and stories such as the "U," the Flutie-comeback game, and more. In addition to pictures also featured are many classic game-program covers; one other creative feature is a large illustrated foldout of the "all-century" team - greatest players/coaches.

Overall, a very enjoyable collection of pics and information. One thing I found quirky - the book lists the national champs from each decade up to 30's, when they then are replaced by the Heisman award trophy winners. I suppose SI couldn't fit both on one page so just they stopped listing the national champs - but it seems strange they consider the individual award more important than team championships (in any event a listing of national champs can easily be found on-line, if one cares to, in tandem with reading this book). Overall, this book will provide college football or American sports fan plenty of enjoyment, and lives up to its title of "THE College Football Book!"

Great Product
My son loved the book, but for the same price I found it in BJs and could have saved on the shipping. ... Read more

Product Description
In this extraordinary tour de force of a book, David Goldblatt describes the rise of football, from a chaotic folk ritual to a sector of the global-entertainment industry. It's the story of players and managers, fans and owners, clubs and national teams; a chronicle of who won and who lost. But it's also a history of states and markets, money and power. And, above all, how all these forces interact. It is a history which attempts to locate where the line between the realm of glory and the realm of power has been crossed, that celebrates the love of the game, but knows that it can be bought. Thus the book describes and accounts for the careers of Pele and Maradona, Puskas and George Best; the histories of the Wunderteam and the incomparable Hungarians, the anti-futbol of Estudiantes de la Plata and the futbol arte of Brazil 1970. It explores the cultural meanings and political uses of football in Peron's Argentina, Adenauer's West Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union and Mussolini's Italy.It ranges from the postcolonial politics of African football to the manufacturing history of the football boot; from the history of stadium architecture to the architecture of power in global football's leading institutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Football in its wider context
This book tells the story of how the world beyond the pitch - politics, economics, society, technology - has shaped what happens on the pitch. There's also plenty of material on the game itself, but the book is not an encyclopedia of teams, players, tactics and results. The book seems aimed at readers who already know a fair amount about the roster of World Cup winners, of famous teams and players from Latin America, Europe and Africa, and of legendary matches. Goldblatt surveys these things fairly briefly, often from witty angles. His main aim is to ask how it all relates to the rest of human existence.

Why, for example, did football (soccer) fail to become the major sport in British colonies or ex-colonies in North America, Australasia and South Asia, even as it thrived in Britain's 'informal empire' or zones of economic influence in Latin America and Europe? Goldblatt offers answers to do with class, national identity formation, and relations with Britain.

Why do clubs from Spain, Italy, England and Germany dominate the Champions League to a far greater degree than the old European Cup? Goldblatt focuses on the links between 1980s economic deregulation, increased competition in TV markets, and the changing bargaining terms between UEFA and big clubs.

Why did postwar Brazil produce so much football talent, after lagging Uruguay and Argentina previously? Why did the hugely popular game in postwar Western Europe decline in the 70s-80s, only to revive in commercially turbocharged form after the Cold War? How did Mao undermine the game's development in China? Can club or national teams from Africa, Asia or Eastern Europe close the gap on the Euro-Latin aristocrats? How did a simple yet counterintuitive game (no hands?!) become the closest thing to the world's sport in the first place?

Goldblatt illuminates these and many other questions with usually well-argued and balanced reflections, while weaving a grand narrative of football as a facet of globalization. Inevitably the book skims over many of the issues, places and periods it addresses: a complete treatment would have needed several volumes. Sometimes Goldblatt opines rather than analyzes. Some chapters are stronger than others. He lacks an overall thesis on some of the basic questions he raises - e.g. is a booming economy important for sustained football success? (Often that seems the case, but counterexamples like 1980s Liverpool support the autonomy of the pitch.)

A book this sweeping and ambitious is bound to have a few problems. The only unforgiveable flaw is the large number of small factual errors. Gazza wasn't a teenager when he cried in 1990 (he was 23). Garibaldi wasn't Italy's prime minister after unification (that was Cavour). Gerd Mueller scored the winner against Holland in the first half, not the second. It's 'la grande Inter', not 'il...' Was this book rushed into print before the proof reader was finished...?

If you are the sort of person who would have hung out in Viennese cafes around 1930 talking about politics, art, life, and Matthias Sindelar's latest performance in the Mitropa Cup, while sipping Melanges (no lattes back then), this book is for you.

A history of football bureaucracy not football
This book's goal was to emulate and outdo Simon Kuper's masterpiece Football Against The Enemy. Sheer girth alone it succeeds but little else. The author's stated biography includes sociologist, author and lecturer and Mr. Goldblatt tries to see everything through those eyes. And it is simply boring. When West Germany wins the World Cup in 74, they receive one page on the game and two on how poorly they celebrated. Holland's total football was one of the most important tactical developments since the Italians cattenacio but they only are mentioned as combatants of either 1) their World War 2 adversaries the Germans or 2) the totalitarian Argentinian junta that ruled during the 78 World Cup.

Teams from developing countries are pluck victims of prejudice [albeit true am I sure but I read this book to learn about football not socioeconomic development in the 70's]. Teams from Europe are colonial masters. England is horrible [true] but they did beat a good Cameroonian team in Italy in 90 but all he says is the best team lost: fine but how did they lose, what happened.

The author spends much more time discussing FIFA Presidents and hypocrisy which might be valid but not relevant beyond one or two mentions. This book unfortunately was a labor to read, to finish and I picked it up every night because I hoped it would improve. It is extradordinary: it made football dull.

The book is strongest in the beginning discussing the development and growth of the sport and when covering the characters themselves. The book's chief weakness however is the reader finishes the book no wiser of tactics, styles, changes or themes.

There is a litmus test for whether or not you will like this book: do you ever read the Guardian from England. If so and you agree with it, this book is for you. If not or wonder why would your opinion on some foreign newspaper have to do with football, you will not like this book. Do yourself a favor: read the first 200 pages of the history of the development of the game then reread Simon Kuper's book. ... Read more