The Ball is Round by David Goldblatt: Read It
Today I had to return my hardback copy of David Goldblatt’s The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football to the library because I’d had it for a year and they wouldn’t let me renew it again. My heart sank as I deposited it in the return box, an inestimably useful synthesis of world football history disappearing from my grasp. I consult it almost any time I write something historical on this blog, and it rarely disappoints.
Fortunately, those of us who live in the U.S. can now purchase a brand new paperback copy for a mere $16 from Amazon. I promise that if you have any interest in world football, you’ll not be disappointed with the book (renamed a A Global History of Soccer for this market, incidentally). Sure, the book’s huge (just shy of 1,000 pages) so you’re not going to devour it in one sitting, but read it in chunks at your leisure and enjoy.
And coincidentally, John Turnbull at The Global Game blog recently interviewed Goldblatt about the book — it’s a great primer on the massive ground the book covers (there’s also a podcast of the interview too). Turnbull begins with the perspicacious thought: “We wonder how many will read the title’s four words as a direct challenge to the myth of American centrality in all things,” exploring the meaning of soccer as the global game with Goldblatt, who spent 3 1/2 years immersed in research for the book. And it shows.
Update: if $16 is too dear, you can win a copy of The Ball is Round over at Adam Spangler’s This Is American Soccer.
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Just got the book, it’s a good read.
Funny, I JUST picked this book up off Amazon this week. Good to hear it’s worthwhile.
I’ve been dipping in and out of my copy for a year or so now, it’s excellent. To give you an idea of the scope of the book, Association Football doesn’t come into existance until page 38 or so.
Rich in an academic fashion, at its soul, this is purely a history book that incidentally refers to a sport (I bought mine at a Barnes & Noble, found it in the Sports section, and then wondered if that was the appropriate place to put it).
Yet Goldblatt is just so masterful not just with words but in perception, pointing out things that a droll statistical history or sports encyclopedia would not reveal.
It may clock in at 900 pages, but Goldblatt’s efforts are so satisfying that it feels a third of that size. If you believe yourself to love this sport and have any inkling of interest in history, this book should be a mandatory read.
I bought it for 24$ at a Books-A-Million in rural Kentucky about three months ago.
It’s fantastic, but the section on the MLS is really small and doesn’t really tell you anything beyond the Lamar Hunt and other founder’s wanting a league and it’s ties to the world cup hosting effort in 94. Other then that, it’s a fantastic source of knowlege.
Just got the book, it’s a good read.
I agree, this is a great book about football
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