I thought this title a bit of hyperbole but I love soccer almost as much as Mr. Foer, so I bit. And found that yes, in a very weird and, yes, unlikely way, soccer does explain a lot about the world.

The very first chapter, concerning Slobodan Milosovic (sp? lazy again) and the hooligan supporters of Red Star Belgrade, alone made this book worth my money. It’s a fantastic illustration right there of how sport and fandom tie right into old tribal loyalties and feuds and both accelerate and in some ways retard the onslaught of globalization. In the process, the reader learns a lot about a lot of old conflicts seen through an interesting and sometimes amusing lens.

As I read this, I was strongly reminded of the Robert D. Kaplan of Empire Wilderness: Travels into America’s Future (one of my very favorite books) and apparently I wasn’t the only one — they got Kaplan himself to write a blurb for the jacket.

Anyone who likes soccer will of COURSE like this book — but so might some who don’t and wonder what all the fuss is about, as well as some who are just trying to look for a way to get a handle on what’s going on in the world these days. The book was published in, I think, 2004, but there’s still plenty to think upon for today’s reader.