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The Ball Is Round
- A Global History of Soccer
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 38 hrs and 58 mins
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The Ball Is Round
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Summary
The definitive book about soccer, from the author of The Games: A Global History of the Olympics.
There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final.
In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
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What listeners say about The Ball Is Round
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Phillips
- 23-06-24
the history of football
this audiobook is a great book covering more history than I expected. I learned a lot about the game and how its following around the world came to be. For me this book was great mentioned it to others. The great names of football also get mentions to. major events in football covered from around the world. If I needed a reference book in my bookshelf this is the one I would have. Well done to the author for his research and the way the boo, is compiled.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-05-23
Nice book shame about the reading
The content is excellent but the reader irritates with his wrong pronunciation. This is a great pity and calls into question the professionalism of those who organised this reading. The work deserved better.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-10-23
Great book, bad reader
The narrator clearly isn't a fan of football. Otherwise a tremendous work on football from its early roots to the 2006 world cup.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Curtis
- 12-05-21
Great book read by someone who doesn't like footy
I don't mean to sound pretentious, but the users pronunciation of many of the continental players/teams/terms regarding football really detracted from the experience. "Joov". it kept happening and it just started to annoy me and I would lose focus on the book, and would have to go back. otherwise, this is just a tremendous social and historical review of football. it's essential reading.
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3 people found this helpful