From: Booklist
Advanced Review - Uncorrected Proof
Issue: September 1, 2007
Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans, and Freaks.
Trecker, Jamie (Author)
Oct 2007. 272 p. Harcourt/Harvest, paperback, $14.00. (9780156030984). 796.334.
In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, U.S. publishers offered many books explaining the World Cup, soccer, and why players aren't allowed to use their hands. Certainly, many Americans still need the help, but books timed to coincide with the event lacked a crucial element: results. The U.S. team went home early, but journalist Trecker went the distance. His firsthand account of soccer madness is lively and intelligent, as full of funny anecdotes as it is opinionated commentary. He doesn't stint the historical context, either, detailing not only the history of the tournament but changing cultural and political attitudes toward it. And if he occasionally provides a little too much background -- the U.S. history of the game is a book in itself (see Jim Haner's Soccerhead, 2006) --he goes some other writers one better by placing the tournament in another crucial context: financial (because money is what makes the world of sport go round). This comes too late for 2006 World Cup newbies, of course, but it proves to be the book they were waiting for.
_ Keir Graff
Advanced Review - Uncorrected Proof
Issue: September 1, 2007
Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans, and Freaks.
Trecker, Jamie (Author)
Oct 2007. 272 p. Harcourt/Harvest, paperback, $14.00. (9780156030984). 796.334.
In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, U.S. publishers offered many books explaining the World Cup, soccer, and why players aren't allowed to use their hands. Certainly, many Americans still need the help, but books timed to coincide with the event lacked a crucial element: results. The U.S. team went home early, but journalist Trecker went the distance. His firsthand account of soccer madness is lively and intelligent, as full of funny anecdotes as it is opinionated commentary. He doesn't stint the historical context, either, detailing not only the history of the tournament but changing cultural and political attitudes toward it. And if he occasionally provides a little too much background -- the U.S. history of the game is a book in itself (see Jim Haner's Soccerhead, 2006) --he goes some other writers one better by placing the tournament in another crucial context: financial (because money is what makes the world of sport go round). This comes too late for 2006 World Cup newbies, of course, but it proves to be the book they were waiting for.
_ Keir Graff
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
josearcadio:
I preordered it from my nearest Borders store, althought they say it will be released in October... I hope you are feeling better, healthier and that you get rich from this book!! Have a great weekend!!! (by the way, my local team, the Puerto Rico Islanders, are playing today and on Sunday and I am attending! YAY) 
polonovia:
YAAAAAAAY! I am so proud of you and the book really does kick ass! It's a fun read. Really. I would say that even if I didn't want a pony!
