"The World Is a Ball" by John Doyle


The World Cup has begun and around the world people are glued to their television sets, cheering for their favourite team and enjoying what is known as the beautiful game. In The World Is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer, John Doyle examines the global appeal of soccer and how the realities of life are played out on the pitch.


The book is written from Doyle's perspective as a journalist covering recent major soccer tournaments. Though he is a television critic, soccer was influential in his life starting as a young boy growing up in Ireland. But then his Canadian newspaper sends him to cover the World Cup in 2002 and from there he begins his account of exciting games, crazy fans, and the grip that soccer has on the world.


Doyle not only covers the tournaments and games in-depth, but he takes you behind the scenes, introducing you to fans, players, journalists, taxi drivers and everyone who is touched by soccer fever.


If you are a die-hard soccer fan and you have watched the major tournaments of the last eight years, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. If you are new to the sport or a casual fan, you may find yourself a little lost through the book, but this is one book that will definitely give you the background and knowledge you need going into the 2010 World Cup.



John Doyle's Random House Author Website


Comments

  1. christa @ mental foodieJune 19, 2010 at 11:42 PM

    While I'm not a die-hard soccer fan, I do enjoy watching the World Cup, started back in 1990 (wow! didn't realize it was that long ago!) This book sounds like an interesting read!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Guestbook" by Holly Martin

Image
Welcome to Willow Cottage - throw open the shutters, let in the sea breeze and make yourself completely at home.  Oh, and please do leave a comment in the Guestbook! Annie Butterworth is the landlady of Willow Cottage, a beautiful cottage in the English countryside with a colourful array of guests.  Every guest is encouraged to write their thoughts in the guestbook and do they ever!  Love, loss, happiness, sadness, guilt, affairs, births, and surprises, it’s all in there.  Even Annie’s life gets caught up in the book. As a young widow, Annie herself is going through some changes.  And the appearance of her brother-in-law, celebrity crime writer Oliver Black isn’t helping.  As the guests of Willow Cottage go about their seaside vacations, Annie and Oliver must figure out how to move on in their lives, and most importantly, if they will do so together. The Guestbook by Holly Martin is a lovely, sweet, and unique book.  Written in the format of notes left in the guestbook,
Read more

"Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home" by Esi Edugyan

Image
“But where are you from, really?” This is a question that Canadians of all walks of life are often asked.  Part of our identity as Canadians is that we all come from somewhere else, and no matter how long ago, it is a defining part of who we are.   But for many people, this question is about more than where their family came to Canada from.  For many, it brings about a question of home and belonging.  These are the ideas that Esi Edugyan explored in her 2013 Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home .  Born in Canada to parents from Ghana, Esi Edugyan has travelled to and lived in various countries, all the while searching for her identity and coming to understand the meaning of home. As an author, Edugyan also reflects on Canadian literature and the notion of the “Canadian story.”  Her wildly successful novel, Half-Blood Blues , was set outside of Canada, and something she often heard was that it was not a typical Canadian novel.  But a
Read more

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Image
I am so excited to be participating in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog . There are over 50 participants hosting giveaways on their blog between October 15 and October 19. Be sure to hop around and check out all the awesome giveaways! My Giveaway Award season is underway in the Canadian literary world and to celebrate I would like to send someone some fabulous Canadian literature. One lucky winner will be able to choose which book they would like me to send them. Here are the choices (click on title to find out more about the book): A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (bought at library sale) Life of Pi by Yann Martel The Last River Child by Lori Ann Bloomfield The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (bought at library sale) Two of the books were bought at a library sale as mentioned. They are still in good condition but are obviously well-loved and do still have the library stickers on them. The other t
Read more