Reviews for Eight World Cups
Here is a terrific review in the Boston Globe by Bill Littlefield of WBUR's Only a Game:
BOOK REVIEW
‘Eight World Cups’ and ‘Brazil’s Dance With the Devil’
By Bill Littlefield | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JUNE 11, 2014
"George Vecsey had me on page 202 of his new book when he characterized Cristiano Ronaldo as “the most annoying great player in captivity.”
"Nah, he had me well before that.
"As the title suggests, in “Eight World Cups’' Vecsey chronicles his experiences at soccer’s greatest showcase, played every four years, beginning with the 1982 Men’s World Cup in Barcelona.
"Full of humor and insight about sport and culture, the book is distinguished by Vecsey’s acknowledgment that when he began writing about the World Cup, he was not well-prepared. He was surprised to learn that FIFA, soccer’s governing body, didn’t much care to provide reporters with information. Likewise the coaches and players.
"Vecsey, a veteran sports journalist, was accustomed to press conferences, team guidebooks, dressing-room interviews, and chatty managers in various dugouts. At the World Cup, access and information are in short supply, and he learns that “[a]sking questions was not cool. So people made stuff up.”
"Unlike many US sportswriters, who’d have regarded being assigned to the World Cup as punishment, Vecsey embraced the opportunity and came to love the sport. Perhaps, as he writes, “[s]occer seemed to remind Americans of something they instinctively feared — foreign languages, foreign influences,” but George Vecsey learned from the people of lands where soccer is most appreciated: Spain, Italy, Germany, and eventually South Africa.
"At the 2010 World Cup, he especially enjoyed his time in Durban, where, on a walk though the city, he “noticed a few black women and white women having lunch together . . . the gift of Mandela, something far more precious than a tournament.”
"The pomp, glory, and great entertainment all get their due in “Eight World Cups,’’ but as the book’s subtitle suggests, Vecsey also acknowledges soccer’s “dark side.”
"He witnesses games in which teams that have secured passage to the next round of the tournament are happy to settle for a draw, essentially cheating fans of the passionate contest they’ve paid to see. He writes about transparently fraudulent flops by players trying to con the officials.
"He portrays FIFA as a greedy, corrupt organization led by clumsy, tactless bureaucrats. And he expresses the hope that, given what “a ruinous dance” obtaining the spectacle has sometimes become, in another decade or so, “nations [will] still believe hosting a World Cup is worth the trouble.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/06/11/democracy-review-eight-world-zirin-journey-through-beauty-world-dark-side-soccer-george-vecsey-olympics-brazil-dance-with-devil-fight/Oj0a5BS9UwpKkL33gJeaEJ/story.html
* * *
“The author is a gifted journalist who injects not only facts but a compelling narrative which makes this book an engaging, entertaining and informative read….The author also used and explained many foreign words learned from his soccer treks around the world.” --
http://www.soccertranslator.com/2014/05/book-review-eight-world-cups-by-george.html
" Consumers will certainly have a lot to choose from this summer when it comes to titles related to the World Cup, but Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer has to be #1 on everyone’s list. Everyone will get something out of this one."
–International Soccer Network
"New York Times columnist Vecsey was among the earliest major sports journalists in the United States to embrace wholeheartedly the world’s most beloved game. Timed to appear before the 2014 tournament in Brazil, the book provides a readable personal story and a history of America’s coming-of-age on the pitch."
–Kirkus Reviews
"As a longtime columnist for the New York Times, Vecsey has covered many sports but has a special passion for soccer. His reporting on eight World Cups—from Spain in 1982 to South Africa in 2010—forms the basis for this fond memoir, an exceedingly enjoyable blend of travelogue, sportswriting, and social analysis. Eight World Cups makes a wonderful background to the World Cup kicking off this June in Brazil—which will be, if he goes, Vecsey’s ninth."
–Booklist
BOOK REVIEW
‘Eight World Cups’ and ‘Brazil’s Dance With the Devil’
By Bill Littlefield | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT JUNE 11, 2014
"George Vecsey had me on page 202 of his new book when he characterized Cristiano Ronaldo as “the most annoying great player in captivity.”
"Nah, he had me well before that.
"As the title suggests, in “Eight World Cups’' Vecsey chronicles his experiences at soccer’s greatest showcase, played every four years, beginning with the 1982 Men’s World Cup in Barcelona.
"Full of humor and insight about sport and culture, the book is distinguished by Vecsey’s acknowledgment that when he began writing about the World Cup, he was not well-prepared. He was surprised to learn that FIFA, soccer’s governing body, didn’t much care to provide reporters with information. Likewise the coaches and players.
"Vecsey, a veteran sports journalist, was accustomed to press conferences, team guidebooks, dressing-room interviews, and chatty managers in various dugouts. At the World Cup, access and information are in short supply, and he learns that “[a]sking questions was not cool. So people made stuff up.”
"Unlike many US sportswriters, who’d have regarded being assigned to the World Cup as punishment, Vecsey embraced the opportunity and came to love the sport. Perhaps, as he writes, “[s]occer seemed to remind Americans of something they instinctively feared — foreign languages, foreign influences,” but George Vecsey learned from the people of lands where soccer is most appreciated: Spain, Italy, Germany, and eventually South Africa.
"At the 2010 World Cup, he especially enjoyed his time in Durban, where, on a walk though the city, he “noticed a few black women and white women having lunch together . . . the gift of Mandela, something far more precious than a tournament.”
"The pomp, glory, and great entertainment all get their due in “Eight World Cups,’’ but as the book’s subtitle suggests, Vecsey also acknowledges soccer’s “dark side.”
"He witnesses games in which teams that have secured passage to the next round of the tournament are happy to settle for a draw, essentially cheating fans of the passionate contest they’ve paid to see. He writes about transparently fraudulent flops by players trying to con the officials.
"He portrays FIFA as a greedy, corrupt organization led by clumsy, tactless bureaucrats. And he expresses the hope that, given what “a ruinous dance” obtaining the spectacle has sometimes become, in another decade or so, “nations [will] still believe hosting a World Cup is worth the trouble.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/06/11/democracy-review-eight-world-zirin-journey-through-beauty-world-dark-side-soccer-george-vecsey-olympics-brazil-dance-with-devil-fight/Oj0a5BS9UwpKkL33gJeaEJ/story.html
* * *
“The author is a gifted journalist who injects not only facts but a compelling narrative which makes this book an engaging, entertaining and informative read….The author also used and explained many foreign words learned from his soccer treks around the world.” --
http://www.soccertranslator.com/2014/05/book-review-eight-world-cups-by-george.html
" Consumers will certainly have a lot to choose from this summer when it comes to titles related to the World Cup, but Eight World Cups: My Journey through the Beauty and Dark Side of Soccer has to be #1 on everyone’s list. Everyone will get something out of this one."
–International Soccer Network
"New York Times columnist Vecsey was among the earliest major sports journalists in the United States to embrace wholeheartedly the world’s most beloved game. Timed to appear before the 2014 tournament in Brazil, the book provides a readable personal story and a history of America’s coming-of-age on the pitch."
–Kirkus Reviews
"As a longtime columnist for the New York Times, Vecsey has covered many sports but has a special passion for soccer. His reporting on eight World Cups—from Spain in 1982 to South Africa in 2010—forms the basis for this fond memoir, an exceedingly enjoyable blend of travelogue, sportswriting, and social analysis. Eight World Cups makes a wonderful background to the World Cup kicking off this June in Brazil—which will be, if he goes, Vecsey’s ninth."
–Booklist
