David Goldblatt

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The Meaning and Making of English Football

The Game of Our Lives

A Footballing History of Brazil

Futebol Nation

The Ball is Round

Discover the Penguin books that shaped us

A Global History of Football

'Just possibly the most erudite football book ever, yet also a very good read. Goldblatt doesn't just understand the social context of the game around the world; he also has a nose for the best stories. This book is a mindboggling achievement' Simon Kuper, author of Football Against the Enemy

THE DEFINITIVE, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BOOK ABOUT FOOTBALL 
 
 'Football conquered the world with its capacity to astonish, and this is its definitive history' The Independent 
 
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 football's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport. 
 
The Ball Is Round illuminates football's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game. 
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'Goldblatt writes with authority, humour, and passion, not least in the accounts of famous or significant matches scattered throughout the book' Times Literary Supplement 
 
'Since it became a worldwide phenomenon, nobody has attempted to write an overall history of the game. Now David Goldblatt's stunning book will be the measure against which all other such volumes are judged' The Guardian 
 
 'Goldblatt's magnum opus . . . Anyone with a brain and an interest in football will enjoy this book' The Daily Telegraph (London)

David Goldblatt was born in 1965 and inherited, for his sins, Tottenham Hotspurs from his father. His books include Social Theory and the Environment, Global Transformations and the World Football Yearbook. He currently lives in Bristol, the Bermuda triangle of football prowess, where he spreads his affections amongst Spurs, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City.

The Ball is Round

A Global History of Football

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