This book includes a chapter on each team that qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The chapters are written by different authors, who have some affinity for the nation. It also includes an interesting introduction and plenty of appealing statistics.
Even after the World Cup, reading this book has been enjoyable and insightful. All but a few of the chapters are entertaining and interesting and some are excellent. There are also some that are quite tedious--these go on and on about topics unrelated to soccer and are uninteresting.
I really enjoyed the chapters on some of the underdogs like Ivory Coast, Ghana, Australia, South Korea and Angola, and of course the chapter on England stands out. The good chapters make the book worth reading, for sure.
The chapter on the US is disappointing as the writer concludes with a typical liberal swipe at Pres Bush and VP Cheney. The chapter reads like it was written in full between innings at a baseball game.
I will definitely look for a similar book in four years prior to watching all of the games of the World Cup. |
The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup Books In Print, Audio Books.