Hello to everyone! Happy new year!
My new book, The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport, will be out in May 2014 just in time for the World Cup in Brazil! See https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442234734
The book's description from the publisher Rowman and Littlefield is below:
Soccer is no ordinary game. It is the world’s most popular sport, and as such it is also a global and cultural phenomenon of immense importance. The television audience for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa included nearly half of the world’s population with viewers from nearly every country and territory on earth. As a reflection of soccer’s significance, the sport’s cultural impact can be discerned on diverse realms of life—from politics and religion to business and the arts.
In The World through Soccer: The Cultural Impact of a Global Sport, Tamir Bar-On uses soccer to convey insights into worldwide politics, religion, ethics, marketing, business, leadership, philosophy, and the arts. Throughout, Bar-On examines the ways in which soccer influences and reflects these aspects of society, and vice versa. In addition, each section features representative players, providing specific examples of how soccer replicates and informs our lives. Players discussed come from a wide array of eras, countries, and backgrounds, and include Diego Maradona, Pelé, Hugo Sánchez, Cha Bum-Kun, Roger Milla, José Luis Chilavert, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Maldini, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Neymar, Clint Dempsey, Mia Hamm, and many others.
Employing a unique lens through which to view a variety of societal topics, The World through Soccer reveals the profound cultural impact of the sport. Combining philosophical, popular, and academic insights about the world we live in, this book is geared towards soccer fans, academics, and the culturally curious and offers readers a new perspective into a sport that affects millions.
