{"product_id":"world-cup-fever-a-soccer-journey-in-nine-tournaments-9798897100644","title":"World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Highly engaging. Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today.\"--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e*An Amazon Editors Pick Best Nonfiction* \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe story of how soccer has transformed the world--as seen through nine World Cups--by one of our most talented writers on the sport.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe World Cup is the biggest sporting spectacle on Earth--a chance every four years for the greatest players to win international glory, and a month-long media event that's watched by an audience of billions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But the tournament has changed beyond recognition since the inaugural event in Montevideo, Uruguay, in July 1930. What was once a semi-professional meeting beset by haphazard play has evolved to become a game of multinational buyouts, dubious ethics, and questionable aims--and the new era of soccer has much to tell us about the globalized world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Simon Kuper is among the vanishingly small number of writers who have attended every World Cup since 1990. \u003ci\u003eWorld Cup Fever\u003c\/i\u003e is his journey to find the heart of soccer, through the nine tournaments he's experienced first-hand--from watching matches in half-empty stands during Italia 1990 (a tournament that at times felt like a village fete) to witnessing the French triumph at home in 1998; South Africa's national dream in 2010; and the troubling legacy of Qatar in 2022. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Told on the pitch, in the stands, in the pubs, and on the streets, this is the story of how soccer has changed the world\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon Kuper\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pegasus Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.11h x 6.01w x 1.31d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798897100644\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/12\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2026 pg. 71\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSimon Kuper\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eSoccernomics\u003c\/i\u003e. He was born in Uganda to South African parents and moved to the Netherlands as a child. He studied history and German at Oxford University and attended Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. He is a journalist for the \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e and has written for \u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London), and \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, and he also writes regularly for Dutch newspapers. Simon lives in Paris with his family.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Simon Kuper \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47712343392413,"sku":"9798897100644","price":47.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_3c5f85e3-8e49-402a-8076-96f68400179c.jpg?v=1773172777","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/world-cup-fever-a-soccer-journey-in-nine-tournaments-9798897100644","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}