{"product_id":"world-cup-fever-a-soccer-journey-in-nine-tournaments","title":"World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Highly engaging. Kuper, as a man who has lived in many different countries, writes well about the cultures and foibles of soccer teams and their fans. A journalist for the \n\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003cb\u003ehe is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today.\u003c\/b\u003e But he does more than analyze the skills of different squads and players (though he does this superbly); he uses his expertise to explain cultural differences, too.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\" \n\u003ci\u003eWorld Cup Fever\u003c\/i\u003e is an absorbing companion to the forthcoming tournament--a lens through which to see what lies beyond the scoreboard. And for those who approach the game as culture, as politics, as ritual, this book provides not a final answer but an invitation: to watch, to think, and above all to feel what it means to be caught up in the feverish, beautiful, maddening spectacle of soccer's greatest stage.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This unique blend of reportage and memoir documents the impact and history of the FIFA World Cup. Kuper blends scrupulous reportage with evocative reflections. Soccer fans will be enthralled.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSimon Kuper\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \n\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \n\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 \n\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e and has written for \n\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London), and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, and he also writes regularly for Dutch newspapers. Simon lives in Paris with his family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A series of wise, wry and revealing reflections on football's greatest tournament and what it tells us about the world. Football Against the Enemy was one the three books that effectively invented modern football writing, and Kuper continues to lead the genre.\"-- \n\u003cb\u003eJonathan Wilson, author of \u003ci\u003eInverting the Pyramid\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A delightful memoir, travelogue, and journal, \n\u003ci\u003eWorld Cup Fever\u003c\/i\u003e is a wry and sharp-eyed account of the world's now biggest public ritual. A brilliant evocation of the joy of the football carnival and the absurdities of the global spectacle, it remains alert to the game's ever closer pact with money and power. It is an essential companion to the tournament, for it allows us to look at the sun and not be blinded.\"-- \n\u003cb\u003eDavid Goldblatt, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ball is Round\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This stellar work of sports journalism goes beyond the action on the pitch. Kuper's appreciation for soccer and his skill as a journalist shine through in this fascinating look into an athletic championship that has become a global phenomenon.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"I don't think we could ask for a more knowledgeable guest to help us understand the origins of the World Cup and why it continues to have such a strange and fascinating hold on us. An extraordinary work of nonfiction; it's personal, global. If you like football as much as I do, you'll love this book. Brilliant.\"-- \n\u003cb\u003eJohn Green, The Away End Podcast\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A historical, sociological, and political examination of the Cup's enduring yet shifting significance since it was first held in 1930. Kuper's passion for the World Cup is neither treacly nor fanatical. [Kuper] weaves personal, often amusing stories in with commentary on the evolution of FIFA and the game of soccer.\"-- \" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Kuper is the godfather of taking the anthropological angle on the sport. In \n\u003ci\u003eWorld Cup Fever, \u003c\/i\u003e he returns to his roots by retracing his steps through nine World Cups as he gets ready to cover his tenth. It makes for a transporting trip through the tournament's modern history. It doubles as a quick and light primer to World Cup history, offered by a clever writer who works hard to keep his prose enviously clear.\"-- \n\u003cb\u003eLeander Schaerlaeckens\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAn Amazon Best Book of 2026 (So Far)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Highly engaging. Kuper is one of the best sportswriters in the English language today.\"-- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\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\n\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. \n\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. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Simon Kuper is among the vanishingly small number of writers who have attended every World Cup since 1990. \n\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. \n\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\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 01\/12\/2026 (EAN 9798897100644, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/01\/2026 (EAN 9798897100644, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 01\/01\/2026 pg. 71 (EAN 9798897100644, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 pg. 87 (EAN 9798897100644, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eKuper, Simon\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSimon Kuper\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \n\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \n\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 \n\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e and has written for \n\u003ci\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(London), and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, and he also writes regularly for Dutch newspapers. Simon lives in Paris with his family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Pegasus Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496224915734,"sku":"9798897100644","price":35.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9798897100644.jpg?v=1783057758","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/world-cup-fever-a-soccer-journey-in-nine-tournaments","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}