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Average Customer Rating:

An absolute must read book

Customer Rating:

I must admit, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read this close to a dozen times, and I try to re-read it once a year generally. Call me biased, being a lover of both soccer and my own Italian heritage, but this book is masterful. The thing is that this is not so much a story of soccer, though it turns around the fortunes of this soccer team. This is much more a socio-cultural look at life in this small Italian town, and to an extent to life in Italy in general. It is the story of "Western European" (I'm fitting American's in this mould) encounter with a very different mediterranean/Italian culture which views life and many things very differently. The love/hate/love relationship Joe develops with the town, players, and others is mesmerizing. Yes at times Joe is an idiot. Yes he sticks his nose at times where it doesn't belong. And absolutely some of his observations show how complete his ignorance of the inner workings of the game is. He may have come to love it, but clearly he does not have so great an understanding of it. Nonetheless this book is charming, at times funny, engaging and at time tear-jerking (for me at least). What a masterful book.

WHAT A COOL BOOK (couldn't stop reading it!)

Customer Rating:

This book really grasped my attention. The story throughtout the chapters captured my imagination. The book gave a realistic impression of an amazing country. "Joe" really explored the life of the team and the "Calcio" and every action was convincing in an unpredictable manor. The style of sentences and the chosen words really made up the base of an absoloutely fantastic book!!!delightful and inspiring journey through the football season. This is an exciting new addition to anyone's library.

Honest and enjoyable book	Customer Rating:
I enjoyed this book. McGinnis was honest about his experiences and even about his own shortcomings. Just like there are no true fairy tales, there are no people without shortcomings. McGinnis portrayed himself and others in this manner. I applaud him and his book as a man who had the guts to experience something few would do and the skill to write it up artfully and truthfully.

Fantastic	Customer Rating:
Even though it is written for the football novice and can be facile at times - A WONDERFUL BOOK!

An All-Time Great Sports Book

Customer Rating:

It's fitting that even after hearing about this book because of soccer, I ended up stumbing across it in the travel section. Soccer may be the glue of the book, but it's a travelogue at heart. McGinness starts with his newfound madness for soccer bringing him to Italy, yet quickly lets the game recede into the muddle of everyday life. The writing quickly becomes part Simon Kuper and part Bruce Chatwin. The book thankfully takes in as much lush description and hilarious anecdotes as it does tactical decisions and game descriptions. Instead of just an Italian version of a John Feinstein book, we get a truly unique story that evokes real and lasting emotion rather than the passing interest of locker room voyuerism. Much of criticism here seems to miss the point. It's true that McGinniss makes himself the main character, but it's not a weakness (some arrogance, maybe, but not mere narcissism). The book, after all, is mainly about the shock of the outsider looking in: on soccer, on the village, on Italian society as a whole, and especially the repulsive compromises between love of the game and its seedier elements. If McGinniss doesn't quite succeed at making some grand assessment of Italy or a master's analysis of soccer, who cares? The story he tells is fascinating, emotive, and tragic nontheless. It reaches far beyond the world of the game and its fans, and should be a must-read for anyone.