nationbooksprojectofnation
large_book

Buy It Online
    Amazon >
    Barnes & Noble >
    IndieBound.org >
    Powells.com >

Winning at All Costs

A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer



John Foot
September 2007     ISBN: 1568583680


In 2006, three billion people—including 20 million in the United States—watched Italy's extraordinary victory over France in the World Cup final. It was a down and dirty game, marred by French superstar Zidane's headbutting of Italian defender Materazzi. But millions of Americans were also exposed to the poetry, force and excellence of the Italian game. As operatic as Verdi and as cunning as Machiavelli, the Italian game seemed to open a window into the Italian soul.

John Foot's epic history of Italian soccer shows what makes Italian soccer and Italy itself so unique. Mixing serious analysis and comic storytelling, Foot tells the story of Italian soccer from its humble origins in northern Italy in the 1890s to its present day incarnation, where, in a country riven by regional rivalries, soccer is the national civic religion. As Foot writes, "It is impossible to comprehend Italy without understanding soccer, and vice-versa."

In a story that is reminiscent of Gangs of New York and A Clockwork Orange, Foot shows how the Italian game, like its political culture, has been overshadowed by big business, violence, conspiracy, and tragedy; how demagogues like Benito Mussolini and Silvio Berlusconi have used the game to further their own political ambitions. But the book also celebrates the sweet moments: the four World Cup victories, the success of Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, the role soccer played in the resistance to Nazism, the great managers and players who still manage to show that Italian soccer is as irresistible as Italy itself.

Foot's book got a mention on the New York Times Soccer Blog.

What readers are saying

"Read this book."
—Simon Kuper, author of Soccer Against the Enemy

"Shows how [soccer] and Italian society are inextricably intertwined and is full of fascinating vignettes"
—Sunday Times

About the Authors

John Foot teaches modern Italian history at University College London. He writes for the Guardian, the London Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement and is the author of books on Milan and modern Italian history.



Watch the video from our past conversations, interviews and events. Includes items from The Nation Institute and TomDispatch. Click here.



Follow us on twitter at @nationbooks or @nationinstitute



Become a fan of Nation Books on Facebook

signup

for our FREE e-mail newsletter, a monthly dispatch of events, excerpts, commentary by Nation Books and Nation Institute writers.



Marfa Dialogues/Diálogos en Marfa: Politics and Culture of the Border

undef 0 | Marfa, Texas

See acclaimed Nation Books authors Charles Bowden and Mark Danner speak at Marfa Dialogues: Politics and Culture of the Border, three days of art, film, music, and literature. Presented by Ballroom Marfa and The Washington Spectator, in collaboration with The Big Bend Sentinel, Marfa Public Radio and Marfa Book Company.

September 9 - October 22
Robert Scheer: Author Tour
(West Coast, United States)
Please join Nation Books author Robert Scheer as he travels to Washington, California and Oregon on an author tour to discuss his latest book, The Great American Stickup. MORE

September 16 | 5:30 pm
Investigating Impunity After Katrina
(New York University, New York City)
Please join us for "Investigating Impunity After Katrina," the launch event for The Backstory, a new monthly series of public conversations with investigative reporters and nonfiction authors affiliated with The Nation Institute. Investigative Fund reporter A.C. Thompson will discuss his award-winning reporting in New Orleans. (See Katrina's Hidden Race War and Body of Evidence, published in The Nation in January 2009.) MORE

September 18 | 1 pm
Author Talk: Wayne Karlin
(Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C.)
Please join Nation Books author Wayne Karlin as he discusses his book, Wandering Souls: Journeys With The Dead And The Living In Viet Nam at Washington, D.C.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on September 18 at 1 p.m. MORE

September 24 - October 5
Fatima Bhutto: Author Tour
(Across the United States)
Please join Fatima Bhutto as she travels from New York to Massachusetts, Oregon and California on an author tour to discuss her new memoir, Songs of Blood and Sword. MORE

October 5 | 7 pm
Herding Donkeys: Howard Dean and Ari Berman on the Future of the Democratic Party
(92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York City)
Nation Institute Fellow Ari Berman talks about his new book, Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics, with former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean. MORE

October 23 - January 16
Eugene Richards: Photo Exhibit
(Exhibition around the world)
Institute Fellow and award-winning photographer is the winner of the 2010 World Press Photo of the Year contest. Every year following the World Press Photo Contest, the winning images go on tour. The exhibition is officially opened in Amsterdam as part of the award ceremony in April and can be seen at venues around the globe until the next year. The tour program takes in approximately 100 cities in 45 countries and is still expanding. MORE