Soccer Against the Enemy is a book which chronicles the impact that society has upon soccer, and soccer upon society in various countries throughout the world. The author, Simon Kuper, is a Dutch born writer who has been around the world of soccer for most of his life and has written for numerous publications in Europe. The problem for Kuper is that he wrote this book towards the beginning of his career, and there are a few sections of this book where this becomes obvious. The fact that Kuper was a 23 year old traveling the world on an extremely limited budget gives him some excuse for this, and makes it a distraction that isn't too noticeable.

Along with these rough parts, the full title; Soccer Against the Enemy: How the World's Most Popular Sport Starts and Fuels Revolutions and Keeps Dictators in Power, is somewhat misleading. The majority of this book is not focused on this specific statement. Rather, the author spends time examining why soccer culture is the way it is in different countries. He spends time within some chapters addressing dictators and revolutions, notably the section on African soccer, and spends time on it in the Argentina chapter, but for many others, he seemingly ignores politics, or at least politics as we think of them in the traditional sense.

With that said, Kuper does very well in his examination of why soccer is played the way it is. His look into African soccer really gives an insight into what life is like there. He shows the absolute dictatorial rule that many people suffer under, and how soccer can become the one true expression of how people feel. This startling insight can catch the reader off guard.

Kuper looks at all sorts of aspects in the world of soccer. His journey spans five continents and over twenty countries. He talks to politicians, generals, coaches, and players to get a full view of everyones perspective on the game. This perspective is added to by the breadth of teams which he involves himself with. From Barcelona, to Dynamo Kiev, to the United States National Team, Kuper goes everywhere and talks to so many players that the reader really gets a full view of what soccer is throughout the world. The only thing that eclipses Kuper's breadth of teams, is the variety of countries he visits, including but not limited to, Russia, Croatia, South Africa, Cameroon, and Argentina. Kuper's goal is to give perspective from throughout the world, and he succeeds in this.
Kuper's segment on the Celtic v. Rangers rivalry is among the best in the book. It really shows the intensity and history behind the rivalry. This section alone defines the passion that soccer fans around the world have. However, the best section of the book was the add on chapter for the American version. This chapter, entitled Global Game, Global Jihad, details the impact that the game of soccer has on developing Middle Eastern countries in conjunction with radical Islam. It isn't a controversial chapter, just a statement of facts that helps details how soccer has turned so political in that part of the world.

When reading this book it is sometimes slightly confusing as to where exactly the author is trying to go. There are times where the big picture gets lost in the details, but once finished with the chapter everything tends to fall into place. I would suggest this book for a soccer fan of every level. It really gives a good look into why things are the way that they are in certain countries. The look at mafia ties in Eastern Europe, religious convictions, geographical and ethnic divisions, and the plight of third world countries to be noticed reveal stories that are usually kept under wraps in the soccer world. Kuper does a great job explaining these stories, and provides great information that can only come from first hand accounts like his.

The work Kuper put into this book is terrific (one can see where Foer got his inspiration, as "How Soccer Explains the World" reads like an attempt to write a new version of this book). However, it seems that the folks at Nation Books (or whomever was in charge of updating this book) has made a blunder with Kuper's words. Since they decided to change the name of the book from "Football Against the Enemy" (the original title, if I recall) to "Soccer Against the Enemy", they also decided to change references inside the book from "football" to "soccer". While this change is no problem in itself, it appears that the editors may have ran Kuper's text through a "find/replace" program, because now EVERY time the word "football" should be mentioned, it has been changed to "soccer", even if it messes up the grammar or meaning of the sentence. For example, when Kuper referres to the position of "an American Football Quarterback" the text reads "an American Soccer Quarterback", which makes no real sense. Or the "corrected" sentence that reads, in part, "they saw or even bought a World Cup bumper sticker that depicted a soccer covered by barbed wire" (page 215), where it should read as either "a football" or even "a soccer ball." This happens in many parts of the book, and detracts from the fantastic work Kuper has done.

Finally available in the U.S., this is essentially the same book as Football Against the Enemy, which was originally published in England in 1994, with an additional chapter touching on the connection between soccer, terrorism, and the Middle East. According to FourFourTwo magazine, this is the number one football/soccer book ever. The author travels to Croatia, Russia, the Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa, and many other venues famous and obscure, talks to the people that matter, and focuses on telling stories about the beautiful game and the people who play it, own it, use it, and live it, while including great insights on the cultural and political issues that surround this truly international sport. Much better than "How Soccer Explains the World," the people, places, and stories in this book remain as vivid and relevant as ever. As you read how an East Berlin fan of "Western" teams was stalked for years by the East German secret police, you realize that international soccer is much more than a sport. Not just for soccer fans, this is also highly recommended to anyone interested in politics or travel.