Converted!
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I have to admit the idea of reading a sports book doesn't fill me with boundless enthusiasm, particularly one subtitled `Travels in Eastern European Football' but having read so many exuberant reviews I decided to fight my prejudices and give it a go. Imagine my surprise to find that it really is a terrific book! Funny, warm and intelligently written.
Although I didn't read it for the sport (although I have it on good authority that it's pretty damn important) it was the combination of social history, travelogue and wry humour that completely won me over. What did surprise me was that I also came away feeling considerably more knowledgeable and actually enthusiastic about football, and also with a real hankering to explore Eastern Europe. What better testament is there than the conversion of a sceptic!
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An Excellent Read
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This is a well researched, very interesting account of football in many Eastern European countries. Each chapter is well worth reading and personally, I have learnt a great deal about football in countries which get 1 or 2 lines a year in the British sporting press.
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Engaging and informative
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As a regular traveller and visitor to Eastern Europe, and having taken in quite a few games in the process, I found this book most interesting and would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the region as a whole.
Minor criticisms would include the strange omission of Czech Republic/Slovakia and the Baltic states, and there is the distinct impression that this book should be viewed more as an introduction to the issues at stake rather than act as a definitive guide.
Nevertheless, Jonathan Wilson (who cannot be much more than 30, judging from some subtle dating in the text) clearly has excellent knowledge and experience of the area (with the possible exception of the Caucausus region, which seems to have been more of a flying visit) and hence this book should be required reading for any football and travel enthusiast who dares to look further than the dreaded Premiership for their sporting thrills.
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A worthy read on eastern european football
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I bought this book after reading the reviews on this site and found it a joy to read. I have heard of some of the things that have happened in this book but became a bit more knowledgable on the yugoslavia chapter.
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A feast of football
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Fans of football or of Eastern Europe (or both!) will love Jonathan Wilson's magisterial study of the beautiful game's triumphs and travails in the post-communist era. Highly recommended and good as "beach read" (I took it with me on a recent holiday to the Baltic riviera and couldn't put it down).
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