{"product_id":"the-game-of-our-lives-9780241955260","title":"The Game of Our Lives","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2015\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the last two decades football in Britain has made the transition from a peripheral dying sport to the very centre of our popular culture, from an economic basket-case to a booming entertainment industry. What does it mean when football becomes so central to our private and political lives? Has it enriched us or impoverished us?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this sparkling book David Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon tracks the momentous economic, social and political changes of the post-Thatcherite era in a more illuminating manner than football, and no cultural practice sheds more light on the aspirations and attitudes of our long boom and now calamitous bust. A must-read for the thinking football fan, \u003ci\u003eThe Game of Our Lives\u003c\/i\u003e will appeal to readers of \u003ci\u003eFever Pitch\u003c\/i\u003e by Nick Hornby and \u003ci\u003eInverting the Pyramid\u003c\/i\u003e by Jonathan Wilson. It will also be relished by readers of British social history such as \u003ci\u003eAusterity Britain\u003c\/i\u003e by David Kynaston. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Brilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been. Goldblatt''s book could hardly be more impressive'' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been.\u003c\/b\u003e Goldblatt's book could hardly be more impressive -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOffers an enlightening, enriching experience.\u003c\/b\u003e It is based on a formidable range of sources, personal observation and a pleasingly sardonic turn of phrase. Not all football writers know their stuff, let alone the socio-economic context, but Goldblatt does. \u003cb\u003eAltogether this is an exceptional book\u003c\/b\u003e -- David Kynaston * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eNot just \u003cb\u003ethe best soccer book in many years\u003c\/b\u003e but an exemplary account of the changing character of British society in the post-Thatcher era -- David Runciman * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eDavid Goldblatt examines [English football] peerlessly ... \u003cb\u003eA superb history of a sport and of a nation\u003c\/b\u003e * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGoldblatt is a trusted guide\u003c\/b\u003e ... Rich with statistics, this is \u003cb\u003ean admirably balanced account of the beautiful game\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProdigious research and a fluent writing style\u003c\/b\u003e ... this is a fine book which should have \u003cb\u003ean appeal much beyond the game\u003c\/b\u003e -- Mihir Bose * Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn encyclopaedic portrait of English football stripped of all the non-stop hype.\u003c\/b\u003e The beautiful game is, after all, a dirty business * Financial Times (Life \u0026amp; Arts) *\u003cbr\u003eAn \u003cb\u003eintensely readable\u003c\/b\u003e socioeconomic study of English football in the age of globalisation * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA book that informs and inspires, a truly great piece of writing\u003c\/b\u003e * Philosophy Football *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe best pub talker of a book for years\u003c\/b\u003e * Sunday Sport *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGoldblatt has a gift for exploring the way the game holds a mirror up to our lives\u003c\/b\u003e ... His deconstruction of the modern game \u003cb\u003ecould hardly be bettered\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e[A] \u003cb\u003ebold analysis\u003c\/b\u003e of Britain's economic and social change refracted through football * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA salient overview of the past quarter-century\u003c\/b\u003e * Times Literary Supplement *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48733375693143,"sku":"9780241955260","price":11.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780241955260.jpg?v=1719999962","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-game-of-our-lives-9780241955260","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}