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Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football

Author: Jonathan Wilson
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

13 reviews
Sales Rank: 6080

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1

ISBN: 0752879456
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3340947
EAN: 9780752879451
ASIN: 0752879456

Publication Date: November 1, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: New - Dispatched in 1 to 2 days

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Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars

dry and humourless June 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Thorough but written entirely without humour. Doesn't make any contact with the places he is writing about. Disappointing...

5 out of 5 stars

Converted! February 13, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

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!

5 out of 5 stars

An Excellent Read February 10, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

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.

4 out of 5 stars

Engaging and informative January 1, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

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.

4 out of 5 stars

A worthy read on eastern european football September 26, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

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.