Looking Througn the Lens of Soccer

For Xmas, the girlfriend gave me a copy of How Soccer Explains the World, by New Republic editor Franklin Foer. The book details 10 different global situations through the lens of professional soccer. For example, he uses the Old Firm rivalry in Scotland as an example of "the pornography of sects," and examines how soccer in Iran could be the leading edge of blowback against the radical Islam that runs the country. While I think the title of the book asks too much - I don't see soccer really explaining anything, rather than being so universal that it provides an effective lens through which to view certain situations - the actual content is fascinating. Anyone who wonders quite why the game means so much to the rest of the planet (and, perhaps, why it doesn't mean much to Americans) should check it out.