As the world of soccer prepares to descend on South Africa [see "Sporty South Africa," LJ 3/1/10], Korr (history, emeritus, Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis) and British scriptwriter Close remind us of what the nation represented not so long ago. Set at the height of South Africa's apartheid system of legalized racism, this is the remarkable story of how soccer unified prisoners on Robben Island, a two-square-mile island just seven miles from Cape Town, which after 1960 was home to thousands of political and criminal prisoners, including, most famously, Nelson Mandela. In a truly inspiring story, the Robben Island prisoners struggled against all odds, and in spite of a prison administration more determined to humiliate and dehumanize than rehabilitate inmates, to organize an eight-club football (soccer) league that followed FIFA rules, with over 1000 prisoners playing. Through interviews and use of prisoners' own sources, the authors make a unique contribution to soccer and the history of a nation's abuse of an entire ethnic group. Korr was historical consultant and coproducer of a docudrama of the same title in 2007 (not yet seen in the States). VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers, whether they are soccer fans or not, and all public and academic libraries.—Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL
More Than Just a Game
- 作者： Korr- Chuck
- 出版社： Thomas Dunne
- 出版日期： 2010-04-27
- ISBN碼： 9780312596170
- 編號： 2041030098818
$ 819 元
原價 910
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$819