Readers United Book Reviews | How Soccer Explains the World and The Next 100 Years

Imad Rizvi '18 returns to share two unique books that explore the world as it is, and as it could potentially be, in a thought-provoking way.

How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer

Countless historians, politicians, and other analysts have tried to explain the impact of globalization. However, Franklin Foer takes a new perspective by using soccer as a lens through which to understand the world. In his book, How Soccer Explains the World, Foer argues that globalization has actually strengthened people’s ties to their local clubs, even if many believe that it has eroded other cultural traditions. Through firsthand accounts of his travels watching famous soccer teams around the world, he creates an engaging book full of interesting stories, observation, and analysis.

Foer meets some of the most passionate fans and witnesses some of the most intense rivalries in the world of soccer. He shows how globalization has failed to weaken club loyalty for many soccer fans. While many believe that globalization is creating a more homogenous world with fewer cultural and traditional divisions, Foer argues that soccer proves that tribalism and nationalism are still prominent and dangerous forces.

With a wide variety of examples from around the world, Foer clearly has the experiences necessary to assert this claim. He visits fans from the gangs of Serbia who support their team, Red Star Belgrade, through violence and hatred against the anti-Catholic Rangers fans who taunt their Catholic counterparts. In addition to his personal experiences, Foer also includes many interviews with prominent people, such as corrupt presidents of local soccer clubs, gang heads who promote violence among supporters, and eccentric soccer players who want to share their love for the sport. There are even exciting moments where readers may find themselves on the edge of their seats, fearing for Foer’s life when he describes some of the interactions he has with violent, racist soccer fans who seem to have more in common with hardened criminals than Foer himself.

Whether or not you are a passionate soccer fan, it is interesting to see how politics and economics become intertwined in the support and management of many local soccer clubs around the world. Foer is able to demonstrate that soccer may just be a game, but its influence in the lives of millions of people makes it a worldwide force that can reveal many important global trends.

Verdict: Whether or not you are interested in soccer, this book is a great read for anyone who wants new insight into the effects of globalization around the world.

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century by George Friedman

Imagine a world under U.S. hegemony, fueled by space-based power, and building up to a major Mexican-American war—this is the world Friedman envisions for the 22nd century. Predicting what will happen tomorrow seems almost impossible, so, when glancing at George Friedman’s book, The Next 100 Years, it seems impossible that he could make accurate predictions that far into the future. It is true that Friedman is unable to make specific forecasts, like the dates for battles of the next major war, but some of the trends he forecasts for the next 100 years are plausible. Ranging from logical analysis of issues, such as the rising age of the workforce, to far-fetched predictions, such as the rise to power of Poland and Turkey, Friedman’s book is entertaining to read even if, at times, his logic seems flawed and far-fetched.

Friedman looks at past historical trends and themes and uses them to predict what will happen in the coming decades. He sees a world where America has unparalleled influence and prosperity, with Poland, Turkey, and Japan rising up as local power bases after the collapse of Russia, the Middle East, and China. This seems highly improbable at the moment, but the same could be said about what happened in the 20th century. Nobody was able to predict that Germany would rise up twice to challenge Western power, the British Empire would dissolve, and the United States and Russia would engage in a decades-long conflict for global dominance. So, while it is clear that his predictions are unlikely, it is also important to understand that the events of the future will likely defy our current expectations no matter what.

Additionally, some of Friedman’s predictions make sense. For example, he predicts that a labor shortage, caused by the aging workforce in countries like the U.S., will make immigration a necessity to keep the economy stable. He also predicts that the U.S. will act to maintain control of major trade routes and oceans around the world. Most strikingly, he even predicted (in 2007, when the book was published) that the U.S. could see the rise of an anti-globalization politician who would promise to reshape economic relations with protectionist legislation.

Overall, much of what Friedman predicts is hard to believe. However, some of the major trends he foresees seem likely, and the more unbelievable predictions are interesting to read. The book is engaging, as it is fascinating to see the strategies that one would use when undertaking the challenging task of predicting the next 100 years.

Verdict: This is an entertaining book that makes you think about the future in a new way. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history and politics.

Readers United Book Reviews | Born a Crime and To End a War

Imad Rizvi '18 shares some more riveting, informational reads in his newest batch of book reviews today.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

In Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, Noah describes his experiences as a child of mixed race in South Africa in the midst of apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation prominent throughout his country during the late twentieth century. As a comedian, Trevor Noah is able to seamlessly infuse comedy into the book to create the engaging stories he shares with the reader. Overall, the book not only explains Noah’s upbringing and how it led him to where he is today as a world-renowned comedian, but also offers a critique into certain elements of societies, such as racism and poverty.

Trevor Noah was born to a white father and black mother in a time where interracial marriages were illegal in South Africa. He describes some of the difficulties his mother faced in raising a child of mixed race and the strength she showed throughout her life when facing these struggles. Though many of the stories detail high-risk situations in which Noah and his mother feared arrest or violence, Noah alleviates the tension through his comedy. The book is an enjoyable read because each chapter functions as its own story, showing a certain stage in Noah’s life and how it impacted him.

Through the story, though Trevor focuses largely on his childhood and upbringing, he offers perceptive comments on larger societal trends that have impacts around the world. He discusses how illogical the idea of racism is and the role religion plays in people’s lives. He also critiques how society is divided among such arbitrary lines as race, language, and religion when all humans face the same problems and struggles. Overall, not only is Trevor Noah’s book entertaining to read, but it also offers insight into larger trends and problems affecting millions around the world.   

Verdict: I would highly recommend this book to anybody. It is not only an autobiography for fans of Trevor Noah, but it also offers stories and insight that everybody should experience.

To End a War by Richard Holbrooke

Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat from the 1990s, describes his experiences negotiating during the Bosnia war in his book, To End a War. The conflict among Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced. Holbrooke examines some of the policy failures of the United States and other countries in the conflict and looks at how the course of the war shifted when the U.S. finally became involved.

Holbrooke crafts an interesting novel by describing the course of the war and U.S. policy through his own experiences negotiating in the region. In the beginning of the conflict, the U.S. and other countries remained on the sidelines, hesitating to make any serious efforts to intervene and stop the violence. However, U.S. policy shifted towards being more involved once it became clear that the war would be a violent and lengthy conflict without intervention, and Holbrooke describes his role in mediating those discussions in the region. 

The book features a blend between thrilling passages where Holbrooke describes escaping gunfire and violence and parts where he explains his mindset through negotiations with foreign diplomats. There is also a balance in terms of his writing style — some passages describe personal experiences, while others give a summary of important contextual events that he was not involved in. Additionally, he creates several profoundly powerful moments in the novel, such as when he describes the massacre that occurred as Bosnians were slaughtered at Srebrenica even though United Nations peacekeepers were supposed to be monitoring the situation. 

Overall, the book highlights the significance of the Bosnia war, which is often overlooked, and it also provides an insightful examination of U.S. policy before and after intervening. Its relevance extends beyond this individual conflict and offers an insightful analysis on when U.S. involvement in foreign countries is justified and how to form an appropriate response to global events.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in politics or international relations.

Readers United Book Reviews | Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS and Kwame Nkrumah: Father of African Nationalism

If the divisive Presidential election stoked your curiosity of politics and history, you’re not alone. Readers United has founded a couple of our discussions consumed by questions and tangents about politics today. In a club that often reads fiction pieces, we thought it would be refreshing to also discuss nonfiction. Imad Rizvi ’18 is here to review couple of nonfiction books, sharing his nuanced and well-informed perspective on political and historical issues.

Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick

The Islamic State (ISIS) is a terrorist organization that has not only conquered large regions of land in Syria and Iraq, but has also spread its influence throughout the world. Combatting ISIS is one of the forefront US foreign policy goals because of the rapid rise of the organization and the threat it poses on global stability. To fight the expansion of such an extensive organization, the roots of its creation must be understood. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, Joby Warrick explains the series of events that led to the creation of the Islamic State.

The book starts by charting the rise to power of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man known as the founder of ISIS. Warrick provides information about Zarqawi’s childhood and early adulthood, and he explains how for a long time Zarqawi was under the watchful eye of Jordanian intelligence agencies. While showing Zarqawi gain more power, Warrick begins to include information about the United States and its influence in creating instability in the Middle East. By discussing the various mistakes made by the United States in its invasion of Iraq, Warrick explains how a power vacuum ultimately allowed ISIS to be created from al-Qaeda in Iraq and seize power. Then, Warrick continues to look at US mistakes under both President Bush and Obama at combatting the Islamic State, and after Zarqawi’s death, shifts to a narrative of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—the current leader of ISIS.

This book is not only a thrilling read for anybody interested in Middle Eastern politics, but is also a phenomenal piece of investigative journalism. Warrick provides accounts from leaders on all sides including citizens who were in contact with Zarqawi, various former CIA operatives, other top US government officials, and members of intelligence agencies in Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan. The accounts from these sources create an engaging narrative of the events that led to the formation of ISIS, rather than a tedious historical summary. The book is full of action rather than just analysis, prompting the reader to keep on reading to find out further about the events that unfolded.

Another reason to read this novel is because of its unforgiving analysis that does not have a partisan bias. Warrick looks at both President Bush and Obama, analyzing their mistakes based on the information they were given and never generalizing their decisions based on which party they belonged to. It is rare to find analysis on such a polarizing foreign policy topic that doesn’t try to shift blame onto one political party. Joby Warrick also is unafraid to criticize American policy when outlining all the strategic blunders made in the region. By presenting information about the horrendous mistreatment at Abu Ghraib prison, the daily break-ins into innocent civilians’ homes, and the disbandment of the Baath party and military, Warrick seamlessly explains some of the forces that led to the radicalization of people who would eventually join ISIS. Warrick has the power to make readers begin questioning the decisions made by their government representatives and wondering whether ISIS would exist had different strategic decisions been made.

Overall, Joby Warrick creates an effective piece explaining the rise of the world’s most prominent terrorist organization. Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS is a thrilling novel that the reader will not want to put down.

Verdict: I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in Middle Eastern politics or ISIS.

Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism, by David Birmingham

The 20th century was a time of decolonization for the great imperial powers of Europe, as independence movements sprang up across Asia and Africa. In his novel Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism, David Birmingham explains the political and economic difficulties faced by Ghana after independence and how Nkrumah tried to lead Ghana to prosperity.

Kwame Nkrumah today is a symbol of African nationalism and unity, though his reputation at the end of his life was tarnished by controversial events that eventually led to his exile. David Birmingham provides an overview of different aspects of Nkrumah’s personality, the specifics of his policies, and descriptions of interactions he had with organizations like the World Bank and the Kaiser Company. Birmingham mentions the goals Nkrumah had of industrialization for Ghana and his hopes that foreign investment into the Volta River project would help spur on the Ghanaian economy.

Birmingham successfully provides the key events of Nkrumah’s presidency and eventual demise into exile. Through in-depth descriptions of different aspects of Nkrumah’s education and personality, Birmingham allows the reader to understand Nkrumah as a person, rather than as a distant historical figure.

Despite the extensive information provided, there are a few more resources that could have been included to give the reader a better understanding of the Ghanaian President. First, more primary sources form world leaders serving at the same time as Nkrumah might have provided insight into his reputation on the world stage. Additionally, perspectives from different Ghanaian citizens would have provided interesting insight into how Kwame Nkrumah was viewed by his people in his time, especially during his exile. Still, the book provides a great overview for anyone hoping to learn more background information about Nkrumah. Overall, the book provides a fascinating look into the life and rule of Kwame Nkrumah as the first president of Ghana.

Verdict: I would recommend this book to anybody interested in history who does not have prior knowledge on Nkrumah.