Books Read

Foliranti - Momo Kapor
"Foliranti" je prvi roman Mome Kapora, napisan 1975. godine. Beskrajno duhoviti Kapor kroz glavne likove romana, studente beogradskog univerziteta, njihove dogodovštine i pokušaje da dopru do velikog sveta, prikazuje Beograd 60-ih godina 20. veka, predstavljajuci ga kao daleko romantičnije mesto nego što je ono danas. Kao i sva kasnija Kaporova dela, roman "Foliranti" se takođe čita u jednom dahu, neostavljajući čitaoca ravnodušnim, naročito ako je isti rodom iz Beograda. Konstantna težnja glavnih likova ovog romana da što bliže priđu filmskom svetu koji je tih godina doživljavao svoju ekspanziju, dovešće ih do susreta sa najsvetlijim imenima filma. Verujući da su glumci i reditelji i iza kamere tako nasmejani i nestvarni, jedan od junaka romana rizikuje i svoj život u nadi da će krupnim koracima i po svaku cenu brzo dospeti do vrha filmskog sveta gde će dostojno zameniti nedavno preminulog velikog glumca, za kojim žali cela planeta. U mesto toga, zhvaljujući bezobzirnosti tih istih filmadžija u koje je gledao kao u Bogove, snaći će ga tragedija koja potpuno menja kraj ovog dela u odnosu na onakav kakav bi svaki čitalac očekivao.

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How Soccer Explains the World - Franklin Foer
Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a perfect window into the cross–currents of today's world, with all its joys and its sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide–ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.

How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization (also published as How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization) is a book written by American journalist Franklin Foer. It is an analysis of the interchange between soccer and the new global economy.

The author takes readers on a journey from stadium to stadium around the globe in an attempt to shed new insights on today’s world events, both from political and economic standpoints. Soccer is here the globalized medium that seems to lend itself to explaining the effects globalization has on society as a whole.

Failure of globalization

In the first part of the book, Foer tries to explain "the failure of globalization to erode. ancient hatreds in the game’s great rivalries," commonly referred to as football hooliganism. His case studies include sectarian conflicts between supporters of Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. (the Old Firm) in Scotland and the tendency of supporters of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and AFC Ajax to appropriate Jewish symbols and terminology (such as yid), causing some opposing supporters to employ antisemitic chants and taunts.

Rise of corporate hegemons

In the second part of the text, the author uses soccer "to address economics: the consequences of migration, the persistence of corruption, and the rise of powerful new oligarchs like Silvio Berlusconi, the President of [both] Italy and the AC Milan club".

Persistence of nationalism and tribalism

In the final part, Foer uses soccer "to defend the virtues of old-fashioned nationalism", as "a way to blunt the return of tribalism". The book thus challenges theories that a universal, globalist philosophy will subsume local nationalisms. Overarching structures such as the European Union and the United Nations may attain structural prominence, but underneath the veneer of these structures, vibrant sub-cultures and tribal loyalties remain, and may even be strengthened by modern communications like the Internet. They may thus foreshadow not the hope for unity sought by globalized bureaucratic and political elites and corporate oligarchs, but increasing fragmentation and national/ethnic conflict within outward facades of globalized unity.

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