Futebol: the Brazilian Way of Life

I picked up a copy of Futebol the Brazilian Way of Life by Alex Bellos at the suggestion of a friend before I moved down to Brazil in February. I knew next to nothing about soccer and even less about Brazil. It turned out that this book was a wonderful way to learn about both, but especially the latter. It reads more like cultural essays than a sports history although there is probably a lot there for the longtime international soccer fan. It goes into the modern financial and political realities of the sport, the spiritual and religious aspects, the deep national and personal identity wrapped up in what happens on the pitch, and even a foray into the bizarre sport of motorized football that was a mix of demolition derby and soccer. When I lived in Brazil for three months, on many occasions I understood something only because I had read about it in this book. I can't recommend it enough for a non-Brazilian who plans to live there.