kickerdad - , reviewed on 1/17/2012 + 119 more book reviews

Having spent some part of most of my weekends over the past 4 years at a soccer match, I have grown to appreciate the sport immensely. It wasn't an option when I was younger. "The Girls of Summer" focuses on the 1999 Women's World Cup match between the US and China, it being the culmination of years of effort to develop not only soccer but womens's soccer in the United States. The book is a very good read, with the writer Jere Longman attempting to avoid going into lots of jargon, and when he does, he provides brief, concise explanations. Even a non-soccer junkie can get a feel for strategies discussed that definately won't be lost on the more informed. The greater part of the story is the human, and more than human, experiences of the players - these women of the U.S. National Team who forged a new space in sport for many to follow.

I struggled through parts of the book because of its somewhat choppy, noncontiguous nature - discuss a topic, go on to something else, move on from there, then somewhere down the line revist the orignal issue. Once I mentalled juxtaposed the writing style with soccer's strategies and philosophy it became more fun to read - reading became more like dribble, dribble, inside pass, outside pass, down the line, then back to center.

A good read for anyone who likes sports history, soccer, or simply competition at its barest. Ha!

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