Rating: 
Summary: biased but addictive
Review: This is candy for the soccer enthusiast. Very few public figures tackle the question of sponsorship...what Galeano considers the "selling out" of soccer. He makes a strong case, especially in his extended condemnation of the oligarchic structure of FIFA. The questions he raises remain unanswered, however, considering that all sports are "consumed" and otherwise would have no way of paying for themselves. The least appealing part of this book is the fact that Galeano (a Uruguayan) focuses exclusively on South American soccer. I do not dispute that most Europeans and North Americans could profit from learning more about the soccer in this region. However, the nature of this book is that of a history of anecdotes, and there are plenty of those to be had in the European theatre that the author ignores. This book should have been titled "The Anecdotal History of Soccer in South America".
Rating:
Summary: biased but addictive
Review: This is candy for the soccer enthusiast. Very few public figures tackle the question of sponsorship...what Galeano considers the "selling out" of soccer. He makes a strong case, especially in his extended condemnation of the oligarchic structure of FIFA. The questions he raises remain unanswered, however, considering that all sports are "consumed" and otherwise would have no way of paying for themselves. The least appealing part of this book is the fact that Galeano (a Uruguayan) focuses exclusively on South American soccer. I do not dispute that most Europeans and North Americans could profit from learning more about the soccer in this region. However, the nature of this book is that of a history of anecdotes, and there are plenty of those to be had in the European theatre that the author ignores. This book should have been titled "The Anecdotal History of Soccer in South America".
Rating: 
Summary: A book about football, written by a true fan.
Review: Unlike the effort that is Joe McGinnis' self-obsessed "The Miracle of Castel di Sangro", this book is written by a true poet, and a true fan, not at least. Galeano shows us the highs, the lows, the pain, the joy, the frustration, the elevation and the emotional merry-go-round that is the life of the supporter, seen from the eyes of the working-class South American supporter. Even if I am a European, the sentiments are so easy to recognise - the book itself a joy to read. This one's a football classic.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Soccer Poetry
Review: We're lucky that Mr. Galeano both writes and LOVES soccer. The result of this is his book called Soccer in Sun and Shadows. Its Passion and Lyricism made me laugh (and sometimes I almost cried, also!). Buy it. Read it. Read it again and again.
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