A History of the World Cup

March 15, 2015

Lisi's (ABC News editor; The U.S. Women's Soccer Team) updated edition on soccer's most important competition is very similar to his earlier volumes in structure, content, and features. He again does an effective job of capturing the excitement of the world's most popular sporting event by providing vivid accounts of individual games and crucial plays, along with profiles of its most accomplished athletes and their feats. Photographs enhance the fast-paced text, and a glossary of terms makes a wonderful primer for the novice and occasional fan. However, the bibliography, which lists six books, five papers, and two websites, and is the same as the 2006 and 2010 editions, could be more comprehensive. Moreover, the index is very limited and only includes players and coaches. In contrast, the two appendixes of World Cup statistics and records are almost 60 pages long. They catalog the scores of every game from the tournament's history beginning in 1930 through the most current cup competition in 2014. Keir Radnedge's Complete Encyclopedia of Soccer is much more thorough and authoritative, but it was published in 2012 and lacks information about the 2014 World Cup. By comparison, Lisi writes extensively on that event making this title a solid option even for those libraries that already own the earlier editions. VERDICT Readers and researchers of soccer literature will value the updated chapter and statistics on the 2014 World Cup found in this new edition.--Rob Tench, Old Dominion Univ. Lib., Norfolk, VA

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