Shopping For The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro Discounts - Bargain The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro

Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3340945
EAN: 9780316557368
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 0316557366
Label: Little Brown and Company
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Company
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 407
Publication Date: 1999-05
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Studio: Little Brown and Company

Alternate Versions: Click to Display

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Books > Subjects > History > Europe > Italy > General
Books > Subjects > History > Europe > Italy > General AAS
Books > Subjects > Sports > Soccer > General
Books > Subjects > Sports > Soccer > General AAS
Books > Subjects > Sports > General

Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Review:
We already knew Joe McGinniss could chill our blood (Fatal Vision) and arouse both our pity and distaste for the Kennedys (The Last Brother), but who knew he could be so funny? (Well, maybe readers who remember The Selling of the President back in 1968.) Even those who have no interest in soccer--the majority of Americans, he ruefully admits--will relish the author's vivid account of a team from Castel di Sangro, a tiny town in Italy's poorest region, that against all expectations made it to the national competition. Whether he's chronicling his ordeal at possibly the least-inviting hotel in Italy (the heat doesn't come on until October, no matter the temperature; he is assigned to a room up four flights of stairs though there are no other guests), or sketching a colorful cast of characters that includes the team's sinister owner and an utterly unflappable translator, McGinniss prompts roars of laughter as he reveals an Italy tourists never see. He also saddens readers with a shocking final scene in which he confronts the nation's casual corruption, which taints men he's come to respect and even love. Although not a conventional memoir, this stirring book reveals as much about the author's passionate character as about the nation and the players who win his heart, then break it. --Wendy Smith

Product Description:
Castel Di Sangro is a tiny town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, whose soccer team became an international sensation by winning promotion to the highest levels of national competition. For the team from this tiny village to be playing against the teams of Genoa and Venice was more than a dream come true, it was inconceivable. But the truth can be stranger than dreams, as Joe McGinniss discovered when he arrived in Castel Di Sangro. A recent convert to soccer, he wanted to experience life in a town turned upside down by the game. What he found was a cavalcade of euphoria, betrayal, grief, and euphoria again, an entire town living in an emotional frenzy unlike anything since the local battles of World War II. McGinniss lost himself totally to the team, a boisterous collection of characters whom readers will grow to love, and found a story whose depth and power enthralled him. Like Field of Dreams, Hoosiers, and The Secret of Santa Vittoria, this is a masterpiece of storytelling that transcends sports to embrace universal emotions.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- An absolute must read book
I must admit, this is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read this close to a dozen times, and I try to re-read it once a year generally. Call me biased, being a lover of both soccer and my own Italian heritage, but this book is masterful.

The thing is that this is not so much a story of soccer, though it turns around the fortunes of this soccer team. This is much more a socio-cultural look at life in this small Italian town, and to an extent to life in Italy in general. It is ... Read More

Rating:

- WHAT A COOL BOOK (couldn't stop reading it!)
This book really grasped my attention. The story throughtout the chapters captured my imagination.
The book gave a realistic impression of an amazing country. "Joe" really explored the life of the team and the "Calcio" and every action was convincing in an unpredictable manor.
The style of sentences and the chosen words really made up the base of an absoloutely fantastic book!!!delightful and inspiring journey through the football season.
This is an exciting new addition to anyone's ... Read More

Rating:

- Honest and enjoyable book
I enjoyed this book. McGinnis was honest about his experiences and even about his own shortcomings. Just like there are no true fairy tales, there are no people without shortcomings. McGinnis portrayed himself and others in this manner.

I applaud him and his book as a man who had the guts to experience something few would do and the skill to write it up artfully and truthfully.

Rating:

- Fantastic
Even though it is written for the football novice and can be facile at times - A WONDERFUL BOOK!

Rating:

- An All-Time Great Sports Book
It's fitting that even after hearing about this book because of soccer, I ended up stumbing across it in the travel section. Soccer may be the glue of the book, but it's a travelogue at heart. McGinness starts with his newfound madness for soccer bringing him to Italy, yet quickly lets the game recede into the muddle of everyday life. The writing quickly becomes part Simon Kuper and part Bruce Chatwin. The book thankfully takes in as much lush description and hilarious anecdotes as it does tactical ... Read More

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