Book Log 2006 #56: The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup, edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey

You'd think it odd to read this so long after things were decided in Germany, but given how little this book actually had to do with this year's World Cup, the delay in reading it was not a problem.

While there is the minimally-required soccer information needed to consider this a guide to the Cup, the 32 national profiles that make up the bulk of the book don't touch on the country's chances. Rather, it uses the Cup as a chance to look at national character through the lens of soccer, though at times that lens has just the barest of curve to it.

The articles are generally well-written, but I didn't find that they made as much of a personal impact. It was interesting reading, but at this point I only have the impression of what was written, and even then not for all 32 articles.

In any case, it's still worth a read - as long as you aren't expecting a lot of writing about the event in the collection's name.