Book Log 2010 #57: Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski

This is just what it sounds like - a Freakonomics-styled book that tries to use economic theory and quantitative data to answer soccer questions, from why England loses so much to what countries may come to dominate soccer in the coming decades.

It's not as well done as the inspiration, and the quality (or perhaps just the readability) of the chapters seemed to tail off at the end. All that being said, the early chapters, which take on some of the well-established "truths" of soccer (particularly those that surround English national team and club soccer), are pretty fun. Unless you're an England fan, in which case they're probably depressing (short version: England isn't going to win the World Cup any time soon, but the Prem will be great - as long as the morons who run the clubs don't get in the way).

Not much value for anyone who isn't a soccer fan.