Most Popular Books by David Goldblatt

WINNER of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2015 In the last two decades football in Britain has made the transition from a peripheral dying sport to the very centre of our popular culture, from an economic basket-case to a booming entertainment industry. What does it mean when football becomes so central to our private and political lives? Has it enriched us or impoverished us? In this sparkling book David Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon tracks the momentous economic, social and political changes of the post-Thatcherite era in a more illuminating manner than football, and no cultural practice sheds more light on the aspirations and attitudes of our long boom and now calamitous bust. A must-read for the thinking football fan, The Game of Our Lives will appeal to readers of Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson. It will also be relished by readers of British social history such as Austerity Britain by David Kynaston. ''Brilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been. Goldblatt''s book could hardly be more impressive'' Sunday Times

The definitive book about football. There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of football are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of football''s rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world''s most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates football''s role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

Contains photographs taken by David Goldblatt between 1952 and 2000, each with an explanatory note, and includes a chronology of Goldblatt''s life, as well as an introductory essay that discusses his career and the sources of his inspiration.

David Goldblatt, renowned South African photographer, got 2006 Hasselblad award, the most important of the world.

No nation is as closely identified with the game of soccer as Brazil. For over a century, Brazil''s people, politicians, and poets have found in soccer the finest expression of the nation''s collective potential. Since the team''s dazzling performance in 1938 at the World Cup in France, Brazilian soccer has been revered as an otherworldly blend of the effective and the aesthetic. Futebol Nation is an extraordinary chronicle of a nation that has won the World Cup five times and produced players of miraculous skill, such as Pel'', Garrincha, Rivaldo, Zico, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho. It shows why the phrase O Jogo Bonito -- the Beautiful Game -- has justly entered the global lexicon. Yet there is another side to Brazil and its game, one that reflects the harsh sociological realities of the "futebol nation." David Goldblatt explores the grinding poverty that creates a vast pool of hungry players, Brazil''s corrupt institutions exemplified by its soccer authorities, and the pervasive violence that has seeped onto the field and into the stands. Futebol Nation illuminates both Brazilian soccer and Brazil itself; its brilliance, its magic, its style, and the fabulous myths that have been constructed around it; as well as its tragedies, its miseries, and its economic and political injustices. It is the story of Brazil told through its chosen national game.

The epic exploration of society, politics, and economics in the twenty-first century through the prism of football, by the critically acclaimed author of The Ball is Round. ''David Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times In the twenty-first century football is first. First among sports themselves, but it now commands the allegiance, interest and engagement of more people in more places than any other phenomenon. In the three most populous nations on the earth - China, India and the United States where just twenty years ago football existed on the periphery of society - it has now arrived for good. Nations, peoples and neighbourhoods across the globe imagine and invent themselves through playing and following the game. In The Age of Football, David Goldblatt charts football''s global cultural ascent, its economic transformation and deep politicisation, taking in prison football in Uganda and amputee football in Angola, the role of football fans in the Arab Spring, the footballing presidencies of Bolivia''s Evo Morales and Turkey''s Recep Erdogan, China''s declared intention to both host and win the World Cup by 2050, as well as the FIFA corruption scandal. Following the intersection of the game with money, power and identity, like no previous sports writer or historian, Goldblatt''s sweeping story is remarkable in its scope, breathtaking in its depth of knowledge, and is a brilliantly original perspective of the twenty-first century. It is the account of how football has come to define every facet of our social, economic and cultural lives and at what cost, shaping who we think we are and who we want to be.

“A people’s history of the Olympics.”—New York Times Book Review A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year The Games is best-selling sportswriter David Goldblatt’s sweeping, definitive history of the modern Olympics. Goldblatt brilliantly traces their history from the reinvention of the Games in Athens in 1896 to Rio in 2016, revealing how the Olympics developed into a global colossus and highlighting how they have been buffeted by (and affected by) domestic and international conflicts. Along the way, Goldblatt reveals the origins of beloved Olympic traditions (winners’ medals, the torch relay, the eternal flame) and popular events (gymnastics, alpine skiing, the marathon). And he delivers memorable portraits of Olympic icons from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comaneci, the Dream Team to Usain Bolt.

And "Goldblatt grew up in the South African town of Randfontein, which was shaped by the social culture and financial success of the gold mines surrounding it. When these mines started to fail in the mid-sixties Goldblatt began taking photos of them, which form the basis of On the Mines. The book features an essay on the human and political dimensions of mining in South Africa by Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer, whose writing has long influenced Goldblatt." Taken from booksellers website.

Not many of us can claim to have dipped our handkerchiefs in Charles I''s blood after his execution, or to have watched Vesuvius erupt, but that''s about to change... Wyllie, Acton & Goldblatt''s Time Travel Handbook offers eighteen exceptional trips to the past, transporting you back to the greatest spectacles in history. We offer the chance to join Henry VIII at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and to march on Versailles with the revolutionary women of Paris. You can sail with Captain Cook to Tahiti and Australia, and spend time at Xanadu with Marco Polo and Kubla Khan. Or, closer to the present, you might accompany Charlie Parker at the birth of bebop or The Beatles in Hamburg, and take part in the VE Day celebrations in London or the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The notable authors and time travel agents, Wyllie, Acton & Goldblatt are your guide to these and other unmissable events, charting the action as it will unfold, and advising on local customs, and what to wear, eat and drink, for the most authentic of experiences. Forget museums, forget history books - the only way to do history is to live it.

This book establishes whether contemporary social theory can help us understand the structural origins of environmental degradation and environmental politics.

The must-have guide to the Summer Olympic Games This summer, millions of Americans will tune into the Olympic Games, the largest and most popular sporting event in the world. Yet while it''s easy to be fascinated by agile gymnasts, poised equestrians, and perfectly synchronized swimmers, few of us know the real width of a balance beam, the intricate regulations of dressage, or the origin of those crowd-pleasing legs-in-the-air swimming formations. Luckily, David Goldblatt and Johnny Acton have created this utterly thorough and always fun guide to the rules, strategy, and history of each sport. Originally timed to 2012 London Games, their book is every bit as useful for Rio de Janeiro in 2016. With witty, detailed descriptions and clever illustrations, How to Watch the Olympics will help anyone grasp handball, archery, wrestling, fencing, and every other Olympic event like a true pro.

This text reflects aspects of an era of South African history and culture in photographic and written form. The book grew out of David Goldblatt''s desire to explore South Africa''s structural heritage, to put on film what seemed so immediately and potently eloquent of the civilisation we had built.

A monumental exploration of soccer and society in our time—by its preeminent historian. The Age of Football proves that whether you call it football or soccer, you can’t make sense of the modern world without understanding its most popular sport. With breathtaking scope and an unparalleled knowledge of the game, David Goldblatt—author of the best-selling The Ball Is Round—charts soccer’s global cultural ascent, economic transformation, and deep politicization.

Precise in description, Goldblatt''s photographs are also acute in historical and political perception. They provide a sense of the texture of daily life, and an important piece of missing information regarding life under apartheid in South Africa. Susan Kismaric

This exciting collection of David Goldblatt''s essays, available for the first time in one volume, uses the metaphor of ventriloquism to help understand a variety of art world phenomena. It examines how the vocal vacillation between ventriloquist and dummy works within the roles of artist, artwork and audience as a conveyance to the audience of the performer''s intentions, emotions and beliefs through a created performative persona. Considering key works, including those of Nietzsche, Foucault, Socrates, Derrida, Cavell and Wittgenstein, Goldblatt examines how the authors use the framework of ventriloquism to construct and negate issues in art and architecture. He ponders ''self-plagiarism''; why the classic philosopher cannot speak for himself, but must voice his thoughts through fictional characters or inanimate objects and works. With a close analysis of two ventriloquist paintings by Jasper Johns and Paul Klee, a critical commentary by Garry L. Hagberg, and preface by series editor Saul Ostrow, Goldblatt''s thoroughly fascinating book will be an invaluable asset to students of cultural studies, art, and philosophy.

As with previous editions, the new Aesthetics: A Reader in Philosophy of the Arts uses classic and contemporary readings of leading philosophers of the arts. This Third Edition includes more than a dozen new essays either written or adapted especially for this volume. Containing more than 90 essays in total, the new edition offers generous choices for class readings, thus minimizing supplementary material needed for required assignments and independent research. In keeping with earlier editions, the Third Edition is a large collection of essays, most comparatively brief and organized first by groupings of art forms and then by general essays about the arts. It attempts to keep pace with theorizing about those art forms not traditionally covered in most books on aesthetics, like the jazz, rock, comics, video games, and even the aesthetics of junkyards. There is, then, an emphasis on the popular and mass arts and everyday aesthetics, as well as on time-honored problems in philosophy of the arts. This edition, which contains contributions by both analytic and continental philosophers, expands upon offerings in non-Western art and aesthetics. Finally, although intended to keep pace with topics and issues currently debated, instructors and students will find, in a special section, key classic texts.

"Goldblatt began working on Some Afrikaners photographed, first published in 1975, in 1963. He had sold his father''s clothing store where he worked, and become a full-time photographer. The ruling Afrikaner National Party-many of its leaders and members had supported the Nazis in the Second World War-was firming its grip on the country in the face of black resistance. Yet Goldblatt was drawn not to theevents of the time but to "the quiet and commonplace where nothing ''happened'' and yet all was contained and immanent." Through these photos he explored his ambivalence towards the Afrikaners he knew from his father''s store. Most, he guessed, were National Party voters, yet he experienced them as "austere, upright, unaffected people of rare generosity of spirit and earthy humor." Their potency and contradictions moved and disturbed him; their influence pervaded his life." -- Taken from booksellers website.

Co-authored by three prominent philosophers of art, Jazz and the Philosophy of Art is the first book in English to be exclusively devoted to philosophical issues in jazz. It covers such diverse topics as minstrelsy, bebop, Voodoo, social and tap dancing, parades, phonography, musical forgeries, and jazz singing, as well as Goodman’s allographic/autographic distinction, Adorno’s critique of popular music, and what improvisation is and is not. The book is organized into three parts. Drawing on innovative strategies adopted to address challenges that arise for the project of defining art, Part I shows how historical definitions of art provide a blueprint for a historical definition of jazz. Part II extends the book’s commitment to social-historical contextualism by exploring distinctive ways that jazz has shaped, and been shaped by, American culture. It uses the lens of jazz vocals to provide perspective on racial issues previously unaddressed in the work. It then examines the broader premise that jazz was a socially progressive force in American popular culture. Part III concentrates on a topic that has entered into the arguments of each of the previous chapters: what is jazz improvisation? It outlines a pluralistic framework in which distinctive performance intentions distinguish distinctive kinds of jazz improvisation. This book is a comprehensive and valuable resource for any reader interested in the intersections between jazz and philosophy.

Learn to bend it like Rooney and dribble like Torres with this ultimate visual guide to planet football, revised and updated to include details of the World Cup 2010 Completely up-to-date with the latest stats, goal tallies and cup wins - you''ll relive the finest moments of the players, coaches and teams who have created football history and learn everything from match highlights to the inside stories on players, managers and fans. Plus find out about the laws, the tactics, the science, and the art of the beautiful game.

"The work of David Goldblatt - as recipient of the 2006 Hasselblad Foundation Award undoubtedly South Africa''s most prominent active photographer - reflects a life-long exploration of the relationship between individual South Africans and the society they live in. His first extended photographic essay was compiled in the 1960s. When it was finally published in 1975 as Some Afrikaners Photographed, the book created quite a stir locally. Eventually most of the small print-run had to be sold off for a song. Considered one of the major photographic works in this genre, Some Afrikaners Photographed was never reprinted and is almost impossible to obtain. Some Afrikaners Revisited offers an additional twenty images from the periods which were not included in the original book, notes by Goldblatt on how both books came into being, a contextualizing essay by Ivor Powell and Antjie Krog''s impressionistic response to the images." -- Taken from booksellers website.

For more than 50 years Goldblatt has produced comprehensive series of photographs dealing with poignant issues of life in South Africa. ''Intersections Intersected'' features approximately 30 pairs of images, each set composed of one black and white and one colour image, taken before and after 1994. The series of photographs, many presented here for the first time, were taken in the same place that was visited during the Apartheid regime and then later, after its fall. The choice of pairs was made by the artist who has also contributed extended documentary captions relating to each one of the images. In addition, the publication is also accompanied by essays from Ivor Platt and Ulrich Loock.

Offers an introduction to the economy, and explains such topics as division of labor, currencies and exchange rates, inflation, and unemployment.

Embracing the fanatical interest in soccer, World Soccer Yearbook 2003-4 examines the game on a global level. Where other books have been club-based, league based, or specific to national teams, this is the first true survey of soccer around the world--from its origins in the 19th century, to the national, league, and club standings in the 2002-3 season. Exciting action-photographs, dynamic graphics, and illustrated charts take a refreshing and innovative approach to illustrating the world''s most popular sport.

This is the first true survey of soccer around the world--from its origins in the 19th century, to the national, league, and club standings in the 2002-3 season. Included are exciting photographs, graphics, and illustrated charts.

"In Boksburg is the portrait of a small white South African Town. It is a most disturbing portrait of a town and its people which has become a symbol of white racism in South Africa. In many ways David Goldblatt''s penetrating and personal look at life in this mining town near Johannesbrg [sic] was prophetic when he compiled this essay in 1981: only from the weird lifelessness, the sense of isolation and desolation which is so vividly clear in this portrait of a town, could have sprung the intense racism and hatred as demonstrated by the events following the municipal elections of 1988 when the inhabitants of Boksburg tried to turn back the clock to Verwoerdian times."--Book jacket.

Thousands of football statistics are brought to life with illustrations and special features in this text. Every major league and international competition is covered, including: La Liga; the UEFA Cup 2002; and the European Champions League 2002.