When most people think about the Netherlands; images of tulips and peaceful pot smoking residents spring to mind. Bring up soccer; and most will think of Johan Cruyuff; the Dutch player thought to rival Pele in preternatural skill; and Ajax; one of the most influential soccer clubs in the world whose academy system for young athletes has been replicated around the globe (and most notably by Barcelona and the 2010 world champions; Spain).But as international bestselling author Simon Kuper writes in Ajax; The Dutch; The War: Soccer in Europe During the Second World War; the story of soccer in Holland cannot be understood without investigating what really occurred in this country during WWII. For decades; the Dutch have enjoyed the reputation of having a “good war.†The myth is even resonant in Israel where Ajax is celebrated. The fact is; the Jews suffered shocking persecution at the hands of Dutch collaborators. Holland had the second largest Nazi movement in Europe outside Germany; and in no other country except Poland was so high a percentage of Jews deported.Kuper challenges Holland's historical amnesia and uses soccer—particularly the experience of Ajax; a club long supported by Amsterdam's Jews—as a window on wartime Holland and Europe. Through interviews with Resistance fighters; survivors; wartime soccer players and more; Kuper uncovers this history that has been ignored; and also finds out why the Holocaust had a profound effect on soccer in the country.Ajax produced Cruyuff but was also built by members of the Dutch resistance and Holocaust survivors. It became a surrogate family for many who survived the war and its method for producing unparalleled talent became the envy of clubs around the world. In this passionate; haunting and moving work of forensic reporting; Kuper tells the breathtaking story of how Dutch Jews survived the unspeakable and came to play a strong role in the rise of the most exciting and revolutionary style of soccer — “Total Football†— the world had ever seen.
#62786 in Books Ivan R. Dee 2003-03-08 2003-03-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.88 x .73 x 5.82l; .93 #File Name: 1566635055284 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Disturbingly believable.By Tom GilsonDalrymple writes well; for starters. He has an unusually clear grasp of social cause and effect; which makes this an important book. He also sees the limits of cause and effect; that is; he knows that the people of whom he writes in this sad book are human; and have the power to choose far more of their own destinies than English society credits them for. Life at the bottom is; in his view; made far worse than otherwise necessary by the inhuman attitudes among those who live near the top.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Critical with compassionBy velodog revolverMasterful style and wit combined with a genuine level of compassion and uncompromising evaluation of life's choices and their consequences. As a practicing physician in a small town emergency department I see the same problems and outcomes of our "post modern" culture. The study of "worldview" aka; philosophy and its current results might offer some direction. The greatest man to ever live said; "come to me all who are heavy laden (really tired) and I will give you rest". We have been brainwashed to ignore the importance of spiritual things and have swallowed the drugs of "enlightenment" which in the end only leave us desolate.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. America's future perhaps?By Douglas J. WolfThis story of dystopian Britan is too depressingly familiar to anyone who pays heed to the changes the welfare state has brought to the US.
