
The Game That Would Be King: The Unchartered History of Soccer 800 1800 AD
Format: Paperback
From the Middle Ages onwards, Britain and Ireland unfurl their lineage, from the lesser-known trapball and stoolball to the lamentably extinct camping and knappan. All forms find a voice in this book, as do hockey and hurling, baseball and bowling, tennis and golf. Primarily a narrative of British and Irish ball games, esteemed foreigners are welcomed: baggataway, knattleikur, soule, kolven, calcio. Many games come to life, revealing their motivations, and their complex inner world. Still, soccer is firmly center stage. This is, after all, its picaresque journey.
As the games sweep across history, the social, religious, and political contexts are threaded throughout, and this book is peppered with news snippets, anecdotes, comedy, and intrigue, which gift the centuries life. Crammed with eccentric sports ephemera, untold tales, and unearthed facts, The Game That Would Be King is the most comprehensive work on the early history of ball games ever written"|
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