Rock ’n’ Roll Soccer: The Short Life and Fast Times of the North American Soccer League

Plenderleith (For Whom the Ball Rolls), a 20-year veteran of sports journalism, chronicles the rise and fall of the NASL, America’s first major foray into the “beautiful game.” The NASL’s commissioners met with immediate road blocks from the group’s adversarial beginnings in 1967–68, but they managed to guide their upstart league through more than 15 years of tumultuous, flamboyant, and FIFA-flouting play, starring “bad boy” players who captivated American fans. Boasting stars like Pele and overnight celebrity clubs like the New York Cosmos and fan-favorite Minnesota Kicks, the NASL burned bright and enjoyed the company of literal rock stars like the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. Though the league would eventually crumble from the fiscal strain of poor management and lack of national enthusiasm, it nevertheless influenced soccer around the world in a number of ways, which Plenderleith expounds upon while drawing from more than a century of sports history. While the prose is dry and best read in short sessions, Plenderleith has compiled an intriguing history packed full of trivia that’s certain to fascinate soccer fans. (Sept.) [em] [/em]