How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius: What Architects, Stuntwomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal about the World’s Game

Soccer is “less an invention than some side effect of the human condition,” contends journalist Greene (How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius) in this entertaining and wide-ranging exploration of the game. Greene traces the origins of the sport to medieval England’s “folk football,” a violent game in which teams kicked and threw a ball—typically a sheep’s inflated bladder or decapitated head—toward goals. In the Victorian era, the sport morphed into an aristocratic pastime and was popularized through elite private schools that had access to large areas of land. Greene interviews an array of experts to unpack the sport’s purpose and design. For example, a podiatrist explains kicking doesn’t serve much purpose for humans outside of amusement; despite it being a “tad unnatural,” early players found it a powerful and fun way to propel a ball a great distance. Elsewhere, a scientist shares how soccer games are “poorly designed experiments,” as its low-scoring nature enables random events to heavily influence results rather than consistent skill, while a stuntwoman reviews a compilation of Uruguayan player Luis Suarez’s notorious theatrics to assess soccer’s “diving” dilemma, where players exaggerate injuries to gain advantageous calls or field position. Smart and witty, this effectively reveals the complexity of the world’s most popular sport. Soccer fans will be captivated. (May)