How Soccer Explains the World

An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

By: Franklin Foer

Narrated by: George Newbern

READ BY ACTOR GEORGE NEWBERN NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Just in time for the 2026 World Cup in North America—an audiobook of the bestselling sports classic featuring a new preface from the author. "Franklin Foer’s dark and witty tale of the soccer world reveals the meaning of globalization in all its joys and horrors.”—Robert Kagan

“Bristles with anecdotes that are almost impossible to believe.” —New York Times Book Review

A groundbreaking work—named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by Sports Illustrated—How Soccer Explains the World is a unique and brilliantly illuminating look at soccer, the world’s most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy.

From Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye-opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it’s terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam—issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.