The Game of Our Lives is a masterly portrait of soccer and contemporary Britain. Soccer in the United Kingdom has evolved from a jaded, working-class tradition to a sport at the heart of popular culture, from an economic mess to a booming entertainment industry that has conquered the world. The changes in the game, David Goldblatt shows, uncannily mirror the evolution of British society. In the 1980s, soccer was described as a slum game played by slum people in slum stadiums. Such was the transformation over the following twenty-five years that novelists, politicians, poets, and bankers were all declaring their footballing loyalties. At one point, the Palace let it be known that the queen -- like her mother, Prince Harry, the chief rabbi, and the archbishop of Canterbury -- was an Arsenal fan. Soccer permeated the national life like little else, an atavistic survivor decked out in New Britain flash, a social democratic game in a cutthroat, profit-driven world. From the goals, to the players, to the managers, to the money, Goldblatt describes how the English Premier League (EPL) was forged in Margaret Thatcher's Britain by an alliance of the big clubs -- Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur -- the Football Association, and Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV. Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon traces the momentous economic, social, and political changes of post-Thatcherite Britain in a more illuminating manner than soccer, and The Game of Our Lives provides the definitive social history of the EPL -- the most popular soccer league in the world.

Football has left an everlasting imprint on my life, moulding my character, forging lifetime friendships, and igniting a lifelong interest in me. I knew the moment I stepped onto the pitch that it would become a part of my identity. Read the book to find out how football helped form me into the person I am today, giving me essential life lessons and instilling in me a tireless desire for success. It will always be more than a game to me; it will always be a part of who I am.

For 16 years, Darragh Ó Sé wore the number 8 jersey for Gaelic football's most celebrated county, stoking the fires in Kerry's engine room. With six All Ireland medals, he is the most decorated footballer of the modern era. Darragh's name is synonymous with his county's unrelenting appetite for success, but throughout his illustrious career he has held his counsel, allowing his football to do the talking. Until now. This is the story of a modern Kerry icon. Uncompromising, passionate and possessing a savage wit, Darragh talks openly for the first time about his life in the green and gold, and about his constant drive to succeed. Elsewhere in the book, he details his setbacks, reflects on a family tragedy and reveals how his upbringing on the fringe of west Kerry helped shape his character, steeling him for a career in the toughest position in Gaelic football. This is the story of Darragh Ó Sé - the life of a legend.

Includes music.

Reels for 1973- include Time index, 1973-