Tag: Brian D. Bunk
From the Watson Brothers to Vampires: New book uncovers a great deal about the early history of soccer in the United States
Played by both migrants and native-born Americans, soccer created communities across the United States. In his new book Beyond the Field: How Soccer Built Community in the United States (University of Illinois press), Brian D. Bunk ranges from Pawtucket to Honolulu as he illuminates the deep and diverse origins of the American sport. Our reviewer Paul McFarlane finds much to enjoy in Bunk’s new book, both his adherence to a recent historiographical turn and his painstaking efforts to unearth early soccer club’s history and local soccer heroes lives.
An impressive and well-researched early history of association football in the US
Across North America, native peoples and colonists alike played a variety of kicking games long before soccer’s emergence in the late 1800s. In From Football to Soccer: The Early History of the Beautiful Game in the United States (University of Illinois Press), Brian D. Bunk examines the development and social impact of these sports through the rise of professional soccer after World War I. Matthew McDowell’s knowledgeable and appreciative review indicates that it’s a book well worth reading.
