Dear all,
The book project I’ve been telling you about in the last couple of Newsletters has now developed as far as to be out with the authors for proofreading. So, I was able to publish reviews of two really interesting books last Friday, and to have a reasonably restful weekend. This week, proofread pages will be returned, which means that this week as well will be devoted to work on the book. I will endeavor to publish another two or three book reviews, though.
Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Book Reviews
From the Privileged to the Professionals: The Early Years of the FA Cup, by Graham Curry
Graham Curry’s From the Privileged to the Professionals: The Early Years of the FA Cup (Routledge) is concerned with the Football Association Challenge Cup, examining events from its inception in 1871–2 to the beginning of the Football League in 1888–9. In his review for idrottsforum.org, Mats Greiff is impressed by the author’s thorough study of historical sources and the detailed presentation of his results, but he would have liked a similarly thorough analysis of the dialectic between the small and the big history. (Review in English, published 241018.)
The Geopolitical Economy of Sport: Power, Politics, Money, and the State, by Simon Chadwick, Paul Widdop & Michael M. Goldman (eds.)
The Geopolitical Economy of Sport: Power, Politics, Money, and the State edited by Simon Chadwick, Paul Widdop & Michael M. Goldman (Routledge), is the first book to define and explore the geopolitical economy of sport where power, politics, money, and state intersect. Harald Dolles is our reviewer, and while lauding many aspects of the book and the editors’ efforts, he points to the dangers of obsolescence as well as finding several instances where the book not quite measures up to reasonable demands of scholarly astuteness. (Review in English, published 241018.)
New Blog Post
Putting the marathon madness to rest, by Erkki Vettenniemi
There’s no easy way to put it, so let me just begin by offering a profuse, sincere apology to my faithful followers (are you still somewhere there?) for keeping to myself since… since… November 2023! On the positive side, an eleven-month break may represent a sort of record, and a BIG one at that, so far as the forumbloggen is concerned. It’s also true that not much seems to have happened since my last observations almost a year ago. Israel is still waging war, Russian athletes are still being discriminated, and the progressive-minded sports community is still awaiting the inaugural edition of the Enhanced Games… (Published in English 241014.)
New Issues of Scholarly Journals
(We’re currently reviewing this service, since it’s a rather time-consuming undertaking. In the meanwhile we’re presenting some of the journals in line with the Forum’s core mission.)
- International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 16, 2024, Issue 3 (241014)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
- Konferensinbjudan | Fritidens och idrottens potential som våldsförebyggande arenor [ Örebro universitet, den 21 november 2024. Anmälan senast den 13 november 2024 (241017)
