Books by David Goldblatt

The definitive book about football. There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of football are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of football's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates football's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.

The critically acclaimed global story of football in the twenty-first century.

Futebol Nation by David Goldblatt - a thriling history of Brazil through its sporting passionFrom the genius of Pel to corruption and civil unrest, no nation has so closely aligned its national identity with playing and watching football as Brazil. Football is regarded as a thing of joy, its yellow shirts a delightful amalgam of sport and art, entwined with its cultures of music and religion. This is true, but there is another side to the story too. The corruption of Brazil's football authorities is characteristic of its society as a whole; some of its biggest tournaments have recently been played amidst the largest protests Brazil has ever seen. From the acclaimed author of the classic football history The Ball is Round, this book is the whole story: the players, the fans, the corruption, the passion. It will be enjoyed by readers of I am the Secret Footballer, The Numbers Game, Why England Lose and fans of football around the world.David Goldblatt was born in London in 1965 and is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspurs and Bristol Rovers. He teaches sociology at Bristol University, reviews sports books for the TLS, and for some years wrote the Sporting Life column in Prospect magazine.'A tour de force of brilliant writing, historical colour and sporting vignette' Observer on The Ball is Round

Between 1999 and 2011 David Goldblatt created personal photography in color for the first time. This book brings together a selection of Goldblatts color photography in South Africa from 2002 to 2011.

Workers from KwaNdebele catch buses in the early morning, some as early as 2:45 am, in order to be at their workplaces in Pretoria by 7:00. This title takes you on their bone-jarring journeys through the night, which is a metaphor for their arduous struggle toward freedom itself.

WINNER of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2015In the last two decades football in Britain has made the transition from a peripheral dying sport to the very centre of our popular culture, from an economic basket-case to a booming entertainment industry. What does it mean when football becomes so central to our private and political lives? Has it enriched us or impoverished us?In this sparkling book David Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon tracks the momentous economic, social and political changes of the post-Thatcherite era in a more illuminating manner than football, and no cultural practice sheds more light on the aspirations and attitudes of our long boom and now calamitous bust. A must-read for the thinking football fan, The Game of Our Lives will appeal to readers of Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson. It will also be relished by readers of British social history such as Austerity Britain by David Kynaston. 'Brilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been. Goldblatt's book could hardly be more impressive' Sunday Times

Billy Monk worked as a bouncer in the notorious Catacombs club in the dock area of Cape Town,South Africa, during the 1960s. He originally began taking pictures in the club with the intention ofselling the photographs to the customers ¿ the people he was photographing. His aim was not tomake a social statement, but his money-making scheme quickly turned into something else as heincreasingly captured the raw energy of the club, its decadence and tragedy, its humanity and joy.As someone who shared the experiences of those club-goers he was trusted by them and was ableto convey their world and their experience with great energy and honesty.As David Goldblatt has written ¿These are photographs by an insider of insiders for insiders. If inhibitionswere lowered by the seemingly vast quantities of brandy and Coke that were imbibed, trust,nevertheless, is powerfully evident. Not simply in the raucous tweaking of bared breasts, or the moreguarded but evident ¿togetherness¿ of two bearded men, as well as the open flouting of peculiarlySouth African sanctions such as prohibitions on interracial sex. It is also present in the quiet composureof many of the portraits. People seemed to welcome and even bask in Monk¿s attentions.¿Monk stopped photographing at the club in 1969. Ten years later his contact sheets and negativeswere discovered and in 1982 the work was exhibited at the Market Gallery in Johannesburg. Monkcould not make the opening and two weeks later, en route to seeing the show, he became involved inan argument. A fight broke out, Monk was fatally shot in the chest and never saw his work exhibited.

Presents a collection of David Goldblatt's essays, and uses the metaphor of ventriloquism to help understand the art world phenomena. This work examines how the vocal vacillation between ventriloquist and dummy, works as a conveyance to the audience of the performer's intentions. It is aimed at students of cultural studies, art, and philosophy.