The Ball
Discovering the Object of the Game
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · May 15, 2012
Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to thefarthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancientpast to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?" From Mexican jungles to the small-town gridirons of Ohio, frommedieval villages and royal courts to modern soccer pitches andbaseball parks, The Ball explores the little-known origins ofour favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simpleinvention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on ourpassions, our money, and our lives.
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- Who it’s for
- A global history-travelogue asks why balls have held our attention across centuries.
- Themes
- Origins of ball sports, Sports across cultures and centuries, The role of games in human life
- Genres
- Sports & Society, Sports History, How Cultures Work
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to thefarthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancientpast to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?"
Continue reading
From Mexican jungles to the small-town gridirons of Ohio, frommedieval villages and royal courts to modern soccer pitches andbaseball parks, The Ball explores the little-known origins ofour favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simpleinvention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on ourpassions, our money, and our lives. Equal parts history and travelogue,The Ball removes us from the scandals and commercialism of today'ssports world to uncover the true reasons we play ball, helping us reclaimour universal connection to the games we love.
Games Across Time
A global history-travelogue asks why balls have held our attention across centuries.
Come here for
- Sports history that travels beyond baseball
- The origins of familiar games across centuries
Expect
- A mix of history and travelogue
- A look at the ball’s place in our passions and lives
Where it sits
| How Cultures Work | 51% |
|---|---|
| Sports & Society | 46% |
| Sports History | 35% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Social History
- How Cultures Work
- Sociology
- Baseball History
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Cycling
- Sports
- Sports History
- Hunting
- Authors
- John Fox
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- May 15, 2012
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Origins of ball sports · Sports across cultures and centuries · The role of games in human life
- Reading lane
- Social History