Download The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad AudioBook Free
"It's our game...America's game: it has the snap, go, fling of the American atmosphere-belongs just as much to our establishments, matches into them as significantly as our Constitution's laws, [and] is just as important in the total of our historic life."-Walt Whitman on football.May be the face of American football throughout the world that of goodwill ambassador or unpleasant American? Has football crafted its image or instead been at the mercy of broader makes shaping our world and the world? The Empire Strikes Out gives us the sweeping history of how football and America are intertwined in the export of "the American way."Through the Civil Conflict to George W. Bush and the Iraq Conflict, we see baseball's role in developing the American empire, first at home and then beyond our shores. And from Albert Spalding and baseball's first World Head to to Bud Selig and the entire world Baseball Common, we witness the globalization of America's national pastime and baseball's role in spreading the American dream. Besides describing baseball's frequent and often surprising relationships to America's existence round the world, Elias assesses the effects of this relationship both on our foreign policies and on the sport itself and asks whether football can play a confident role or only reinforce America's dominance around the globe. Like Franklin Foer in How Soccer Explains the entire world, Elias is powered by compelling stories, unusual incidents, and unique individuals. His seamless integration of original research and powerful evaluation makes this a football booklet that's about more than just sports.
