The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed the World

Jere Longman is a very gifted writer and I would recommend this book to anyone, soccer fan or not. It grabs your attention right from the start.Worth the readIt came in a good condition

It tells the backstory of them

good

My teenage daughter really enjoyed this book. She plays high school girls soccer and this was a book that she really enjoyed.

Some sports events catapult themselves onto the world stage--those who saw the 1980 Olympics hockey finals, for instance, will never forget them--and others are pushed onto that stage by a combination of media and corporate interests. The author writes his story as if it was the first snd yet who doubts it was the second?That doesn't take anything away from the atheletes or the event but I finished this book with a sense that there was a much more interesting story about money and marketing which was left untold. The book's title, lastly, is typical American arrogance: few people outside of the US paid the same attention to the women's world cup (in the rest of the world soccer is the masculine sport).

The Girls of Summer provides an in-depth look not only of the 1999 World Cup final match against China but also gives a good history of the U.S. women's national team. The book looks at brief parts of the game as they occurred and then breaks away from the game to fill in details about how a particular player or the team in general reached this moment in time. Depsite breaking away from the action, it does give complete coverage to the game from their arrival at the Rose Bowl to the celebration in the locker room after the game. It provides a great deal of insight into the early struggles of the national team to their national glory in 1999. Although it is almost entirely about soccer, it does examine the struggle women in general have faced across the globe to be allowed to play sports. The story does not end with the victory against China. It also looks at the struggle the national team faced with the U.S. Soccer Federation after the tournament. The author has done a good job of including interviews and vignettes from many of the main players on the team. If you are looking for a simple recounting of the U.S. victory, this book is not for you. This book also does not provide much detail about the World Cup games leading up to the final. If you are looking for detailed coverage about how the U.S. team developed over the last 12 years, you will enjoy reading The Girls of Summer.

I happened upon this book by chance and proceeded to finish it in one weekend.This is an incredibly well written story of the history of the 99ers interwoven with vivid details from the tournament.I recommend it for fans of the game, folks interested in sports history, disability rights advocates, womxns rights advocates, and people who are living with long-term COVID.

Book Title: The Girls of SummerAuthor: Jere LongmanReview by: Sarah KellyThe U.S. Women’s National Team took the world by storm when they won the World Cup in 1999. Although this was not their first World Cup win, it was the most memorable one. The crowd consisted of 90, 185 people. This was a record for any women’s sporting event, at the time. Jere Longman, the author of the book, The Girls of Summer, gives us a first-hand look at the preparation, the dedication, and the events leading up to the game that changed the world.The Girls of Summer was a truly inspiring book. I especially loved how Longman started the book by talking about the end of the game before they went into penalties, and he finished the book with a full-circle ending by talking about the end of the game. I also liked that Longman included each of the player’s backstories as he spoke about them in the game. It gave them more dimension and humanized them. This novel was very motivational, as Longman also wrote about the hours and hours of hard work that each individual player put in to achieve her goal.Jere Longman factored in how this victory did not just change the game of soccer. He writes how it changed the world’s opinion on women’s sports. He explores the ideas of equality among all genders, races, and sexualities too. Additionally, he wrote about the differences between men’s and women’s sports.In conclusion, Jere Longman did an excellent job in writing The Girls of Summer, for he addressed the triumph of this victory, as well as the awareness that this win brought to the world. I would recommend this novel to any athletes who are either looking for inspiration or looking to learn more about the 99ers, and their victory that changed the world.

my daughter loves womens footie and loved this book for her birthday present

Nice description of a process leading to success!