Simon Kuper – författare

Från Daniel Ek och hans principer och arbetsmodell för att bygga Spotify – till Simon Kuper och Olof Lundh, som skriver varsin essä om fotboll med anledning av sommarens stora mästerskap.

Inför riksdagsvalet i höst återvänder Lena Andersson till den glödande havregynnsdebatten, Björn af Kleen skriver dagbok från ett skakat USA och så publicerar vi en novell av den irländska stjärnförfattaren Sally Rooney.

Dessutom utser vi de 25 bästa utländska fackböckerna under 2000-talet (hittills).

Sikt är bokserien som samlar smarta texter från hela världen. I fyra nummer per år skriver framstående författare, forskare, historiker, tänkare och ekonomer. Syftet är att lyfta fram nya, tänkvärda och banbrytande perspektiv.

Välkommen till det sjätte numret.

''GREAT'' Independent''TERRIFIC'' Guardian''WONDERFUL'' Time Out''QUALITY'' Mail on Sunday''DEFINITIVE'' FourFourTwo

Winner of the William Hill Sports Book AwardFeatured in FourFourTwo''s list of ''The 10 Best Football Books Ever''Featured in Esquire''s ''Best Sports Books Ever Written''

Throughout the world, football is a potent force in the lives of billions of people. Focusing national, political and cultural identities, football is the medium through which the world''s hopes and fears, passions and hatreds are expressed.

Simon Kuper travelled to twenty-two countries from South Africa and Italy to Russia and the USA to examine the way football has shaped them. At the same time, he tried to find out what lies behind each nation''s distinctive style of play, from the carefree self-expression of the Brazilians to the anxious calculation of the Italians. During his journeys he met an extraordinary range of players, politicians and - of course - the fans themselves, all of whom revealed in their different ways the unique place football has in the life of the planet.

''Football history at its best'' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY''Hugely moving... a very good book indeed'' FOUR FOUR TWO''Kuper is an original, sophisticated and adventurous writer. The story he has to tell... is fascinating and pressing'' SUNDAY TIMESIn FOOTBALL AGAINST THE ENEMY Simon Kuper crossed the globe in search of the links between football, politics and culture. In AJAX, THE DUTCH, THE WAR he skilfully pieces together an alternative account of World War II. He looks at the lives of the footballers who played for the Dutch club, the officials and the ordinary fans during this tumultuous period and challenges the accepted notion of the War in occupied Europe. With almost 80 per cent of Amsterdam''s Jewish Corner wiped out during the war, the long-held belief that, by and large, half the Dutch population had some kind of link to the Resistance has, of late, come into question. Kuper explores this issue and looks deeper into the role of football across Europe in the years both preceding and following the War. The result is a compelling and controversial account of the War, seen through the lens of football.

WINNER OF THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR''This is a masterfully written history of the world''s greatest football club. Més que un book!'' - GARY LINEKERFrom the bestselling co-author of Soccernomics comes the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful football club in the world - and how that envied position now hangs in the balance.

Barça is not just the world''s most popular sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organisations on the planet. With almost 250 million followers on social media and 4 million visitors to its Camp Nou stadium each year, there''s little wonder its motto is ''More than a club''. But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona has transformed from regional team to global powerhouse, becoming a model of sporting excellence and a consistent winner of silverware.

Simon Kuper unravels exactly how these transformations took place. He outlines the organisational structure behind the club''s business decisions, and details the work of its coaches, medics, data analysts and nutritionists who have revolutionised the sporting world. And, of course, he studies the towering influence of the club''s two greatest legends, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi.

Like many leading global businesses, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders a view behind the scenes. But, after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given unprecedented access to the inner sanctum and to the people who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top.

Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest successes and upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond football to understand Barça as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon.

"I began my research thinking I was going to be explaining Barca''s rise to greatness, and I have, but I''ve also ended up charting the decline and fall."