Laurent Dubois is Professor of French and History at Duke University. He is the author of many award-winning books, including Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution, which was a Best Book of the Los Angeles Times and a Notable Book of the Christian Science Monitor.

• Contents List of Illustrations Preface: Scoring Spirits Introduction: The Language of Happiness 1. A Beautiful Harvest 2. Caribbean France 3. Crossings 4. Roots 5. Two Goals 6. Two Flags 7. La France Metissee 8. An Unfinished War 9. Reconciliation 10. Burn 11. Coup de Boule Epilogue: Returns Notes Acknowledgments Index

"An intriguing tale of soccer within the matrix of France's history of colonialism." STARRED REVIEW Library Journal "Drills down to uncover the relationship among politics, race and the legacy of empire." The New York Times "Excellent" Chronicle Of Higher Education "Tale of how even the most seemingly apolitical institutions in a society can become the battlegrounds for its most pressing questions of identity and ambition." Salon.com "The best, most important contribution to soccer scholarship to date...A timely and wonderful book." -- A.-P. Durand Choice "Soccer Empire has a heart that beats louder than most, and is all the better for it." Times Literary Supplement (TLS)