| View Larger Image | Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town | Hardcoverby Warren St. John (Author)
| List Price: | $24.95 | | Price: | $16.47 | | You Save: | $8.48 (34%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Spiegel & Grau | | Edition: | First Editionth Edition | | Page Count: | 320 Pages | | Publication Date: | April 21, 2009 | | Sales Rank: | 38,131th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780385522038
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
The extraordinary tale of a refugee youth soccer team and the transformation of a small American townClarkston, Georgia, was a typical Southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world’s war zones—from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston’s streets were filled with women wearing the hijab, the smells of cumin and curry, and kids of all colors playing soccer in any open space they could find. The town also became home to Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman who founded a youth soccer team to unify Clarkston’s refugee children and keep them off the streets. These kids named themselves the Fugees.Set against the backdrop of an American town that without its consent had become a vast social experiment, Outcasts United follows a pivotal season in the life of the Fugees and their charismatic coach. Warren St. John documents the lives of a diverse group of young people as they miraculously coalesce into a band of brothers, while also drawing a fascinating portrait of a fading American town struggling to accommodate its new arrivals. At the center of the story is fiery Coach Luma, who relentlessly drives her players to success on the soccer field while holding together their lives—and the lives of their families—in the face of a series of daunting challenges.This fast-paced chronicle of a single season is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community—and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 75 reviews)
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Emotionally Inspiring by Ji Shim  5 Stars
November 03, 2009
The novel is easy to follow and is an easy read. I would recommend reading it when one has enough time to finish the whole book because it is hard to stop in the middle of it. The book was emotionally inspiring. It briefly explains the struggles the families face before arriving to America. I could feel the struggles and the pains as they were my own. I went through some of the same struggles, so I could relate to the Fugees well. Throughout the whole book, I could not wait until the immigrants succeeded and rebuilt their lives. The book is like going on a roller coaster ride of emotions. At parts it is very carefree and happy, while other times it is heartbreaking and frustrating.
Warren St. John explains in full detail the difficult situations the immigrants have to go through in Clarkson, Georgia. The town is basically a refugee relocation center with no service providing help to the families. The story is inspiring how the players are limited to communicating in a single language and money, and yet their desires for soccer unite them together. Personally, I know what it feels like to come into a foreign country and the difficulties you have to face adapting to the new environment. I feel like the author also shows a new light to the view of immigrants. Sometimes people are forced to leave their own country, and they have no choice. They did not come to a foreign land to steal jobs and money from another country. I feel like some people have this perspective when it comes to immigrants, and it just is not the case. Warren St. John portrays his views very clearly and expressively, and it is greatly appreciated.
Soccer becomes a safe escape for the children. They are children who had to escape from their country or dictator. They come out and have fun while playing soccer. While they get to play soccer, they forget about their struggles at home. They overlook the fact that they are all struggling from different matters and try to overcome by uniting with a game of soccer. Even though they lack parents support and attendance during the games, they play well and become well known. While reading the novel, you cannot help but to wish that they do well.
I have no particular interest in soccer, but I still found the book interesting. I only know the basics of the game, and yet everything was completely understandable. The sport does not really get in the way of the central message and moral of the story. No matter how predictable the story may be, it was really amazing and inspiring. I also liked how the story was so realistic. Being a foreigner, I know how common these situations can be. Reading about the frustration and patience helps the reader to see from a different point of view.
The mayor says, "There will be nothing but baseball down there as long as I'm mayor. Those fields weren't made for soccer." The players face a lot of adversities along the way. Their field does not have goal posts, and they have no uniforms. Other teams have excess snacks and drinks waiting for them, no matter how well they play. Their stands are full of parents, while the immigrant players have no audience. Their parents are out working and trying to make a living in the States.
The coach, Luma Mufleh, is in influential person throughout the novel. She has problems of her own, but this only helps her become more passionate for the children. She never gives up and helps the players the best way she can. Her interest in these players grows throughout the novel and never fades away. She has love for the children and works hard for them. She is portrayed as the hero of the novel with strength and determination. She unites the children even though they are all so different from one another.
Clarkson gradually goes through a huge change. In the beginning of the novel, the town is full of multi-cultural and multi-religious people. This creates a hindrance for the people to bond and get along. Towards the end of the novel, the town is portrayed totally different. Everyone becomes more understanding and open to everyone and their views. The people change their views and opinions about the immigrants. And the immigrants learn to adapt to their new environment, while not changing themselves completely.
This book is recommended for middle school and/or high school students. It is grammatically easy to read, and it is not extremely long. It would make a good summer reading assignment. It gives students knowledge of numerous countries and exposes the children to different cultures. However, it does not go into full detail of the different backgrounds, so it will not lose the students' attention or get them confused. The book may seem like it cares a typical story line, but this book has a different touch to it. It is attention grabbing and heart touching. Warren St. John writes so that the words flow well and makes sense. One can read this book and see what he has encountered and reported. While reading this book, I felt like I was experiencing everything myself. The book moves many hearts and helps people think differently.
The only negative part about the book was that it did not have a great conclusion. I wanted to see a great change, but they never got a nice practice field with soccer goals. The ending is not satisfying, but not bad enough to not recommend the book. You can see the authors empathy throughout the whole book. I felt bad for the children and yet a lot of hope and support. I wanted them to do well and find themselves. I wanted the families to adapt well and see the change in Clarkston. The book has a point that can be used beyond just Clarkston, Georgia. Changes like this can be made anywhere.
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Compelling Story -- Poorly Told by A. Ross (Washington, DC)  3 Stars
November 02, 2009
Since I tend to read most books about soccer that I happen to hear about, this much buzzed-about book eventually made it to the top of my pile. Even then I shied away from it for a while, since I'm leery of books that are described as "inspirational." Nonetheless, I eventually cracked the spine, and discovered that it's that rare breed of book that's both fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating because it actually is kind of inspirational and will open the reader's eye to the daunting financial and social issues faced by refugees in the United States. Frustrating because it is neither well constructed nor well written.
The book revolves around the determined efforts of a young Jordanian immigrant woman to build a youth soccer club in a small town about fifteen miles outside of Atlanta. The twist is that her club is comprised of kids (or rather, boys) from the town's large refugee population of Liberians, Albanians, Afghans, etc. This allows the author to explore the many financial and social problems refugees face in trying to resettle in the United States, as well as the interesting effects of such demographic change in some of the areas where aid agencies place them. St. John does a reasonably good journalistic job of tracing the woman's backstory and detailing her efforts to establish the club, and the various administrative and cultural roadblocks she had to overcome.
This story originally appeared as a series of articles in the New York Times, and I'm guessing it was actually better in that shorter format. Here, the clunky writing becomes glaringly obvious, as does his inability to write well about the game of soccer. The book has more redundancies and restatements of information than any I can recall reading in the last several years -- both in the general narrative, but especially when he tries to write about the boys' games. The overall effect is rather like a mediocre high school paper, in which the student is trying desperately to pad his material to meet a ten-page requirement by saying the same thing over and over with only minor variations in word choice.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of compelling material -- especially the struggle to find a field to play on, the various bureaucratic roadblocks thrown up by xenophobic "old-timers," and the fragile psyches of the boys themselves. Unfortunately, these are undermined by the book's significant narrative problems, as the author skips around quite a bit, diving in and out of the lives of his subjects, never settling long enough on any one to provide any focus. Even his ostensible protagonist, the coach, is left fairly unexplored and unchallenged. Overall, I guess it's worth checking out if you're interested in either refugee issues, immigration, or soccer -- just don't come to it with huge expectations.
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How do we welcome new immigrants to America? by Sharon M. Bressen (Tarpon Springs, FL, USA)  4 Stars
October 31, 2009
Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town
by Warren St. John (2009)
Warren St. John is a reporter for the New York Times who wrote for this newspaper a series of articles about the sometime mysterious ways that America welcomes immigrants into our country. He used these articles to write this book about hope and the unifying force of sports.
What a surprise to learn that our government settles families fleeing war zones from many foreign countries to small and unprepared towns in America. Housing people is such close quarters beside other families that just a short time ago; they were engaged in mortal combat.
I can not help but think...could I have survived moving during the middle of the night to a new country without my spouse where the language was strange, jobs were menial, and I was not welcome?
Again, the sport of soccer gives a young Jordanian woman a purpose when she decides, after receiving her American education, to work with these refugees and assist them in finding a home in this new country.
Her struggle, together with the Clarkston, Georgia refugees show us that people are slow to accept new people into a community. What hoops this woman was made to jump through to give these immigrants a place to learn and play? She is a hero in my book.
Because my book was an Advance Reading Copy, you were required to visit the website [...] to read the epilogue.
I highly recommend this book; it is a reminder that we as a nation can do better in our treatment of newcomers to our country.
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Not just for Youth Soccer fans and Soccer Moms! by Walter Broner (Kendall Park, NJ United States) 5 Stars
October 15, 2009
This is wonderfully written book about the quintessential American experience - the trials and tribulations of the assimilation experience. This one though is not about events for a century ago, but is indeed a living story, still developing and full of possibilities.
Even if you are not a soccer fan (and can't explain the offside rule), you'll be drawn into this "happening now" story of a small South-East town adjusting to an influx of refugees. If for nothing else, you'll be fascinated by the real-life character of Luma Mufleh, the charismatic, demanding, driven, generous coach of the refugee boy's soccer teams. If you need a little bit of inspiration that doesn't feel contrived pick-up this book and immerse yourself into its simple story - yet one so rich in multiple meanings, symbolism and simple humanity.
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What a GREAT book!! by critters 5 Stars
October 04, 2009
"Outcasts United" is a book that somehow manages to be upbeat without minimizing the problems, both those that the Fugees have known in the past and those they continue to encounter (such as gangs). I seldom get on a political-type jag, but, as far as I'm concerned, this book should be required reading for everybody in the US. Thank you author Warren St. John, Coach Luma Mufleh, and all others associated with the program or who helped bring this book to us; it's truly a gem!
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