Ajax, the Dutch, the War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe's Darkest Hour

In Ajax, New York Times bestselling author Simon Kuper explores the myths of Holland's "Good War" -the brave nation that hid Anne Frank from the Nazis-by using the story of soccer in Holland and the Amsterdam club Ajax to puncture the tales that post-war Holland lived by. Through interviews with Resistance fighters, survivors, wartime soccer players and more, Kuper uncovers a history that has been largely ignored. Ranging far beyond the Netherlands and examining the stories of soccer and war in England, Germany and France, Kuper writes an alternative history of Europe at its darkest hour. He helps change the way we understand ordinary people's experience of the war in Europe.

The story does not end with World War II and the Holocaust. Though haunted, by this experience, Ajax became known during the postwar era as Holland's "Jewish club" because of historic links with Amsterdam's once-large Jewish population. It also became the envy of clubs around the world for producing unparalleled talent, epitomized by soccer genius Johan Cruijff. Kuper shows how Cruijff and his fellow Amsterdammers created the most exciting and revolutionary style of soccer in the world-"Total Football"