Grant Wahl's "The Beckham Experiment" Receives Mostly Praise
"The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America," by SI's Grant Wahl, is a "sometimes annoying, but far more frequently shrewd, compelling book" about Galaxy MF David Beckham's tenure in MLS, according to Tim Rutten of the L.A. TIMES. The book is a "detailed, carefully reported account of the carnage that occurred when the international entertainment industry's culture of celebrity collided with the essentially blue-collar ambience of American soccer." Wahl offers a "fascinating portrait" of AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke, who is the "architect of the Beckham experiment and one of the sources to whom the author seems to have won exceptional access." Leiweke's intentions for MLS "have been the best, but the application of what, essentially, is the unadulterated culture of the entertainment industry to the complex chemistry of a sports team may be the Beckham experiment's biggest failure" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Michael MacCambridge wrote Galaxy F Landon Donovan's "outspoken honesty" gives the book its "punch." The Beckham experiment has been a "cautionary tale of hubris and mismanagement, cultural miscommunication, and the ineluctable truth that, in true sports, there is no script." Wahl's book is "highly readable" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/15). CLIMBING THE LADDER wrote while the "biggest revelations have already been publicized," there are "plenty of interesting anecdotes and many details about the LA Galaxy power players." From Wahl's perspective, this might be the "best time to write and release a book about David Beckham's time in America." If Beckham "leaves for good after 2009 or if he comes back after the World Cup reinvigorated, there's more to tell either way." Fans could "almost imagine a sequel called 'The Beckham Redemption'" (USASOCCER.BLOGSPOT.com, 7/14). GOAL.com's Zac Lee Rigg wrote Beckham is the "one man who seemingly escapes Wahl's detailed characterizations and keen exegesis," as he "remains, throughout, an enigma." Beckham "looms over the book like an uncommunicative parent, never revealing his true thoughts or intentions" (GOAL.com, 7/15).
SUMMER READING: In L.A., Grahame Jones reported when Wahl asked a question at Beckham's press conference yesterday, Beckham replied, "Let me just clear this up first. Is this question for the second unofficial book or for the magazine?" Wahl then said, "I think this might be authorized, but maybe not as interesting." Beckham: "I'm sure not." Beckham went to "great lengths to point out that Wahl's book had received neither his cooperation nor his blessing and that he had not read it." Beckham earlier said, "There are many unofficial books that have been published about me, so this is just another one on the shelf" (L.A. TIMES, 7/16). Beckham yesterday called the book "'lazy journalism' and tried to discredit it." Wahl wrote, "I don't think I'll be taking journalism lessons from Beckham. ... If we follow Beckham's logic, 'hard-working journalism' would have involved me paying Beckham and his handlers a huge sum of money and presumably giving them approval over the content of the finished product." Wahl: "I know that Beckham has said he won't read the book, but I don't believe that for a second" (SI.com, 7/15).
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