{"product_id":"inside-the-hermit-kingdom-phil-harrison-9781801506892","title":"Inside the Hermit Kingdom: Football Stories from Stalinist Albania","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInside the Hermit Kingdom\u003c\/i\u003e charts the history of Albanian football from 1945 to 1991, when the country was ruled by modern Europe's most brutal and oppressive regime. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The book features a chronology of Albanian football history interspersed with iconic games that shaped the nation's favourite sport. It details the matchday experience in Stalinist Albania, tells the story of a league footballer during the regime years and charts the growth of street football in Hoxhaist Tirana. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e You'll read about the demise of 'The Party' and Stalinism in Albania and the effects their disintegration had on football, peering beyond 1991 into a future riddled with conflict, uncertainty and, oddly, hope. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The era is brought to life by the accounts of Albanians who lived through it, which capture the importance of football to a populace starved of any other source of communal enjoyment. The otherworldliness and innate cruelty of the Stalinist regime provide a terrifying backdrop to their tales. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Phil Harrison\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1801506892\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781801506892\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pitch Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Phil Harrison","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45897787801855,"sku":"9781801506892","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_71a105e7-bdea-45db-8880-027d924e0e5f.jpg?v=1721374746","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/inside-the-hermit-kingdom-phil-harrison-9781801506892","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}