{"product_id":"inside-the-hermit-kingdom-football-stories-from-stalinist-albania-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\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Pitch Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781801506892\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288","brand":"Phil Harrison","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44493181878453,"sku":"9781801506892","price":21.24,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_c8aa7d9b-7431-4bc7-a30d-ebb57fb2fb9a.jpg?v=1721747377","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/inside-the-hermit-kingdom-football-stories-from-stalinist-albania-9781801506892","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}