The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed the World – A Provocative Look at 1999 Role Models and Off-Field Race, Class, and Gender Issues

by Jere Longman

Now with a new afterword, The Girls of Summer , by the award- winning New York Times sportswriter Jere Longman, takes a serious, compelling look at the women who won the 1999 World Cup and brings to life the skills and victories of the American team. Longman explores the issues this unprecedented achievement has raised: the importance of the players as role models; the significance of race and class; the sexualization of the team members; and the differences between men and women's sports. Provocative and insightful, this book reminds us that the real struggles are off the field -- and some remain to be won.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Soccer, History, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Bill Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well reported and interesting subject but the author tried to squeeze too much book out of too little content. We were constantly diving deep into the backstories of every single person involved which was interesting at times but it got bogged down in all that. If I could give half stars this would be a 3.5

[Katie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably one of the most well written books I’ve ever read. Beautiful story telling, with each chapter focusing on a different player on the ‘99 WWC team. Very long and a bit repetitive, though.

Quote: “They believed in the invisible days, when no one came to see them but their parents, when they lived on candy bars in China and did not have running water in Haiti. They believed when the doubters told them they could never fill giant stadiums for the World Cup. They believed when Michelle Akers went out and the final distilled itself to penalty kicks. They believed when the American soccer federation told them they did not deserve to be paid as much as the men. They believed and they stuck together and they won because they would not accept anything less than victory.”

😭

[Me Abpa the Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autor is exceptionally great.

[Kim. E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

July 10, 1999. 90,185 fans in the stands and over 40 million on television. One hundred and five degrees on the field after regulation, and two overtime periods it all came down to penalty kicks in a stadium that went silent.

My daughter begged me for three years to start playing soccer (beginning at age 3) before I finally relented. She also played softball, basketball, ran track, and played football, but even at that age she knew where her true love resided. After my years of reluctance by the time of this game we were both jumping up and down screaming in joy in our living room. One of my favorite memories is taking her a couple months later to another stadium that was over 100 degrees in the shade as she stood within feet of not only her all time favorite female player still to date, but also to meet many of the other players from the other countries during this victory tour.

Author Jere Longman does an excellent service to not only the specifics of that one pinnacle game, but offers a journey mixed throughout of the years leading up to this game, insight into the personalities and lives of each of the players and coaches, and the travails of traveling to other countries in the early years of women's soccer when they were afraid to sleep without their shoes on or how they learned to carry the intensity needed to win this World Cup.

[Nora T E]

Tenacity. Ferocity. Bewildering power. The top 3 traits that describe the robust women of the U.S Soccer Team. Soccer legends such as Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, and Brianna Scurry were on the team that changed the world. Their power guided them to have influence on young minds of the world. The sacrifice, determination, and persistence paid them back. They got to have the rest of the world reflecting on their individual choices and changing the world. This book has remarkable stories of the influential women on the U.S Soccer team and their successes. Yet, even with those, they had everything but covert. Maybe that's the strategy everyone else should use. Don't plan things in life. Go with the flow and just see what happens.

[Rachel Kauflin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough account of the USA victory in the 1999 World Cup! I think this could have been more of a slam dunk for me if the storytelling was somewhat more linear with telling more about the buildup to the World Cup instead of just the final game. Plus, it would be interesting to hear this writer’s take on the state of women’s sport a few years down the road, since this book was written in 2000 so it’s just a snapshot of the World Cup and can’t speak to the legacy involved.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Girls of Summer" by Jere Longman is a really cool book about the U.S. Women's Soccer Team winning a big tournament in 1999. The book talks about the players, like Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain, and how they practiced and played to become champions. What I liked is that it's not just about soccer; it tells personal stories about the players, making it interesting and not just about the games. The author also talks about why the 1999 Women's World Cup was important. It wasn't just about winning; it changed how people see women playing sports. The author does a great job of making the stories interesting and easy to understand, even if you're not a big soccer fan. "The Girls of Summer" is not just about soccer; it's about teamwork, hard work, and how a group of amazing women made a lasting impact on the world of women's soccer. What sets this book apart is its exploration of the broader impact of the 1999 Women's World Cup. Longman skillfully discusses how the team's success influenced the perception of women in sports, breaking down barriers and inspiring a new generation of female athletes. It goes beyond the game statistics, emphasizing the cultural significance of the tournament. I really enjoyed this book a solid 4/5 stars.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than just a nostalgia read! Since this book was published almost 20 years ago and not long after the 1999 World Cup, I was concerned that the gender analysis would be weak from a 2019 perspective. But not only is that component strong, so is the storytelling. NY Times journalist Jere Longman skillfully switches between the details of the final match of the World Cup and in-depth reporting on the back stories of the players and teams, the politics and more. His rendering of the game's drama kept me up late reading, even though I was very familiar with the outcome. Another aspect I particularly enjoyed were some of the stories of the Chinese players' backgrounds and the conditions that their team developed in, which I had not read about before.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

It actually did a really good job of bringing in the personal stories of the athletes, the national and global context, and the gender and racial issues in particular. I was pleasantly surprised. The main weakness for me was a tendency to jump around between those in often incomprehensible ways (mixed too with narrative description of the final match, which I wish I'd watched video of beforehand). Still, though, it gave me some great background for the team that has been and new perspectives to imagine what the team now is going through. Now on to "The National Team" for a look at the modern era of this squad!

[Brooke Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the true power of women athletes, the influence of the 1999 women’s national team on the future of girls soccer. It shows the truth that they are there to play, just like the men. Play as a team. Michelle Akers played until she collapsed in the 99’ Olympics that’s a true athlete. Play until you can’t anymore. It truly shows the remarkable interwoven story of the team.”We did it for each other. All the tough practices in Orlando, all the fitness when no one else was watching, all the miles traveled. We pushed each other, we encouraged each other.” Julie Foudy That truly embodies the true spirit of a genuine team.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and well-written. This was an excellent read. Of course, I know the names of Mia Hamm, Julie Found, Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Briana Scurry, and the iconic photo of Chastain's victory celebration, but I didn't know the stories behind it all. This book does a great job of simultaneously narrating the final game while also discussing the stories of the players, the team, the staff, and women's soccer as a whole in the US. I highly recommend it. It was a wonderful read to supplement this year's World Cup.

[Marty Greenwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on many levels: women's rights, power of FIFA toward men's vs. women's national teams, soccer in general and how the game is played. Also, how the book takes the finals of the 1999 World Cup match with China and make it play out from the beginning to the end of the book. Also, I found out how tired players are at the end of the World Cup. Excellent

[Juan Pablo Gatti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso libro acerca de un equipo de leyenda. Si les gusta el fútbol y, sobre todo, quieren enterarse absolutamente TODO lo que pasó con aquel equipo de EEUU de 1999 entonces este es un documento indispensable.

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.9 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[Ms W]

AW: A summer read.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a decent book that gets into the details of the prominent players of both the US and Chinese soccer team in the 1999 Women's World Cup. Not all players, just the marketable ones. Longman is a pretty fierce believer in these players, which is good in a lot of ways but dismissive of the intersectionality of privileges that the US women can afford vs women of other countries. I also felt like it was somewhat repetitive, like there were multiple copies of the same international games by the way it was referred by its year and competing countries.

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for the first time when I was 9 or 10 and hadn't come back to it since. The same magic that I remembered was still there, and still just as captivating as it was during that final game. Towards the end, I found myself not wanting to read it because I didn't want the game and the cultural moment it created to end. Longman effortlessly splices together minute by minute details of the USA v. China final with beautiful, in-depth explorations of players, coaches, management, friends and family, and football culture around the world. Incredible.

[A Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

One team changed all women's sports and how they were viewed by others. Jere Longman's, The Girls of Summer shows how women can play just as hard as men. This book shares the journey the women's US soccer team of 1999 experienced as they made their way to winning the World Cup. In this book, it explains that with teamwork and confidence, anything can be accomplished. Women's soccer has come a long way since the World Cup of 1999 and continues to gain the attention of viewers worldwide.

Female athletes were poorly respected during the time of the World Cup. The women's soccer team was slowly gaining respect from others and obtaining more fans. During an interview, Brandi Chastain was asked that if the team was more ugly, would they still have lots of fans? She responded, "There are those people who come purely for the soccer. There are those who come purely for the event. And there are those who come because they like us, to look at us. Those are the three great reasons to come," (Longman 38). In the final game of the World Cup versus China, the United States had won 5-4 in penalty kicks. The team had come a long way to make it to the championship. At one moment they were despised just because they were women and the next moment, they had over 90,000 fans routing for them in the finals. The World Cup of 1999 holds the record for the largest amount of fans at a women's sporting event.

I would recommend this book to others, especially to those who enjoy soccer. This book was very interesting and informative. It gives readers an appreciation of women participating in athletics. As a soccer player, I enjoyed reading this book and learning about the struggles women had in the past.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had picked this book up months ago and never gotten around to it, but with the Women's World Cup starting soon (June 26th! Coverage on ESPN!) I decided I needed to finish it.

On the bright side, this is undoubtedly the best book chronicling that iconic WWC match between the United States and China in 1999. The author has done interviews with nearly all the players and main staff involved, resulting in quite a few interesting observations. There are brief biographies and insights on the American and Chinese players in the final match, and everyone gets attention equal to stars like Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain. And he does not neglect context, either, giving brief histories of women in sports and touching on sexism, racism and classism involved in the marketing and coverage of the tournament.

But I had some problems with the book as well. The book is structured with a few paragraphs describing the actual match, segueing into a tangent, back to the match, another tangent...it felt disorganized. Also, while the narration of the actual match is quite detailed, it is probably too detailed for those who aren't huge fans of the sport--and huge fans will probably just wish they were watching the match instead of reading it. And some of the author's writing struck me as clunky and overwrought. Trust me--this story doesn't need the embellishment.

Still, this is a great read for fans of the USWNT or women's soccer in general, especially as the American women head to Germany to recapture the trophy that's eluded them since this memorable 1999 match.

[Sara Komo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023: This is a fucking good sports book. Maybe it's just because I've read it so many times over the years, or because I love this team with my whole heart. Reading the story again was like revisiting old characters who I love, but it's even better because they are REAL PEOPLE who I get to see all the time. They aren't stuck in a book!

This book is premised on the idea of the US versus China, because that's what happened at the end of the World Cup in 1999. But I didn't remember it being US versus China from the very beginning of the tournament, despite that being how it's framed in the book. That being said, I was 7 at the time, so who knows if I was really paying attention to the politics of the day in '99. Maybe there was much more of a US v China rivalry than I remember.

Shoutout to Jere Longman, who within the first 50 pages of this book is talking about the racial makeup of the team, how they were all being "criticized" of being lesbians, and genital mutilation. Let's get into it! I just wish he had named his book The WOMEN of Summer, because none of the players on the team in 1999 were younger than 18, meaning that NONE OF THEM WERE GIRLS!

2011: I am mourning the loss of the USWNT to Japan in PENALTY KICKS for the final of the 2011 Women's World Cup, and I decided to reread this book, because at the end of it, we WIN in penalty kicks. I feel bad for Japan because of the tsunami and I think this was a good win for them, but I am really sad.

2003: I LOVE THIS BOOK I LOVE THE USWNT MIA HAMM IS MY FAVORITE PLAYER I WILL PLAY FOR TEAM USA ONE DAY

[Toby Brennen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having spent some part of most of my weekends over the past 4 years at a soccer match, I have grown to appreciate the sport immensely. It wasn't an option when I was younger. "The Girls of Summer" focuses on the 1999 Women's World Cup match between the US and China, it being the culmination of years of effort to develop not only soccer but womens's soccer in the United States. The book is a very good read, with the writer Jere Longman attempting to avoid going into lots of jargon, and when he does, he provides brief, concise explanations. Even a non-soccer junkie can get a feel for strategies discussed that definately won't be lost on the more informed. The greater part of the story is the human, and more than human, experiences of the players - these women of the U.S. National Team who forged a new space in sport for many to follow.

I struggled through parts of the book because of its somewhat choppy, noncontiguous nature - discuss a topic, go on to something else, move on from there, then somewhere down the line revist the orignal issue. Once I mentalled juxtaposed the writing style with soccer's strategies and philosophy it became more fun to read - reading became more like dribble, dribble, inside pass, outside pass, down the line, then back to center.

A good read for anyone who likes sports history, soccer, or simply competition at its barest. Ha!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone except the most die-hard soccer fan. It looks through the lens of the fateful penalty kick shoot-out at the 1999 Women’s World Cup (ending with Brandi Chastain’s iconic jersey-waving celebration) at the growth of organized women’s soccer. There are profiles of each of the players, mostly the Americans but also some about their coaches, staff, and Chinese opponents, and a play-by-play of the China vs. USA game. While it celebrates that these women had opportunities that earlier women did not, there are still some disturbing things such as the identification of “the graceful Joy Fawcett” under a picture of her, and another player’s cheekbones are mentioned admiringly. And it was depressing to read all the optimism about the new WUSA women’s soccer league that was just starting when the book was published; it folded several years later, and the new league – the WPS – is struggling twelve years later even after another very successful run by the American women at the Women’s World Cup title.

[Lindsey Sanfilippo · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Why did you choose this book?

I choose this book because Mia Hamm is my role model. She is my favorite soccer player of all times.

2. The plot of the book is about the U.S womens soccer team & their journeny to win the World Cup. It explaines how working together as a team can lead to sucess.

3. What was your favorite quote & why?

My favorite quote was "No pain, no gain. Why, because this is how I live my life. I never stop trying.

4. What did you think about the authors writing style? Point of view?

It was interesting but he gave a little too much detail.

This book was more about the author giving a historical account, rather than his opinions.

5. Would you reccomand this book? To whom? Why or why not?

It depends on whether you're a person who likes soccer or not.

I would share it with my younger cousin, especially since she will be playing soccer soon.

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the lack of faith that girls can do what guys can do. This book shows how girls were not allowed to play sports or do some of that stuff. This book is about the U.S. women's soccer team showing they can. This team was setting records for most people at a women's sporting event. This team won the world cup and was willing to show that women should be able to play proffesional sports and thats what thay did. I think that all girls should read this book because it just shows how these girls were willing to change the ways of the United States sports system.

[Rod · Rating 2 out of 5]

8/25 - Saw this in the library a couple of days after the US Women's National Team took gold in Beijing. This book is about the team that won the 1999 FIFA World Cup. More after I finish.
9/7 - Well, I didn't finish this, but what I did read I found interesting. The author tends to focus more on how the team changed the world than on the team itself. I guess I should have known that from the title. I may finish this at a later date.

[Lissi Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked The Girls of Summer because I love soccer! Its every soccer girl’s dream to play on the National Team and that’s why I loved this book so much. If you aren't interested in soccer or women's sports, I would still read it because the 1999 Women’s World Cup is a very important event in the history of spots. It is a longer book with over 300 pages, and I would say it has poor organization. As a soccer player reading a soccer book, I enjoyed it!

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I was able to attend the 1999 Women's World Cup game. It was an opportunity to be consciously aware that I was witnessing history. What an experience. The book gives a brief overview of women's sports in general. The title says it all: The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How it Changed the World. I'm getting misty-eyed just thinking about it.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl Power! For a casual soccer fan, like me, this was a little over detailed, but it was well written, easy to get into and read like a story rather than an article, and I enjoyed it. Anyone who wants a little shot of girl power should read this and remember where you were in July of 1999, watching those PK's.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Changed the world seems a little bit hyperbolic, but changed the US? Almost definitely. I am a big "soccer" fan, so I did enjoy the book. It wouldn't be for everyone, but was a good read nonetheless. It was written in such a way that, although it is non-fiction, it was still a good story and somewhat plot driven, reading like a novel. Good book.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely agree with the lot, this book is for diehard soccer fans and more specially diehard fans of the women's game. I loved finding out a little more of the struggles the ladies faced, as well as learning about their personalities on and off the field.

I honestly don't think the book was written too well. There was a lot of going back and forth which I found to be unnecessary.