This Love Is Not For Cowards: Salvation and Soccer in Ciudad Juárez

My first foray into Powell's work and I enjoyed it thoroughly--I'll add him to my 'must read' list. Mr. Powell does a superlative job of inter-weaving the frighteningly sad story of Juarez with the parallel story of Juarez's failed soccer team, the Indios. You can't help but to be drawn in by the train-wreck happening on the US border as society falls apart at the hands of the drug cartels and the equally complicit government--man's inhumanity toward fellow man. It's scary to think about society where the rule-of-law has broken down and frightening to think of how and where that level of lawlessness might spread. (Across the rest of Mexico? Across the border to the United States?) You can't help but to pull for both the Indios (the metaphor) and Juarez while knowing in the back of your mind that both are fighting an uphill battle against nearly insurmountable odds.

The book was entertaining and sad at the same time. I really liked this book and recommend it to many that love the sport of football. You also get a glimpse on what is really going on down there and how the people there deal with the situation of life on the border. You hear about the deaths and the violence but you never really get a personal feel for the people that actually live with the violence, never had i heard football supporters go to such lengths to support a team. even if you dont like the sport its still a good read into the lives of the people down there. How one can still live in a place after seeing a wedding reception shot up by gunman is amazing. One violent event after another and people still live day to day. its amazing and I am recommending this book to everyone

I have a strong interest in the borderlands to begin with and my interest has peaked with the rise of the violence in CD Juarez and all of Mexico. I have read Grillo, Gibler, Longmire, Bowden, and Campbell's works on the violence and they were all excellent in helping me understand the politics and theories surrounding the situation in Mexico. However, Powell's book, This Love is Not For Cowards, gave me something that I really craved to which the other books left me longing and that is a view of what life is really like for citizens of the world's most dangerous city. Powell moved to Juarez at the height of the drug war to cover the Indios, the City's soccer team, which has been promoted to the highest level of the Mexican soccer league. In doing so, Powell bonds with players, fans, coaches, and team management going to all their home games and even accompanying them on the road.The team becomes a metaphor for the City itself, bursting onto the scene then spiraling downward in a series of losses that guarantees relegation back to the minor leagues. The City of Juarez follows a similar pattern from an economic powerhouse with no unemployment to a City seemingly going through death throes. Or is it? As the book illustrates, people still go out to restaurants and bars, celebrate children's birthday at McDonalds, fall in love/get married, jog, walk their dogs, and support their soccer team to the end. By reading this book, we find that people love their soccer team and their city despite the pervasiveness of death.We see the city through his eyes as someone who chose to live there, renting an apartment and fully engaging in daily life. Our media paints a picture of Juarez as a town that shuts completely down at night with residents in bunker mode for fear of being shot. And while some of that occurs, we still see people living their lives and that is the strength of the book.Powell does provide a good background of the drug war and who the major players are in the City. He touches upon some of the more shocking headlines such as the student massacre, the murder of American consulate employees, and the car bombs. His chapter about the women murders is especially powerful in helping the reader understand some of the debate over the origin of killings. But in the end, the book is about how this soccer team, the Indios, provide a diversion for the City in desperate need for something good. You'll meet interesting people and players and hopefully get a sense that not all is doom and gloom in Juarez. I highly recommend this book whether or not you are a soccer fan.

I choose to read this book based upon the author's previous book, "We Own This Game," which I thoroughly enjoyed. The previous book's subject was the culture of little league football in south Florida. Living in south Florida with several friends involved with little league football, the book was an obvious choice for me to read. Although, I have little interest in Mexico, less interest in soccer, and even less interest in Mexican soccer, I quickly purchased the book based upon my previous experience with the author's work.As I expected, this book does follow the Juarez soccer team for a season. The author does introduce some players, describe some soccer action, and for me most interestingly, provides the reader with insights to what goes on behind the scenes of a professional team that the casual fans does not usually get to experience, such as locker room speeches, team dinners, and practices. It is no secret that the team is struggling and is clearly failing. However, this is not the focus of the book. The author spends just as much time describing the city of Juarez and the adverse living conditions there...murders, drug trade, crime, lack of jobs. This is where the book is not so much a "sports" book, but can be considered more of a cultural/sociological book.The author describes the tremendous level of adversity the citizens of Juarez are living with -- their resiliency to live "normal" lives. One of which is the importance of the soccer team and supporting the soccer team, even though the team is dismal. Over time, the author comes to learn that each individual finds a way to survive, be it clinging to dreams they know will never come true, drugs, moving away, or simply becoming desensitized to it all. Through the journey, the author synthesizes well the slow death of the team, living in the heart of this dangerous city, and his personal struggle to find a way within himself to survive the harsh, dangerous, adverse conditions without losing who he is.In general, I found the book flowed well and was quick to read. I did find myself wanting to get to the last page, because I needed to know how the story turned out in the end.

Well written and very insightful. Although a sports based book it gives an insight into the way of life that players and fans alike face in a tough city.

Le livre décrit la vie des habitants à Ciudad Juarez à l'époque du livre, ce qui est assez intéressant. Mais la description de la vie du journaliste tous les jours me parait détaillée. Je trouve aussi qu'il manque le développement d'une histoire. Je me suis donc ennuyer avec ce livre et j'ai arrêté de le lire après quelques dizaines de pages.

Awesome book about mexican football and the mexican drug cartels. It finds a good balance in talking in depth about the two subjects and how the cartel wars impact everybody's everyday normal life and activities.