El Gringo’s Once in a Lifetime

Brazil. A land of contrasts, beauty and majesty surround the favela. Wonderful, hospitable, open-hearted people far out-numbering the touts and petty officials. The Brazilian World Cup of 2014 was a month long fiesta of friendship, as fans from around the world came together to create an unforgettable experience, carefully catalogued by John Ellis in this ground breaking book. Ground breaking, because John kept a diary on his iPhone throughout the month, cataloguing not just his experiences but those of the many friends he made along the way. More than 150,000 words were written through the ‘notes’ facility on his iPhone. Painstaking work. Along with the words, he took more than 3500 photographs, with his iPhone, of which around 200 are included in this book. It was written in real time ‘in the moment’. He captures all that he sees, hears, feels, touches and smells in the actual moment it happens, recording the entire fiesta with a delightful touch. If this doesn’t already sound crazy enough… John does this whilst surrounded by 20,000 people in fan fests, with iPhones being stolen right, left and centre. He writes in football stadiums, walking through the streets of Copacabana in the early hours of the morning and whilst hiking up a mountain. Often after a few too many caipirinhas. Diverse fans with amazing stories, from many different countries, love his idea and share their own experiences with him for inclusion in the book. The results are a compelling, touching and yet hilarious read with so many differing emotions to experience and contributions from over a hundred people coming from more than forty countries.