The Games
A Global History of the Olympics
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
From the author of The Game of Our Lives, winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2015
David Goldblatt writes about sports 'with the expansive eye of a social and cultural critic' (Wall Street Journal). In The Games he delivers a magisterial history of the biggest and most beloved sporting event of them all: the Olympics.
He tells the epic story of the Games, from their reinvention in Athens in 1896 to the present day, chronicling classic moments of sporting achievement from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comaneci, the Miracle on Ice to Usain Bolt.
He goes beyond the medal tables to explore how international conflicts have played out at the Olympics, including the clash of rising America with the fading British Empire, the role of the Games for fascist Germany and Italy, and the cold war and the struggles of the post-colonial world for recognition. And he tells the extraordinary story of how women fought to be included on equal terms, how the Paralympics started in the wake of World War Two, and how the Olympics have reflected changing attitudes to race and ethnicity, from African 'savages' being pitted against American students in 1904 to the Black Power salute in 1968 and beyond.
PRAISE FOR THE GAME OF OUR LIVES
"Brilliantly incisive. Goldblatt is not merely the best football historian writing today, he is possibly the best there has ever been." Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
"Offers an enlightening, enriching experience. It is based on a formidable range of sources, personal observation and a pleasingly sardonic turn of phrase. ... Altogether this is an exceptional book" David Kynaston, Guardian
"A superb history of a sport and of a nation" Evening Standard
"Goldblatt is a trusted guide ... Rich with statistics, this is an admirably balanced account" Daily Mail
"Prodigious research and a fluent writing style ... this is a fine book which should have an appeal much beyond the game" Mihir Bose, Independent
"A salient overview of the past quarter-century" Times Literary Supplement
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Starting with the vigorous reboot of the modern Olympics by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the 19th century, Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) chronicles the largest sporting event from the ancient games to the highly organized current spectacles of competition. Goldblatt, who uses peerless research to support his smoothly academic narrative, touches on the history of the first Greek games in 776 BC, the revival of the event in Athens in 1859, and its decline until Coubertin's effort to restart the games. The narrative includes the struggle of women and minorities in the games, and hits its stride when it details the grandeur of Hitler's 1936 games and the boldness of two black athletes, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Goldblatt casts a wide net, covering the rise of TV as a global booster, the Cold War conflicts, the 1972 Munich massacre, the dominance of American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and the Russian doping scandal. Goldblatt takes a comprehensive, balanced look at the games that rates above its peers..
