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9781467761482

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The problem of performance-enhancing drugs often finds its way onto national news as well as inside high-school locker rooms. Monitoring the use of such chemicals has become a complicated dance among scientists, physicians, coaches, law enforcement, and athletes. This book addresses the issue on all levels, including a brief history of doping, beginning in the mid-twentieth century when performance-enhancing drugs were first formulated in laboratories. It also explores why doping can be so difficult to detect and monitor. While much focus is given to use on a professional level and high-profile doping scandals, the book does not shy away from the appeal of performance-enhancing drugs for school-age athletes, and their impact on young users. The price of success for an athlete's health, reputation, and integrity provides a comprehensive argument for deterrence. Building on the notion that misinformation is the enemy of prevention, the book seeks to make a strong case against doping through frank discussion and honest answers to sticky questions. --Booklist --Journal American sportswriter Grantland Rice famously said, 'It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game, ' but winning is all that matters in contemporary sports, and athletes under tremendous pressure to find any competitive edge frequently turn to performance-enhancing drugs. McPherson notes that ingesting substances for a competitive edge is an old practice. Ancient Greek athletes consumed bull and sheep testicles for their large amounts of testosterone. Roman gladiators used stimulants to maintain stamina and increase strength. The use of PEDs became more common and widespread with the introduction of anabolic steroids. In the latter half of the 20th century, the intense pressure to win and high financial stakes increasingly drove athletes to doping of various kinds to improve performance at the risk of health and career. McPherson discusses how such athletes as Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, and Alex Rodriguez have seen their images tarnished and careers ruined in doping scandals. A complex, shadowy world of athletes who dope, the people and organizations that help them, and the scientists and officials committed to stopping them is revealed. Her writing is brisk, moving through the history anecdote by anecdote in an efficient review. McPherson's concise, informative overview offers a solid introduction to the issue of doping in the high-stakes world of big-time sports. --Kirkus Reviews --Journal

Author Information

Stephanie Sammartino McPherson wrote her first children's story in college. She enjoyed the process so much that she's never stopped writing. A former teacher and freelance newspaper writer, she has written more than thirty books and numerous magazine stories. Her recent books include Hothouse Earth: The Climate Crisis and the Importance of Carbon Neutrality, winner of the Green Earth Book Award for young adult nonfiction, and Breakthrough: Katalin Karikó and the mRNA Vaccine. Stephanie and her husband, Richard, live in Virginia.

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