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9781412856683

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Weisbord (emer., history, Rhode Island) tells a story familiar to scholars of sport and, in particular, Olympic history. Yet his book will be eye-opening to many readers who persist in believing that that the Olympic Games stand apart from politics. Weisbord focuses on how Olympic officials such as Avery Brundage flirted with the racist regimes of Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, consistently condemning their hypocrisy in claiming they were above politics while accusing their anti-racist opponents of letting politics taint the Olympic movement. In the process, Weisbord clearly demonstrates that the Olympics have been anything but apolitical... Weisbord's writing is accessible and his research, based on a combination of primary and secondary sources, thorough... Recommended. - J.S. Franks, Choice Magazine [T]he book serves as a selective history of international racism, as much as a history of racism and the Olympics. Weisbord artfully demonstrates the brutality of humanity and how it flows into sport, specifically the Olympic Games...well-written and extensively researched ... an excellent source of information for those interested in the history of racism in sport, specifically the Olympic Games. - Susan J. Rayl, Journal of Sport History

Professor Robert Weisbord's Racism and the Olympics is a must read for anyone interested in the politics of international sport. If you are not interested in that because you do not think there is politics in sport, then it is a must, must read because everyone should know the reality. As someone who was an actor himself in the struggle for rights for African-American athletes and in the anti-apartheid sports boycott of a racist South Africa, I can tell you that Professor Weisbord has captured the events with precision and gives us the context and a broad understanding of it all. As someone who has written about the Nazi Olympics, I can verify he has done the same for that shameful period, especially the role of IOC President Avery Brundage. This is an important book on an important subject. --Richard Lapchick, University of Central Florida; director, Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport; director, National Consortium for Academics and Sports

Weisbord (emer., history, Rhode Island) tells a story familiar to scholars of sport and, in particular, Olympic history. Yet his book will be eye-opening to many readers who persist in believing that that the Olympic Games stand apart from politics. Weisbord focuses on how Olympic officials such as Avery Brundage flirted with the racist regimes of Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, consistently condemning their hypocrisy in claiming they were above politics while accusing their anti-racist opponents of letting politics taint the Olympic movement. In the process, Weisbord clearly demonstrates that the Olympics have been anything but apolitical... Weisbord's writing is accessible and his research, based on a combination of primary and secondary sources, thorough... Recommended. - J.S. Franks, Choice Magazine

Author Information

Robert G. Weisbord is professor emeritus of history at the University of Rhode Island, USA. He is the author of many books and articles on black Americans, African history, and Jewish history.

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