Overview

A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year The Games is best-selling sportswriter David Goldblatt’s sweeping, definitive history of the modern Olympics. Goldblatt brilliantly traces their history from the reinvention of the Games in Athens in 1896 to Rio in 2016, revealing how the Olympics developed into a global colossus and highlighting how they have been buffeted by (and affected by) domestic and international conflicts. Along the way, Goldblatt reveals the origins of beloved Olympic traditions (winners’ medals, the torch relay, the eternal flame) and popular events (gymnastics, alpine skiing, the marathon). And he delivers memorable portraits of Olympic icons from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comaneci, the Dream Team to Usain Bolt.

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9780393355512

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Reviews

[The Games] makes a significant contribution to sports history. -- Booklist A magisterial history of the Olympics . . . chronicling classic moments of sporting achievements as well as the Games' significance in international conflicts. -- Publishers Weekly Highly recommended. . . . [E]xplores the social and political history of the Olympic Games, from Pierre de Coubertin's neo-Hellenic vision as founder of the IOC to the expensive spectacles of the twenty-first century. -- Library Journal (starred review) A tour de force history of the Olympics in romanticized myth and political reality. . . . Gracefully written and compellingly argued, this is one of the best books of the year and one of the best sports books ever written. -- Kirkus (starred review) [An] outstanding book. . . . Illuminating, erudite, fair-minded and readable. -- Matthew Engel - Financial Times [A] bracingly debunking history. . . . Goldblatt writes about [the Olympics] with all his usual intelligence and social insight. -- David Runciman - Guardian Goldblatt has a particular eye for how the gung-ho competitiveness of Americans shaped international sport. -- Aram Goudsouzian - Washington Post A people's history of the Olympics. . . . [Goldblatt] has taken on a challenge worthy of a marathoner. -- Mary Pilon - New York Times Book Review

Fascinating.--Peter Cowie [A] bracingly debunking history.--David Runciman Elegant and ambitious. [An] excellent, pacy, anecdote-studded history of the modern Games.--Giles Smith A timely and impressively expansive view of arguably the world's most beloved sporting event.... [Goldblatt] has created the definitive book on the Olympics, which should be on the reading list of anyone with a passion for learning the full story of the Olympic games.--Russell P. Gantos Tak[es] readers through decades of iconic athleticism, complicated global politics, and increasing commercialism--all of which go into making the Olympic games what they are today. [A] bracing corrective... [that] retains space for the extraordinary and inspirational in the arena.--David Horspool Nuanced.... [W]ry, philosophical.--Aram Goudsouzian A tour of world history through the lens of the Olympic Games.... Goldblatt's account of the history of performance-enhancing drugs is particularly striking.--Charlie Goffen Goldblatt is a wise, thoughtful, sometimes caustic observer.-- Best Books of 2016

Author Information

David Goldblatt is the author of three acclaimed books about soccer, including the international bestseller The Ball Is Round. His podcast, Game of Our Lives, has recently been nominated for a Webby Award. He teaches at Pitzer College in Los Angeles and lives in Bristol, England.

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