With a thorough exploration of the political climate of the time and the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, this book describes the repercussions of Jimmy Carter’s American boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Despite missing the games they had trained relentlessly to compete in, many U.S. athletes went on to achieve remarkable successes in sports and overcame the bitter disappointment of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity dashed by geopolitics.
Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games
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"The strength of Boycott is in the Caraccioli brothers' methodical presentation of the complicated events leading up to boycott." —Wall Street Journal
"The book also serves as a poignant tribute to hundreds of American athletes caught in the middle of a geopolitical chess match between superpowers." —Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
"Uniquely and poignantly captures the impact of American athletes denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. This book . . . becomes their belated, but deserved, Olympic salute." —Dick Enberg, CBS Sports
"It is reassuring that the Caracciolis decided to tackle this story about America and American athletes in a challenging time." —Anita DeFrantz, International Olympic Committee
"In a brief foreword, former Vice President Walter Mondale apologizes to all athletes denied the opportunity to compete in the 1980 Olympics; it's the first of Boycott's many poignant moments." —Athletic Business
About the Author
Tom Caraccioli is the president of Lions Roar, LLC, a communications and public relations firm, and a former executive for NBC and USA networks. Jerry Caraccioli is a television network executive in the CBS sports division. They are the coauthors of Striking Silver: The Untold Story of America's Forgotten Hockey Team.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Olympics, Politics, and the Summer of 1980,
By
This review is from: Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (Hardcover)
Competing in the Olympics is the opportunity of a lifetime. It is something for which many promising athletes train and prepare for a good deal of their young lives. But back in 1980, the Olympic hopes of the entire United States Summer Games team were dashed when former president Carter made the decision to withdraw, a direct response in protest to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Hopes of Olympic glory were, for many, an impossible dream since there was little or no chance to ever compete again.
Boycott is a book written about some of the athletes who lost their once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in the Olympics and wear the coveted Olympic medals. It was a very tough decision, and the politics of the situation are presented several times in the book. Former president Carter felt it was the right thing to do and he had the support of most of the U.S. Congress, as well as the support of a large percentage of the population. But the Olympic hopefuls on the United States team felt otherwise. Many had trained and fought hard for many years to qualify for the Olympics, only to see their Olympic dreams go up in smoke, and all because of politics. Eighteen different athletes are profiled in this book and each has his/her own story to share, expressing their feelings both then and now. For some, the feelings of bitterness were very real back in 1980 and they were extremely angry at Carter for allowing politics to influence sports. The Olympics were supposed to be free from political influence and while politics certainly played a role in past Olympic events, these athletes did not want to see history repeat itself. They knew they would likely never get another chance to compete in the Summer games, and many voice the bitterness they felt at the time- and still feel today- when they think about this decision and the profound impact it has had on their lives. While most of the 1980 Summer Game Olympic athletes were very unhappy, there were those who cared less than others. For some, it wasn't the end of a career in sports so it wasn't that important. They still had a promising professional career just ahead. For others, the boycott was grudgingly accepted because, as much as they wanted to compete, they felt the decision was in the best interests of the United States. Others backed Carter's decision because they felt that it was only right to support their president and respect his decision. The fact that this book includes opinions from athletes whose opinions vary so much is one of its strongest points. The authors obviously did not intend to use this book to make a political statement. If they did, they would have concentrated only on the athletes who were angry; only those who were accepting of the decision; only those who were indifferent; etc. Instead, the book presents viewpoints from multiple angles. The feelings presented by these eighteen athletes are pretty clear, but they vary from person to person and about the only emotion they all share in common is that of disappointment. Between the profiles of the selected athletes, Boycott includes a rundown of the political facts as they have been recorded, from the initial invasion of Afghanistan to the attempted lawsuit brought on by the athletes against the government and the Olympic committee. Former Vice- President Mondale wrote the preface to this book, but one thing missing from this book is a response from former President Carter himself. We know that Carter would still back his decision, but it would have been interesting to hear a response from Carter about his decision from 1980 and how he feels about it now. Overall, Boycott is a very good book about the withdraw of the United States athletic team from the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games. It offers a good summary of the political situation, varying opinions from the selected group of eighteen athletes, and a preface from former vice president Mondale. The book steers clear of opinion and lets the athletes speak for themselves; expressing their feelings of bitterness, depression, indifference, and sometimes anger toward the politicians in Washington who stole their once in a lifetime opportunity.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
When The Athletes Were Left With Peanut Shells,
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This review is from: Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (Hardcover)
With impeccable research - unearthing documents from the archives of the former Soviet Union and material from the U.S. Department of State - along with numerous interviews with athletes, authors Tom and Jerry Caraccioli chronicle the decision by President Jimmy Carter to spearhead the successful drive to convince the United States Olympic Committee to boycott the 1980 Moscow Summer Games.
With the backdrop of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the book briskly moves along the parallel lanes of the politics in sports and the politics within the Cold War, which ultimately merged on the Olympic stage. Now - as then - Vice President Walter F. Mondale, through his Foreword and quotes within the text, carries the heavy load of explaining the administration's position. But the explanations - including denials on a number of allegations, including that the administration pressured USOC sponsors to support the boycott - continue to ring hollow for many athletes nearly 30 years later. "Everything I worked for all those years was taken away by a peanut farmer they called they president," says wrestler Gene Mills. The Appendix is a fitting tribute to the athletes; the roster of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, minus the asterisks - Did Not Compete - that haunt their official U.S. Olympic biographies. The book ultimately is a belated salute to athletes who have an * where achievement through competition should have been celebrated.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nicely done study of politics, athletes, and broken dreams,
By
This review is from: Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (Hardcover)
"Boycott" is a comprehensive look at both the circumstances of the United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow and some of the athletes that were affected by the boycott. The book has nine chapters that explain the events leading up to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; the White House's decision to boycott the Olympics; the Olympic Committee's decision to go along with the boycott; a lawsuit filed by some of the Olympians; the result of the Olympic games; messages from some of the Olympians to Jimmy Carter; and a complete list of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Scattered throughout the book are stories of 18 of the athletes that made the Olympic team only to see their dreams shattered by the boycott.
"Boycott" is a nicely done, evenhanded look at the events and people involved in the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The book provides both sides of the story (Walter Mondale wrote the forward). The reasons for the boycott and the subsequent lawsuit are certainly interesting to read about, as was the ceremony the White House held as a sort of consolation prize for the athletes. The epilogue about the efforts to have the medals given to the athletes at the ceremony declared Congressional Gold Medals is also very interesting. While the political aspects were interesting to read, my favorite parts of the book were the athletes' stories. Authors Tom and Jerry Caraccioli focus on athletes from all different sports for whom the 1980 Olympics was their last chance of making an Olympic team. Outside of Isiah Thomas, most of the athletes are unknown today and you can't help wonder how performing in the Olympics would have changed their lives (this is particularly true in the case of Ron Galimore, the first African-American to make a U.S. Olympics gymnastics team). It is interesting not only to read the athletes reactions to the boycott (some are still bitter, some were but aren't any more, and some never were) but how they became Olympians in the first place. Each story is equally compelling. "Boycott" is a well-done look at politics, athletes, and broken dreams.
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