Customer Reviews

Faust's Gold: Inside The East German Doping Machine

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a physician whose contact with competitive sports is limited to that of a spectator, I read this book with only a vague notion of the doping of athletes and the use of performance-enhancing drugs. I considered these activities as a minor and peripheral part of the Olympic games, believing that the IOC could and did expose them before they might influence the outcome.
"Faust's Gold" shattered my naivete about the glory of international sports competition and revealed an unremovable stain on my otherwise noble profession by a few despicable East German doctors. Perhaps other readers were aware; I wasn't, and I wish everyone else will read this book before watching the next Olympics.
I admire Ungerleider's ability to treat a politically and emotionally charged subject in a scholarly manner while keeping the reader riveted from beginning to end. A must read.

Steven ungerleider has done an extrordinary job of researching a period of time during which drug abuse and cheating in international sport was unbelieved by sport officials, scientist and doctors through out the world (except those in East Germany and Russia). A small country of 17 million people conned the world into believing that there social-economic system could create superior athletes. Many of us, including the author suspected that drugs had to be part of their success. Olympic medals still hang in the halls and are tainted by this episode in sport history. Those that don't seem to appreciate, the problem of drug abuse, and don't lend support for the Olympic effort to rid this scurge on athleticism, will live to see history repeat itself. the shame is the fact that thousand of young developing athletes, emulating and looking up to those athletes will not be able to resist the temptation of drug use, if we continue to allow whatever it takes to win. And, medical consequences in the future will result. Thus far drug abuse abounds at all levels of sport. This book should be read and lauded as a reminder not to let drug abuse continue.
Rober O. Voy, M.D
Author - Drugs, Sport, and Politics (Leisure Press 1991)

Steven Ungerleider has brought the story of East Germany's state organized sports doping to the US. In under 200 pages one can understand the dark side of anabolic steroid abuse used to glorify East Germany's politically driven win at all costs attitude. This account foucuses mainly on the DDR female swim program and the trials recently held in Berlin to bring justice to those who suffered severe side effects resulting from the steroids they were given while training for Olympic glory.

This book a narrative which makes the consequences of steroid abuse and the DDR regime understandable and personal to most any reader. This is not a scholarly text heavy with references though the information appears to be accurate and eagerly pursued. It is good that this story has made it to the USA so that individually our coaches and athletes can look at their own practices some of which are equally horrific. There is a price for gaining medals at any cost and this book describes just that. Ex-athletes who have died or suffered tumors, deformities, liver damage and had children with major birth defects...

Everyone should know of this system, the good, the bad and the ugly and we all should consider it as sport moves onward. This book will not give detailed insight into the DDR sport system as it focuses on the doping but one can certainly gain an appreciation for the harm that the doping has caused to athletes, athletes who suffered and still suffer due to the state program.

An excellent book that could be a great topic of classroom debate on sport ethics and training.

The subject is fascinating, and the author's research is impressive, as he has followed the trials in Germany closely. However, his organization, and narrative skills are poor, and his lack of detailed knowledge about Olympic swimming and competitive swimming training hurts his book. For example, while he accepts uncritically statements that no one could train the way that the victims he describes does without steroid use. I'm not sure that is true, and the details he provided are flawed enough that I don't think he does either. More background, and better context would have made a better book. Its too bad--this is quite a good book, but with a better editor and a co-author with more information about Olympic swimming, it could have been a great book. The occaisional suggestion that Germans are looking for excuses by claiming everyone does it, deserves more attention. While defensive, and the abuses are not universal, an author with more background could have identified specific examples of Americans and non-Germans whose performances are highly suspect, or proven to be false. Of course, the criminality of dosing children with steroids when they could not possibly have consented is outrageous when compared to voluntary participation by individuals over the age of consent--whatever that is for illegal drug use. However, the author also accepted uncritically the statements of regret by the victims--a more probing questioning might have found individuals whose competitive zeal would have or did compel them into using the steroids willingly--which is a more complicated tale of whether a teenager hoping for Olympic Glory, fame and fortune could have been willing participants, even if misguided and later regretful. Once again, I cannot tell if he asked those questions or considered those issues, although they would have improved the book if he had.

Summary: east German female swimmers took steoids in 4-weekly cycles, stopping 14/30 days before competition to avoid detection. The state was completely aware and organised the doping program. Most of the doctors are unashamed of their actions.

That's it. The entire book has no greater commentary than this, and almost no comment from the athletes themselves. Any hint of detail that you hope might be explored is ignored.

Ultimately, extremely disappointing, and fails totally to live up to it's advertising blurb.

Fausts Gold documents what went on in eastern Germany with the "doping" of the athletes, in particular the female swimmers, with various roids and EPO. Its particuarly disturbing because in the case of the femlae swimmers, they were given to them without the girls knowledge of what they were taking, just being told they were "vitamins", and that some of the athletes were as young as 13 years old. Of course these women all developed serious health problems at a young age, had deformed children, and turned into freakish looking manly women. Of course its not like eastern Germany was the only country whose athletes were improving their performance through chemistry, and the truth is even with the multitudes of examples of people who destroyed their health for short term gain, doping is more rampant than ever now and there are still idiots that believe the side effects of steroids are miniscule.

The drug usage or brutal training methods that GDR sport system
applied are well reported in the media. Even from 1970s, some
atheletes who escaped to western countries revealed something.
After the collapse of Berlin Wall, more have been disclosed.
If all the previous reports in magazines and newspapers are
accumulated and surveyed, you will find how narrow this book
covers. It only focuses on a trial and those swimmers involved.
From other sources, I also know something more startling for
drug use, like swimmers are forced to take 11 shots in the butt
before they are allowed to go to the USA for a competition.
Some reports said that East European countries took
uninformed children for trials of the drugs in their summer
sport camps. I guess it also happened in GDR.
Some brutal methods beyond drugs are also taken, like applying
electric current for the muscle strength, or pumping air into
swimmer's rectum to increase the float. The author fails to
investigate these things and did not describe the whole
picture inside the GDR sport machine.

It is a masterful blend of high scholarship, investigative journalism, and riveting storytelling by the preeminent sports psychologist. I was spellbound and very disturbed by the personal tragedy, political intrigue, and corruption of the Olympic spirit running through this brilliant account of an astonishing sports scandal lasting decades and involving high officials of the East German government. After reading it, the reader's view of Olympic competition, or any other top-line sports competition, will never be the same.

The book entitled "Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine" is mostly about the trials against trainers and top directors of the former East German Sports Machinery.
It is well-known by those familiar with the history of olympic sports that, during the seventees and eightess, before the Berlin wall felt down, East Germany dominated some event competitions. In particular, the female German swimmers were recognized by their huge appearance, like football line-backers, among other comparissons.
The book digs in the system, how those athletes were induced to doping without their knowledge. It goes through the entire trial and at the same time describes the training process. Perhaps, since I would like to know more about their training methods, I miss a further discussion.
I think the book should also have the point of view of those who were not plaintiffs in the trials, i.e. those athletes who never failt a drug test and do not consider themselves as victims of the system. It could be good that the reader can create her own opinion.
I am convinced that the main purpose of the book is to show the damage of state-run doping programme on young athletes, and be aware of how harmfull it is for athletes involved in those practices. Something that has to be avoided at any cost.

A major disappointment as the story was repetitive and boring. Concentrated solely on the East German swimming teams with little original research. Should have been expanded to include other sports and especially the athlete's views on their participation in the doping. No one really believes these athletes were not in some way willing participants especially when the medals where being handed out, but the author does no investigative reporting but only rehashes various court documents and magazine articles.