Gymnastics and Politics: Niels Bukh and Male Aesthetics [Hardcover]

Hans Bonde (Author), Simon Frost (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2006

Incl. DVD with 131 film clips with speaks in Danish, English, and Japanese. This is the first international biography of Niels Bukh (1880-1950), the charismatic founder of the special Danish school of modern gymnastics. His team of young elite gymnasts traveled around the world demonstrating his gymnastics, and in Japan his school is still attracting thousands of pupils. Bukh's private life and his fascination with the German Nazi party makes him a very controversial figure even fifty years after his death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As well as a fine story about a complex person who has played such an important role both politically and in relation to the development of gymnastics, Bonde's book includes numerous photographs of great interest plus a bonus DVD, making it an invaluable resource for historians and all who recognise the links between sport and politics as worthy of exploration." -- Dr. Wendy Varney, School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication, University of Wollongong, Australia. "This excellent biography of the famous Danish gymnastics educator Niels Bukh covers his early life, the development of his gymnastics folk high school at Ollerup and, especially, the national and international tours and Olympics participation of his school s elite gymnastic squads - exposure that led to world recognition of his work [...] Bonde s work is well documented with archival and secondary material and includes many interviews with Bukhs former students and colleagues. The accompanying DVD, which closely follows the book s contents, contains 131 film sequences and still pictures with narration in Danish, English and Japanese. Summing up: Recommmended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty." - R. McGehee, Concordia University at Austin, i CHOICE - Current Reviews for Academic Libraries "In taking on this ambitious story, Bonde opens up a plethora of questions not only about the relationship between sport and politics, but about cults, heroism, the social construction of masculinity, conformity and image. It is a book that tells much about the tensions and ideological struggles of the war period in Denmark in particular, but it also throws light on issues that are insightful across national boundaries. [...] As well as a fine story about a complex person who has played such an important role both politically and in relation to the development of gymnastics, Bonde's book includes numerous photographs of great interest plus a bonus DVD, making it an invaluable resource for historians and all who recognise the links between sport and politics as worthy of exploration." - Wendy Varney, Idrotsforum.org

About the Author

Dr Hans Bonde is professor at the Institute of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press; Har/DVD edition (August 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8772898275
• ISBN-13: 978-8772898278
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,380,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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