From Booklist
This is a new title in the Macmillan Profiles series, aimed at middle- and high-school students. All of the volumes in the series feature the same user-friendly elements: two- to three-page articles, sidebars, time lines, quotes, photographs, glossaries, and lists of additional resources readily available in school and public collections. This current offering profiles 193 athletes who excel in spring and summer sports (auto and horse racing, baseball, bicycling, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and women's basketball). Although the majority of the entries are new, 37 have been adapted from other sources, such as Macmillan's Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History (1996) and Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives [RBB Ja 1 & 15 99], as well as other Macmillan Profiles titles. The broad scope covers an international cast (Chinese diver Fu Mingxia, Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam) and highlights emerging stars (cyclist Lance Armstrong, boxer Christy Martin, basketball star Nykesha Sales) as well as established icons (Muhammad Ali, Eddie Arcaro, Wilma Rudolph, Sam Snead). Subjects include 132 men, 57 women, and 4 horses: Citation, Man o'War, Seattle Slew, and Secretariat. Special sidebar articles detail historical events, such as labor strikes and the Olympic massacre of 1972 and bombing of 1996, as well as significant organizations like the Ladies Professional Golf Association and competitions like horse racing's Triple Crown. A comprehensive index completes the volume. Lists of entrants sorted by nationality or arranged chronologically would be helpful. The title is misleading in that none of the articles are devoted to coaches. A number of baseball managers are profiled, as is one horse trainer (D. Wayne Lukas). However, some seemingly obvious choices--such as gymnastic great Bela Karolyi and track coach Bob Kersee--are not treated aside from brief mentions in entries for their proteges. Individual athlete articles indicate that a number of players turned to coaching at some point in their careers, but this is usually treated as a biographical milestone, with no analysis of coaching philosophy or technique. Some entrants, such as sportscaster Mel Allen and baseball executive Branch Rickey, fall in neither the athlete nor the coach category. The preface emphasizes that candidates were chosen based on their "hard work and talent" in the hopes that "students will be drawn to the focused, determined nature of these characters." This being the case, some might question the inclusion of Pete Rose and Mike Tyson. It is difficult to argue with the editors' observation: "Sports have become a pivotal part of American and world culture." Sports and athletes are perennially popular research topics for students, and most public and school collections are always on the lookout for reliable sources. Because of its accessibility and high standards of scholarship, Athletes and Coaches of Summer is recommended for any school or public library collection that serves a sports-minded audience. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
