Customer Reviews

The Olympics: A HISTORY OF THE MODERN GAMES (2D ED.) (Illinois History of Sports)

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This is a frustrating book. On one hand, there is a lot of good detail and information on the inception and growth of the modern Olympic games. On the other, just when you think Guttmann is going to delve deeper into a topic he simply skips right on by and gives a quick recap of the medal winners in a given year. He barely even mentions the travesty of 1972 in Munich, and makes only passing mentions of some of the iconic moments of the last 50 years. Instead, he seems much more concerned with the behind the scenes wrangling amongst the various members of the IOC. Indeed, the subtitle of the book should be "A history of the IOC leadership."

Thus, a definitive history of the Olympic games remains to be written. Although the blurbs on the back claim this is a landmark in social and political history, it is anything but. Babe Didrickson, Billy Mills, etc are mentioned, but that's about it. Even his discussion of South Africa and the associated boycotts related to Apartheid are fractured and incomplete.

It's worth a read...but I wish I had visited the library for this one rather than spent my money on it. I recommend you do the same.