Windy City Wars [Hardcover]

Gerald R. Gems (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1997 | Series: American Sports History Series (Book 8)

Windy City Wars traces how the assimilation process of various ethnic groups in Chicago was facilitated by participation in sports from 1830-1940. Gems analyzes how factors of religion, social class, politics, and ethnicity played out in the context of the populations of Native Americans, African Americans, Anglos, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Europeans. Arguing that sport was (and is) one of the few areas of common interest in a city often torn by ethnic, racial, and political strife, Gems examines the process by which it came to serve as a new cultural bond among diverse groups. By 1940, the interest in sport and its American forms pervaded society, but held particular meaning for Chicago's population because of the special history and traditions of sport in the city. Windy City Wars is a fascinating case study of the development of a sports culture, its relationship to other forms of culture, and, ultimately, its important influence on the functioning of society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Gems synthesizes theories found in numerous monographs on American sport and delineates political as well as sociological ramifications in that complicated process...his style is direct and lively. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in America as a civilization, for it contains astonishing and sometimes controversial information about the American fascination with games. (Journal Of Illinois History )

The scope and breadth of material...is most impressive...he has related sport to other broader social developments and movements in Chicago...the most pleasing aspect...is the rich vein of material on sport in schools, parks and playgrounds, factories, neighborhoods, the street and semi-professional and amateur teams. (International Review For The Sociology Of Sport )

Perhaps the book's most significant contribution is the considerable attention it devotes to grassroots working-class sports. (The International Journal Of The History Of Sports )

Among the best works written on sport in America have been those that focus on particular cities...and now Gerald R. Gems' Windy City Wars: Labor, Leisure, and Sport in the Making of Chicago must be added to the list...does an excellent job of placing sporting developments in historical context...a fine book, and it deserves a wide readership. Chicago was an important cradle of American sporting practices, and Gems is a worthy chronicler of that history. (Journal Of Sport Historian )

About the Author

Gerald R. Gems (Ph.D., University of Maryland) is Associate Professor of Health and Physical Education at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. He has written numerous articles and reviews on sports related issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press (October 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810833050
• ISBN-13: 978-0810833050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,213,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A Chicagoan by birth, Jerry Gems has traveled throughout the world as a teacher, scholar, and adventurer. When not traveling he is a professor at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. His early life in Chicago remains the basis for his work in the analysis of the ethnic, racial, gender, and social class factors in American culture and his examination of the role of sport in society. He is a past president of the North American Society for Sport History and a member of the executive council for the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport.