The Games

Starred review from August 15, 2016
Starting with the vigorous reboot of the modern Olympics by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the 19th century, Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) chronicles the largest sporting event from the ancient games to the highly organized current spectacles of competition. Goldblatt, who uses peerless research to support his smoothly academic narrative, touches on the history of the first Greek games in 776 BC, the revival of the event in Athens in 1859, and its decline until Coubertin's effort to restart the games. The narrative includes the struggle of women and minorities in the games, and hits its stride when it details the grandeur of Hitler's 1936 games and the boldness of two black athletes, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Goldblatt casts a wide net, covering the rise of TV as a global booster, the Cold War conflicts, the 1972 Munich massacre, the dominance of American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and the Russian doping scandal. Goldblatt takes a comprehensive, balanced look at the games that rates above its peers..

Starred review from July 1, 2016
A tour de force history of the Olympics in romanticized myth and politicized reality.As thousands of athletes and hundreds of thousands of spectators and tourists prepare to descend on Brazil for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games this summer, sports fans are getting a daily dose of information about potentially toxic waters clogged with human waste and tales of how facilities will not be completed on time. This all takes place against a backdrop of political and economic chaos in Brazil. There is nothing new in this intersection of Olympic planning gone awry and controversial political machinations in host countries. Indeed, as Goldblatt (The Game of Our Lives: The English Premier League and the Making of Modern Britain, 2014, etc.) shows in this fantastic history of the Olympics, far more rare were the instances of smooth planning and a lack of political chaos. The author traces the games back to their Hellenic roots, but he also places them in the context of the myths that emerged around them in the 19th century, as various efforts to revive Olympic-style games picked up pace, finally gaining a foothold with French aristocrat Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a self-mythologizing romantic who laid the foundation for many of the Olympic ideals that in most cases embody little more than invented traditions. Goldblatt, best known for his unparalleled books on soccer, has a fine grip on sports in general and an even better understanding of the politics of sport. He shows the myriad ways in which the attempts by International Olympic Committee power brokers to separate sport from politics were themselves deeply entrenched in conservative political mindsets, and he reveals the barrenness of most demands that participating athletes be pure amateurs. Gracefully written and compellingly argued, this is one of the best books of the year and one of the best sports books ever written.

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August 1, 2016
British sports journalist Goldblatt tackles the goliath of sporting events in this history of the Olympics, covering the Games from the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896 through the twenty-first century to the troubled 2016 Summer Games in Rio. We learn that there is really nothing unusual about the Rio situation;there are only a few examples throughout the modern era when the Olympic Games have been crisis-free. Goldblatt's well-documented study explores the successes and challenges of each Olympics, including the roles of international conflicts, the struggles of female athletes for inclusion, and the introduction of competition for wounded veterans following WWII (now evolved into the Paralympic Games). Goldblatt also covers the evolution of the Games as media spectacle, including the now-standard (and often over-the-top) theatrical productions that complement the competition. Scholarly in content but readable, this volume makes a significant contribution to sports history. Recommended for Olympics fans looking to gain a broad perspective on a sporting event the captures the imagination of the world every two years.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016

Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) explores the social and political history of the Olympic Games, from Pierre de Coubertin's neo-Hellenic vision as founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the expensive spectacles of the 21st century. The bourgeois, white male origins of the games slowly transformed with the emergence of social movements, postcolonial nations, and communism; impacting medal winners and the composition of the IOC. From the 1972 Munich massacre to Jimmy Carter's failed boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the games have become a political stage for organizations, nations, and athletes. Winning sometimes comes at the price of censorship, repression, and even death as witnessed in Mexico's 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. Goldblatt does not shy away from past and ongoing controversies: doping, amateurism vs. professionalism, and corruption within the IOC. He is highly critical of the event's rising costs ($51 billion for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) and their economic strain on host cities and nations, noting that TV and the influence of corporate sponsors have led to increased popularity. VERDICT Highly recommended for all public libraries, this work will appeal to readers interested in the Olympics, the sociology of sport, and modern history.--Chris Wilkes, Tazewell Cty. P.L., VA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2016

Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) explores the social and political history of the Olympic Games, from Pierre de Coubertin's neo-Hellenic vision as founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the expensive spectacles of the 21st century. The bourgeois, white male origins of the games slowly transformed with the emergence of social movements, postcolonial nations, and communism; impacting medal winners and the composition of the IOC. From the 1972 Munich massacre to Jimmy Carter's failed boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the games have become a political stage for organizations, nations, and athletes. Winning sometimes comes at the price of censorship, repression, and even death as witnessed in Mexico's 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. Goldblatt does not shy away from past and ongoing controversies: doping, amateurism vs. professionalism, and corruption within the IOC. He is highly critical of the event's rising costs ($51 billion for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) and their economic strain on host cities and nations, noting that TV and the influence of corporate sponsors have led to increased popularity. VERDICT Highly recommended for all public libraries, this work will appeal to readers interested in the Olympics, the sociology of sport, and modern history.--Chris Wilkes, Tazewell Cty. P.L., VA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016

Noted sportswriter Goldblatt, who authored The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Soccer, here leaps to a much bigger arena. He moves from the founding of the contemporary Olympics in 1896 Athens through the emergence of stars like Jesse Owens, Nadia Comaneci, and Usain Bolt; political ramifications during the Fascist years, the Cold War, and the postcolonial era; and the efforts of women to compete on equal terms with men.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.