Mark Spitz

August 15, 2008
It's been 36 years since Mark Spitz won a record seven gold medals in swimming during the tragic 1972 Munich Olympics, and he remains a giant figure in the history of both competitive swimming and the Olympics. The iconic photograph of Spitz wearing his swimsuit and all seven medals was the best-selling poster of a sports figure until the late 1970s. Foster, the current president of United States Aquatic Sports and a former member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, takes the reader back to Spitz's turbulent youth, when he was seen by many as an arrogant jerk. Foster's balanced and meticulous retelling of Spitz's challenges, struggles, and triumphs is informed by extensive interviews with Spitz as well as his family, coaches, and competitors. Furthermore, the fine points of swim racing are discussed here, at times in overwhelming detail. While swimming does not generally garner the interest that other sports do, Spitz is perhaps the finest swimmer of all time, and his ongoing life is well recounted here. Recommended for collections focused on swimming or the Olympics.John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2008
Its hard to imagine that in the 36 years sincethe 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Mark Spitz has not put his life into words. Thats partly what makes this in-depth look at the swimmer so intriguing. Foster, himself a former U.S. Olympic Committee member, tells of Spitzs humble beginnings, how a Jewish kid of first-generation Americans (hisfather was raised on a California chicken farm) got his first taste of championship swimming at the local YMCA and how his early development came under the tutelage of Sherm Chavoor, an ambitious businessman who also became a legendary swim coach. Many readers might not even realize that Spitz was in the 1968 Olympics, too, where he won onlyfour medals. After that, he surprised all his coaches by going to college (and excelling) at Indiana University. With his education out of the way, Spitz became unstoppable on the world swimming stage, culminating inseven gold medals andseven world records in Munich. Still an amazing story, even after all these years, and a good choice for any sports collection, especially in an Olympic year.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)