This book is about the first "modern" Olympics at the height of the Cold War, held in Rome in 1960. It shows how both the USSR and USA pledged to uphold the Olympic ideals, but behind the scenes engaged in no-holds-barred tactics to gains gold medals. The author covers many sports, some very popular and some not so well attended, and includes behind the scenes human interest stories. There is lots of background information on some of the athletes who became stars, such Wilma Rudolf and Mohammed Ali, making their stories more human and understandable. Some Olympic officials, such as Avery Brundage, are shown to be less than honorable and hypocritical. The author also includes what happened to many of the participants after the Olympics ended. Anyone with an interest in this era, for sports or history, would find this book interesting to read.Read full review
My son was a bronze medalist in the 2006 Winter Olympics (curling) and my husband was the team's coach. I bought them each a copy of this book because of their connection. My son has enjoyed reading it. My husband is getting his copy for his birthday in May.
This is an excellent book! It is written like a story and easy to follow yet has wonderfully descriptive historical references. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Olympics, 1960's or politics. Wonderful book, I can't put it down.
It is a very good book. It goes into great detail about the Rome olympics and all of the events happening at that time. It ranges from Russia's struggle with world power , to the turmoil of China and Taiwan, South Africa's problems and etc... This is a great read for any sports or history buff.
not as good as Clemente, Lombardi, or Clinton but head and shoulders above the rest of the biographers. This guy does his homework! Love it
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