Reviews
"Richard Hoffer has given us a wonderful cross-section of characters and a thorough portrayal of the controversial events surrounding the 1968 Olympics, so that we learn to appreciate these Mexico City Games in a way we never did before. It's sports history both at its finest and most fun." -- FRANK DEFORD, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SENIOR CONTRIBUTING WRITER, AND MEMBER OF THE HALL OF FAME OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPORTSCASTERS AND SPORTSWRITERS, "Richard Hoffer reminds us why sports matter, deftly returning to the roiling 1968 Olympics, when it was the athlete who often stood at the forefront of social change. Hoffer writes of the unexpected Dick Fosbury, the rocky origins of George Foreman, and the pride of John Carlos and Tommie Smith with equal power while foreshadowing the future: the emergence of the Kenyans as a dynasty and the nascent rise of performance-enhancing drugs as a vexing issue.Something in the Airreconnects sports to America, as it should be. It is a truly terrific book."-- HOWARD BRYANT, ESPN SENIOR WRITER AND AUTHOR OFJUICING THE GAME: DRUGS, POWER, AND THE FIGHT FOR THE SOUL OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, "Richard Hoffer has given us a wonderful cross-section of characters and a thorough portrayal of the controversial events surrounding the 1968 Olympics, so that we learn to appreciate these Mexico City Games in a way we never did before. It's sports history both at its finest andmostfun."-- FRANK DEFORD,SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDSENIOR CONTRIBUTING WRITER, AND MEMBER OF THE HALL OF FAME OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPORTSCASTERS AND SPORTSWRITERS, "Richard Hoffer reminds us why sports matter, deftly returning to the roiling 1968 Olympics, when it was the athlete who often stood at the forefront of social change. Hoffer writes of the unexpected Dick Fosbury, the rocky origins of George Foreman, and the pride of John Carlos and Tommie Smith with equal power while foreshadowing the future: the emergence of the Kenyans as a dynasty and the nascent rise of performance-enhancing drugs as a vexing issue. Something in the Air reconnects sports to America, as it should be. It is a truly terrific book." -- HOWARD BRYANT, ESPN SENIOR WRITER AND AUTHOR OF JUICING THE GAME: DRUGS, POWER, AND THE FIGHT FOR THE SOUL OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, "Suddenly, as if picked up by some gust, you're hurtled into the political, cultural and athletic tempest of 1968, and into the hearts and minds of the American Olympians in its swirl. That gust is Richard Hoffer's exhilarating prose. Just go with the wind."-- GARY SMITH,SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDSENIOR WRITER, "Suddenly, as if picked up by some gust, you're hurtled into the political, cultural and athletic tempest of 1968, and into the hearts and minds of the American Olympians in its swirl. That gust is Richard Hoffer's exhilarating prose. Just go with the wind." -- GARY SMITH, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SENIOR WRITER
