Pistol shooting, rope climbing, tug-of-war – thus began the modern revival of the Olympic games at the end of the 19th century. The roster of sports alone shows how firmly Baron Coubertin’s dream was rooted in the culture of the time, and illustrates why any serious history of the Olympics must be told as a cultural history. In this book, Klaus Zeyringer does exactly that: from the Games’ idealistic beginnings to today’s mass spectacle, he places the incarnations of the ‘Olympic Idea’ in their proper social and cultural context. All the while, he shows us the entire richness and bizarreness of the world of Olympic sports. The amusing details, revealing anecdotes, and a wide historical perspective Zeyringer provides make this book a fascinating, joyous read.
The definitive biography of the greatest sports event of all time
