Berlin Games: How Hitler Stole the Olympic Dream [Hardcover]

Praise for Guy Walter's previous books:

(. )

'Masterfully crafted and genuinely frightening' (Daily Express )

'Gripping'

(Daily Telegraph )

'A classic page-turner'

 

(The Times )

'Convincing and intelligent'

 

(Daily Mail )

'Gripping, ingenious ... compelling ... reminiscent of le Carre'

(Literary Review )

'Thoroughly readable'

(The Spectator )

'Extraordinary'

 

(Sunday Times )

Praise for Berlin Games

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'A comprehensive account of the events leading up to the games' (Observer )

‘Amongst several new titles commemorating the Berlin gathering, Walters’ is perhaps the definitive account, not only shattering well-entrenched myths… but shedding new light on the numerous dodgy deals struck by the Nazis to ensure the games went ahead as planned.’

(Good Book Guide )

‘The joy of this book will be the reliving of the 1936 summer Olympics, which Walters evokes with all the cut and dash of an accomplished sports writer’

(Literary Review )

‘It is a tribute to Guy Walters that the real story continues to shock 70 years on’

(Jewish Chronicle )

‘A panoramic perspective of the most controversial sporting event of the 20th century… fascinating’

(The Times )

‘A fascinating, broad canvas that brings into sharp focus the deadlier political games being played at the time’

(Metro )

‘A superb account of the hijacking of the Olympic Games by the Nazis’

(Nick Pitt, The Sunday Times )

A fascinating, broad canvas that brings into sharp focus the deadlier political games being played at the time.

Walters evokes the 1936 Olympics with all the cut and dash of an accomplished sports writer.

It is a tribute to Guy Walters that the real story continues to shock 70 years on.

This terrific account illuminates the process of appeasement on a
human scale...a gripping account of the games themselves.

A book of range and quality...

A complex and engaging account..demonstrating an impressive and
well-controlled sense of scope.

Walters has a newspaperman's nose for sniffing out extraordinary
stories to flesh out the political context of these outrageous Olympics.

The 1936 Olympic Games, held in Berlin, was the most political sporting encounter of the twentieth century. It was famed for its spirit of ferocious competition and the rise of legends such as Jesse Owens. But it also forecast the horrors of World War Two and served as a crucible for these dark forces.



The Berlin Games brought together athletes, politicians, socialites, diplomats, journalists, soldiers and artists from all over the world. It was the last time they would meet in peace. But hostilities bubbled below the surface as Hitler determined the Games would showcase Nazi prowess and athletes became pawns in his political game. From the fascinating set-piece of the Games, Guy Walters stretches story across a broad canvas, placing those crucial weeks in August in the wider context of the 30s.



With Second World War expertise and brilliant narrative flair, Guy Walters brings a wide cast of characters and complex political situation thrillingly alive. (20060703)

"A gripping account of what occurred inside and outside the notorious 1936 Olympic Stadium. Whether writing about the sporting events themselves,the high politics that threatened to envelop them, or the round of not so innocent parties and receptions, Walters brings erudition and wit to bear in a book that is always fascinating. Berlin Games is a major achievement that will appeal to people interested in sport as well as history and politics."
Michael Burleigh, prizewinning author of The Third Reich: A New History

Guy Walters is the author of three bestselling wartime thrillers The Traitor, The Leader and The Occupation, all of which have been published in USA, Holland, Japan and France. He recently co-edited The Voice for War an anthology of WW2 memoirs. He was a journalist on The Times for eight years and regularly contributes to the Daily Mail. He is married to the author Annabel Venning and they have one son. (20060707)