- Hardcover: 680 pages
- Publisher: Viking Books (1 Jun 1988)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670821101
- ISBN-13: 978-0670821105
- Product Dimensions: 50.8 x 50.8 x 50.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,546,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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"Perhaps the most indispensable book about the Games." "--The Wall Street Journal"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Complete with final results for every Olympic event since 1896 and in-depth profiles of many sports legends, as well as dramatic accounts of breathtaking contests and humorous tales of forgotten heroes and heroines, here is a richly informative, one-of-a-kind book for everyone in the grip of the Olympic fever. 194 photos.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For many years David Wallechinsky has produced his quadrennial publication in the months prior to each summer Olympic Games. For anybody seriously interested in the Games it is quite simply invaluable. The 2004 edition - more than 200 pages longer than the 2000 version - contains comprehensive results for every summer Olympic final since 1896, including discontinued events, medal tables for each Games, and tables of Olympic trivia (most medals, oldest and youngest medallists etc). As if this wasn't enough, there is also a brief history of the Games (ancient and modern), articles about issues facing the Games (e.g. drugs and corruption) and, perhaps most interestingly of all, scores of fascinating anecdotes about Olympic competitors and controversies at the Games. Do you know which American swimmer was wined and dined by the Nazis after being expelled from her team for bad behaviour? Or which woman has won 18 Olympic medals? Mr Wallechinsky tells their stories and many, many, many more.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If, like me, you love the Olympic Games - I've been suffering withdrawal symptoms since the closing ceremony - this book is a must for you. Not only do you get the top eight finishers in every modern Olympic event from the first Games in 1896 up to Altanta 1996, you get thousands of the stories behind the events. Wallechinsky's tales of the winners - and plenty of the unlucky losers too - from a century of Olympics make fascinating reading. Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, Jesse Owens, Mark Spitz, the all-conquering (chemically enhanced) East German female swimmers of 1976 and 1980, Daley Thompson, Mary Decker's fateful collision with Zola Budd, the disgrace of Ben Johnson - their stories are all told, as are those of unsung athletes who embody the spirit of 'not for the winning but the taking part'. Did you know that croquet, golf and rugby were once Olympic sports? - It's true - read all about it here. The ugly face of Olympic politics gets a thorough examination too - Hitler's attempt to use the 1936 games for propaganda purposes, the Black Power demonstrators of 1968, the boycotts that blighted three successive Games. Wallechinsky tackles all these issues head on, plus the growing problem of drugs and the notorious corruption within the IOC that came to light a couple of years back. If it's about the Olympics, it's in this book.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
There isn't much to say about this - except for that at the time of writing, there may be a 2012 edition, which will update from the last 2004 Olympics which is covered in this particular edition.
A complete reference book, this gives every result of every event - current and discontinued - in Olympic history. Sensibly laid out, contained within are interesting descriptions and background reading on each event, with more time dedicated to notable results (for example, long passages on Ben Johnson's drug-fuelled 1988 100m sprint, and the 1996 'Magnificent Seven' female gymnastic team). These passages themselves are well-sourced and rich in insight.
Indispensable for Olympic fans and stats-buffs alike.
A complete reference book, this gives every result of every event - current and discontinued - in Olympic history. Sensibly laid out, contained within are interesting descriptions and background reading on each event, with more time dedicated to notable results (for example, long passages on Ben Johnson's drug-fuelled 1988 100m sprint, and the 1996 'Magnificent Seven' female gymnastic team). These passages themselves are well-sourced and rich in insight.
Indispensable for Olympic fans and stats-buffs alike.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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