- Paperback: 1171 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd; 2004 ed edition (29 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1854109901
- ISBN-13: 978-1854109903
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 17 x 0.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,302,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Perhaps the most indispensable book about the Games." "--The Wall Street Journal"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Between the covers of this encyclopaedic book should be everything anyone could possibly need or want to know about the modern Olympic Games. There is a complete statistical record of every event since the foundation of the modern Games in 1896 - whether it be one of the highlights such as the 100 metres or the marathon, newcomers like trampolining and tae kwon do, or a long-discontinued discipline such as Olympic cricket. But the book offers more than the bare facts and figures. David Wallechinsky has sieved through more than a century of Olympic history to assemble a wealth of thought-provoking analysis and a collection of anecdotes and dramas that range from the inspiring, through the comic to the bizarre. The topics range from issues such as drug use and corruption to long-forgotten characters such as the boy who was plucked from the streets of Paris to act as cox for two Dutch oarsmen in the paired-oar event in 1900 and, after steering them to victory and a Gold Medal, returned to obscurity, his name unknown to this day. This edition, fully updated to include the results of the Sydney Olympics and with hundreds of new anecdotes and observations added, aims to be a "bible" for sport fans following the drama of Athens 2004.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
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.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The ultimate.
If you are an athletics fan and an obsessive statistician particularly interested in the Olympics then look no further.
Published 17 months ago by Mendip Man
A Book about the 200 Metre Swimming Obstacle Race & More
It does exactly what it says on the cover, the complete guide. It would have been nice for them to wait until after the 2008 games, but it's still great. Read more
Published on 5 April 2010 by Ben Nicholson
Five Gold Rings
While this book is not just for completists, it does have them all - Spitz, Zatopek, Bubka, Jackson, Christie, Akabusi, Gorokhovskaya, Biondi, Boardman, Klammer, Garrett, Spyridon... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2009 by R. Viney
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Search Customer Discussions
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
