Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics [Paperback]

This book is about Jesse Owens indeed but I find as an extremely fascinating detail about this book is that their was one, Eulace Peacock, part-Cherokee who was the one man who seemed to be able to equal Jesse Owens in the USA in trying out for the Olympics and in collegiate track and field events and Peacock missed out on the Olympics due to a torn hamstring, how strange fate can be, that these two men were so close to each other's ability, if not for that torn hamstring, we could be talking about Eulace Peacock along with Jesse Owens in regards to the 1936 Olympics, as it is, Peacock is more of a footnote in US Track and Field history although he actually defeated Jesse Owens in 7 out of 10 100 yard dashes between the two.

Otherwise, one character in the book briefly mentioned is a Dr. Wilhelm Gustloff. Not mentioned in the book, is that a Ship was named after him and that ship sunk in 1945 to be the largest Maritime disaster ever recorded, it may have been a hospital ship in fact. Of course, Gustloff was associated with the Nazi party.

All of this might go to say, this book is more than about Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics, Luz Long being another part of the whole story, a German Long jumper who in fact, was Owens competitor but selflessly aided Owens with advice that may have helped Owens to another gold medal. Long seems to be a true hero who became a fatality during World War II.

Yes, I've read the other reviews and perhaps Schaap has interjected some personal views but I'd still grade this the full five stars for telling us this vibrant story. The build up is fascinating and concise in telling of some of Owens' early life and the build up of the Olympics. Too, I'm happy that Schaap relates to us information about the Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage and the AAU. Clearly, we frown upon people saying Olympics should be boycotted from time to time such as to our efforts in China or the 1980 games. But Schaap and other authors point out information that I believe shows that some of our American Olympic officials may not be fair as well. One example was the treatment of Jim Thorpe and there are many others throughout the years. Schaap gives press accounts from back then and then, to the year 2008: I will read Epoch Times on the internet in covering the Beijing Olympics and I see parallels though in this case, attending the Olympics seems to have been the best thing to do. As for the 1936 question, maybe we should have passed on those Olympics that the Nazis hosted; but from the book, it seems the German public were truly enamored with Owens, the world's greatest athlete.

Lastly, the book does build up to the Olympics, maybe it is like the first 2/3rds of the book is the build up and then once in Berlin, the book seems to go at a very fast pace, understandably but it does cover Jesse Owens and what a sprinter, I appreciate him even more after this book as opposed to the modern sprinters we might have seen in Beijing or Athens or Sydney in recent years. On the back of the book is the quote: "You think you know about Jesse Owens, you think you know the whole story about the '36 Olympics. Think again"- Mike Lupica. To this, I only thought, I wouldn't claim to know about those '36 Olympics barely an iota. All we hear about it seems is how Jesse won those gold medals back then. This book informs us about that event extremely well.

Just to add slightly to this review, Great Britain is in fact mentioned in the book a few times as the winter games are briefly covered where Team GB won the ice hockey competition though not specifically mentioned and also there reception in Berlin at the opening games ceremony when all of the teams march. In fact, I believe Jesse found himself short of a pair of kangaroo leather running shoes in Germany and so they first opted to try to get some purchased and sent over from Great Britain, so this book should be of interest to readers over there as well.

I bought this book not knowing a huge amount about Jesse Owens; only the staple information that he won four gold medals in 1936 and the consequent impact of his victory in the face of Hitler's ideals. Aside from other bits of information that, among other sources, I read in Carl Lewis' book 'Inside Track', that was about all I knew of this sporting legend.

Jeremy Schaap's book is a good balance of the travails of Jesse Owens leading up to the 1936 games; including his then-rivals in the sprints/broad jump (long jump), his coaching, and development as an athletic star and bona fide celebrity despite the racial prejudice which infested the USA at the time. This is intertwined with the grandiose ambitions of Hitler and his associates in stamping their authority in the games, and their intention to do so long after 1936.

The book gives a very good insight into the double standards of the American government and sporting bodies at the time, particularly in the middle of the book where we learn the potential US boycott of the 1936 games was a very real possibility.

Whilst the book doesn't exactly give much personal opinion on Owens, it does give real depth to the impact of both his participation and his subsequent achievements. Schaap, on the whole, gives a very good balance to all aspects of the Owens' story, without over-indulging either the athlete or the ideals.

I personally enjoyed the book immensely; however, potential buyers should be aware that more politics and historical social commentary is present than in the vast majority of books on notable sportspeople. If you don't mind the frequent history lessons - which do serve to put Owens' games in context - then I would recommend this book without reservation. Those only interested in tales of sporting prowess may find difficulty digesting much of this work.

This book was well researched and readable, providing a sporting and historical context to this most famous of Olympic victories. The book finished rather suddenly and anti-climatically for my personal taste, but I accept the focus of the subject matter was narrow