Hoffmann, Melody L. Bike Lanes Are White Lanes: Bicycle Advocacy and Urban Planning. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 210. Notes, bibliography, and index. $40.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Cat Ariail Although a slim book, Melody Hoffmann’s Bike Lanes are White Lanes is powerfully relevant. Hoffmann, a communication studies scholar (and avid bicyclist), critiques the…
By Cat Ariail After returning from the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sought feedback from athletes, presumably to use such information to improve logistics for future international competitions. Frances Kaszubski, a shot putter and discus thrower, took full advantage of this opportunity. She composed a ten-page letter, detailing the indignities…
Swanson, Ryan A. and David K. Wiggins, eds. Philly Sports: Teams, Games, and Athletes from Rocky’s Town. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2016. Pp. 330. Notes and index. $24.95 paper. Reviewed by Cat Ariail This past spring, the Philadelphia 76ers “won” the NBA Draft Lottery, earning the right to select Ben Simmons with the…
By Cat Ariail At the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will attempt to win her third consecutive gold medal in the 100 meters. Her countryman Usain Bolt also will have the opportunity to accomplish the feat in both the 100 and 200 meters. If they three-peat in the 100, Fraser-Pryce and Bolt…
As part of ESPN’s 30 for 30, O.J.: Made in America examines O.J. Simpson’s movement through the American cultural, political, and social landscape of the past five decades. The five-segment documentary explores the significances of race, gender, celebrity, and violence in Simpson’s football career and later criminal trial. The Sport in American History blog will…
Colás, Yago. Ball Don’t Lie!: Myth, Genealogy, and Invention in the Cultures of Basketball. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2016. Pp. 226. Notes and Index. $79.50 cloth, $19.95 paperback, $19.95 ebook. Reviewed by Cat Ariail The Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers Finals rematch has reinvigorated debates about whether Steph Curry has surpassed LeBron James as the best…
McNess, Matthew James. Sport Philosophy Now: The Culture of Sports after the Lance Armstrong Scandal. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015. Pp. 288. Bibliography, Index, and Notes. $80.00 hardback, $79.99 ebook. Reviewed by Cat Ariail Throughout the 2016 Democratic Party primary, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has railed against the institutions and policies that produce economic…
By Cat Ariail Throughout this season, the NBA commentariat has sought to find the best historical comparison for the league’s newly-minted, unanimous MVP, Steph Curry. While many see Curry’s game as the evolutionary combination of Pete Maravich and Steve Nash, former NBA greats Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have expressed their lack of astonishment, comparing Curry to…
By Cat Ariail Tomorrow night, the University of Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson will attempt to make college basketball history. With a victory over Syracuse, Stewart and Jefferson will become the first athletes to complete a national championship grand slam, winning a title each of their four years (when UCLA won ten of twelve men’s…
Austin, Brad. Democratic Sports: Men’s and Women’s College Athletics during the Great Depression. Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press, 2015. Pp. 268. Notes, essay on sources, and index. $29.95 paperback. Reviewed by Cat Ariail In recent years terms such as “fairness” and “justice” have dominated debates about college sports. While defenders of the status…
Sport in American History 