Davis, David. Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. 34 Photographs, Notes, Bibliography, and Index. Pp. 256. $26.95 hardback. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper Along the Waikiki beachfront in Honolulu stands a statue of local hero Duke Kahanamoku. The bare-chested, swim-trunk clad, bronze figure is positioned in front…
Thomas, Damion L. Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2012. 232 pp. $60.00 cloth. Reviewed by Andrew D. Linden In Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics, Damion L. Thomas analyzes the US government’s use of African American athletes as tools in the ideological battle between American…
Lamb, Chris, ed. From Jack Johnson to LeBron James: Sports, Media, and the Color Line. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. 648 pp. $35.00 paperback. Reviewed by Kate Aguilar On January 7, 2016, ESPN radio host Dan Le Batard interviewed hip hop artist, author, and public speaker Chuck D, former leader of the rap group…
Hayes, Kevin J. The Two-Wheeled World of George B. Thayer. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. Pp. xviii+257. Introduction, notes, bibliography, and index. Hardcover: $28.95 Reviewed by Ari de Wilde In his book, The Two-Wheeled World of George B. Thayer, Kevin J. Hayes explores the cycling experience of Connecticut bicycle tourist, George B. Thayer. From…
Henne, Kathryn E. Testing for Athlete Citizenship: Regulating Doping and Sex in Sport. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2015. Appendix, notes, bibliography, and index. $90 clothback. $28.95 paperback, web PDF, and epub. Reviewed by Cat Ariail In my last blog post, I used the story of Carlota Gooden to introduce the possibility of athletic…
Wolff, Alexander. The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2015. Pp. 181. Notes, timeline, selected bibliography, and index. $40 clothback. Reviewed by Alexander Hyres On Christmas Day, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, and Chris Paul spoke out against gun violence in the United States. In a series of three-minute…
Marc, David. Leveling the Playing Field: The Story of the Syracuse 8. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2015. 344 pages, 25 illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth $39.95. Reviewed by Matt Follett Leveling the Playing Field: The Story of the Syracuse 8 tells the story of how African American football players at Syracuse University protested discrimination in the…
Reck, Gregory G., and Bruce Allen Dick. American Soccer: History, Culture, Class. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2015. Pp. 229 + x. Bibliography and Notes. $29.95 paperback. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper On December 6, the Portland Timbers squared off against the Columbus Crew in the 2015 MLS Cup. Although the match was played…
Guiliano, Jennifer. Indian Spectacle: College Mascots and the Anxiety of Modern America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2015. Pp. 194. Notes and Index. $80.00 cloth. $27.95 paper. Reviewed by Andrew McGregor Most Americans are familiar with the controversy surrounding American Indian mascots, best exemplified by the current pushback against the NFL’s Washington Redskins. Few,…
Vogan, Travis. ESPN: The Making of a Sports Media Empire. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2015. Pp. 256. Notes and Index. $95.00 clothback, $19.95 paperback. Reviewed by Kyle R. King What if I told you that the widening gyre of sports media has a centripetal force? That even as sports media ventures proliferate, they…
Sport in American History 