Stephen R. Wenn and Robert K. Barney. The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events that Transformed the Olympic Games. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2020. Pp. 360. Photographs, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95 paper, $14.95 ebook. Reviewed by Nicholas E. Sarantakes In the historiography of American sport, there are many sub-fields and topics. Most sport historians…
Sweet, David A. F. Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Pp. 225. Bibliography, illustrations, index, and source notes. $29.95 hardback. Reviewed by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes The President of the United States was livid. Richard Nixon was meeting with his chief of staff, H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, and…
Pesca, Mike. Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History. New York. Twelve Books, 2018. Forward by Malcolm Gladwell, notes, index. $28.00 paperback. Reviewed by Murry Nelson Upon Further Review may be the most uneven book that I have seen recently, with chapters (each 6-15 pages) by a myriad of authors on some…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on February 27, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. By Richard C. Crepeau Looking back over the Winter Olympics several events stand out and various aspects of the NBC…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on February 23, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. By Richard C. Crepeau The final two premier figure skating events of the Winter Olympics were held this week. They…
Editor’s Note: “Sport in American History” is excited to cross-post Richard C. Crepeau’s “Sport and Society” column. This post was originally published on February 20, 2018. A full archive of his Crepeau’s columns can be found by clicking here. By Richard C. Crepeau At any Olympic Games there are constants and surprises and the ongoing Winter Olympics is no…
Montillo, Roseanne. Fire on the Track: Betty Robinson and the Triumph of the Early Olympic Women. New York: Crown, 2017. Pp. 285. 15 photos & illustrations, chapter notes and index. $27.00 hardcover. Reviewed by Robert Pruter Author Roseanne Montillo does not have an academic sport history background, but rather a MFA degree in creative writing, a…
Keiderling, Kyle. Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 341. Notes, Bibliography, Index. $27.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Kristy McCray “The greatest fear of any athlete is that they will be remembered for their most embarrassing moment. In the case of Mary and Zola, their…
This week we’re offering our thoughts and reflections on the recently completed Rio Olympics. Today is part two of our roundtable. It features a Q&A with four of our contributors — Cat Ariail, Josh Howard, Andrew McGregor, and Lindsay Parks Pieper — about their views on the Rio Olympics and its legacy as both scholars and sports fans. Feel…
Last night NBC aired the Closing Ceremony of the Rio Olympics, officially ending the Games of the XXXI Olympiad. The contributors to Sport in American History watched many of the 306 athletic events over the past 19 days with enthusiasm and interest. This week on the blog we offer our thoughts and reflections as both scholars…
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