Book description
With the sporting world still on a high following the triumphant 2012
Games in London, The Official History of the Olympic Games and the
IOC gives an unparalleled account of the Olympic story from its
beginnings in Athens 1894 to the present day, including an in-depth
account of the London Olympics.
This lavishly illustrated story covers the re-creation of the
Olympic Games by Pierre de Coubertin, the often controversial fortunes
of the governing body, formed in 1894, and the highs and lows of the
Olympics themselves since the first Games in 1896.
It also tells the stories of the historic competitors - from
Spyridon Louis (the inaugural marathon winner) and such heroes as Jim
Thorpe, Paavo Nurmi, Sonja Henie, Jesse Owens, Fanny Blankers-Koen,
Emil Zátopek, Herb Elliott, Kip Keino, Mark Spitz, Franz Klammer,
Sebastian Coe and Carl Lewis through to Hicham El Guerrouj, Michael
Phelps, Usain Bolt, Yu-na Kim and Mo Farah.
Detailed background is provided to the many crises: the Nazi Games
of 1936; the massacre at Mexico City in 1968; the terrorist slaughter
of Israelis at the 1972 Munich Games; the boycotts; the advent of
professionals from 1988; and the Ben Johnson scandal and the ongoing
threat of drug abuse. The mounting million-dollar investment by
medal-obsessed nations is also questioned.
This elaborate analysis is the definitive account of the world's
foremost sporting spectacle. This, the final volume of three ebooks,
covers the modern era (1984-2012), including this year's London Olympics.
Handsomely illustrated and painstakingly researched The Observer Will
become the standard work on the subject The Times A magesterial work
Daily Telegraph The level of detail in this tome is, well, Olympian The
Independent Written by the doyen of sports writers, which is not only
official but authoritative The Spectator David Miller has been a
journalist since leaving Cambridge University in 1956 and has covered 22
Summer and Winter Olympic Games, and 14 World Cup football finals. He is
the former chief sports correspondent of
The Times
and author of biographies of Matt Busby, Stanley Matthews, Sebastian
Coe, and Juan Antonio Samaranch (translated into eight languages). He is
joint author of the
Centenary History of the International
Association of Athletic Federations 2012
.
