The Games: A Global History of the Olympics

I enjoyed this timely book about the history of the Olympics. The author did a great job pulling all of this material together in an interesting manner. The book is well researched and written. If you plan to watch the games in Rio you should read this book. Jack Kushner

Iam a fan of the olympics, so it was fun to read several things about them. It is less of a ‘records’ and event book and more of the behind the scenes book.

Among the finest researched and well presented critical books of the Olympic movement.

Nominally a fascinating insight into the historically graft ridden, corrupt, misogynist, anti-Semitic, and racist history of the Olympic games, most of the fascinating and deep insights offered by the author are lost his dry style of prose. Well worth the read, but an immensely difficult slog through 100 years of athletic history.

My daughter loves the Olympics and this adds to her memorabilia.

What a bunch of constipated trash. The writers bias against certain countries and individuals shines through on every page. As someone that's followed the Olympics for 45+ years, it was all too often transparent the writer tells half the story rather than giving all the facts. He does not even mention exactly when in 1896 the Olympics were held. Save your money!

It was good but focused more on the inter workings of the IOC than the history of the athletes. Just FYI if you’re looking for that.

This book is, at best, an overview of the origin of the Games and how cities win, conduct, and, most often, regret staging the Olympic Games. The book really fails to capture any of the drama of the Games themselves, and we learn little about actual competitors. Also, areas of emphasis are odd -- the massacre of Israeli athletes isn't given any more coverage than the evolution of judo in the Olympics. I think the book really lacks drama, which is sad, because the Games themselves, the competitors, and the politics surrounding it all, are filled with drama. Still, if you want an overview of the history of the Games and how they evolved, you may find the content interesting.

This detailed analysis of how the Olympic Games evolved from 1896 in Athens to 2016 in Rio, covers all aspects of how cities are awarded, their effect and cost, the construction of the venues, the political fights and repercussions. There is the inner workings of the IOC, the movement to women and professional participants, the rise of TV coverage and drug testing.What it does not cover is (A) the Winter Games and (B) the athletes and competitions. Reference is made to some of the highlights such as Jesse Owens in 1936 Berlin and Bob Beamon in1968 Mexico City. However, for example, Carl Lewis, arguably the greatest track and field performer of all time, gets half a page, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, a passing reference.For those looking for a book about the competitions, the athletes, the winners and the records, look elsewhere.