Olympic History Books/ My Summer Reading

Lately, I've been reading a lot about Olympic History, and I am currently reading "Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics" by Jeremy Schaap, the ESPN reporter. I am about halfway through and I would highly recommend it. The Nazi Olympics, held in Berlin in 1936, are particularly fascinating as they are probably the prime example about how politics are very much so a part of sports. While Schaap's book focuses mostly about Jesse Owens' experience, it does go into detail about the Nazi planning of the games.



This is probably a shot in the dark, but if you are interested in this subject, David Clay Large's "Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936" is also a good read. It is more focused on the both the Summer and Winter Olympics of 1936 (Germany won the rights to both Olympics that year).

Another great book about Olympic History is David Mariniss' "Rome 1960," perhaps the first truly modern Olympics. It was the first Olympics with TV and faced the struggle between amateurism and professional athletes. Many all-time great athletes competed in these games. From the American team alone: track greats Rafer Johnson and Wilma Rudolph, NBA legends Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, and future heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World