Author Description

1896. Athens hosts the first of the modern Olympic Games. The world gathered to celebrate sporting achievement. A large cast of athletes came from various countries, including a contingent from Harvard and Princeton who won the hearts of the Athenians as they won most of the first place medals. But the book is much more than a tale of athletes and organizers. Mandell gives us an insight into the birth of the modern Olympic movement, and into the personality of a French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, whose vision determined much of the form of international sport today. The author shows that, although the modern Olympics have a sentimental bond with the ancient festival, the modern Games are a product of nineteenth century ideals, excesses, and ambitions. Richard Mandell has dispelled some myths, rediscovered forgotten sport heroes, and written a highly readable account of a landmark in modern sport history. Richard D. Mandell (1929-2013) was a professor of history at the University of South Carolina. He was also the author of Sport: A Cultural History, The Olympics of 1972: A Munich Diary. and The Nazi Olympics