100 metres final, London, 1948

Best reads on the Olympics, by David Goldblatt

“The games have yet to inspire novelists or playwrights but for a handful of thrillers and romances,” says David Goldblatt in an article he wrote for the Daily Beast. “There is no shortage of academic and historical work, but it is best described as informative rather than compelling. There are however, honourable exceptions.”

Below are some of those exceptions – nine books and two journalistic pieces. These are the best reads on the Olympic Games according to Goldblatt.


Olympism Pierre de Coubertin

Pierre de Coubertin
Ed. Norbert Müller, Comité International Olympique


David Goldblatt (born September 26, 1965, London) is a sports writer, broadcaster, sociologist, and author. Among his books are The Games: A Global History of the Olympics, The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football, Futebol Nation: A Footballing History of Brazil, and The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football. He has written for the Guardian and The Times Literary Supplement and has taught sociology of sport at Bristol University and Pitzer College. (Wikipedia.)

Source: The Daily Beast
Last checked on: 21 September 2016
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