Understanding the Olympics

"First we have to understand sport cannot be reduced to a simple binary opposition, big bad sport vs small good sport. This book brilliantly provides the framework for just that necessary insight.[...]The latest edition of Understanding the Olympics byJohn Horne and Garry Whannel, is the best possible explanation of where this unwelcome alliance of commerce, broadcasters and conservative officialdom with big sport has come from. That isn't to say there isn't much to enjoy about the Olympics"-Mark Perryman, Philosophy Football

Autorentext

John Horne is Professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University, Japan.

Garry Whannel is Emeritus Professor at the University of Bedfordshire, UK.

Klappentext

How can the Olympics help us to understand the relationship between sport and society? What will be the impact and legacy of the Olympics after Tokyo in 2020? Understanding the Olympics answers all these questions by exploring the social, cultural, political, historical and economic context of the Games.

Inhalt

Part I: A Tale of Four Cities, 1. Tokyo and the Olympics: (1940)-1964-2020, 2. Paris and the Olympics: 1900-1924-2024, 3. Los Angeles and the Olympics: 1932-1984-2028, 4. London and the Olympics: 1908-1948-2012, Part II: From There to Here, 5. The Origins of the Olympics, 6. Internationalism and Nationalism at the Olympics, 7. Politics and the Olympics, 8. The Other Olympic Games, Part III: Running the Games, 9. The IOC, Governance and the Bidding Process, 10. Olympic Economics and Spectacle: Television, Advertising, Sponsorship and New Media, 11. Olympic Level Playing Fields, 12. The Dark Side of the Olympics, Conclusion, Bibliography