Traces the history of the modern Olympics from 1896 to 2000, contrasting the ideal of the game with the often politicized reality.

A rich and entertaining work of history, Olympics in Athens 1896 brings together the following intriguing strands: the rise of amateur athletics in competing countries, each with its own particular stamp; the enormous interest aroused by the excavation of ancient Olympia, the site of the ancient Games; the determination of the eccentric French aristocrat Baron Pierre de Coubertin to embody the amateur athletic ideal in a revival of the Games; and a perception by politicians and the Greek royal family that hosting Coubertin's Games could help to put the young Greek state on the European map.

Coubertin's main contribution to the founding of the modern Olympics was the zeal he brought to transforming an idea that had evolved over decades into the reality of Olympiad I and all the Olympic Games held thereafter.

Which Winter Games were held on imported snow? Which golfer walked to the medal ceremony on his hands? Will BMX biking ever be an Olympic sport? Find the answers to these questions and more as you read about the Games as we know them today, including the Paralympics and the difficult process of choosing host cities.

This unique book provides information on the events surrounding the Olympics, such as political controversies, scandals, tragedies, economic issues, and peripheral incidents.

In 1973, Wilson Carey McWilliams (1933Ð2005) published The Idea of Fraternity in America, a groundbreaking book that argued for an alternative to AmericaÕs dominant philosophy of liberalism. This alternative tradition emphasized that community and fraternal bonds were as vital to the process of maintaining political liberty as was individual liberty. McWilliams expanded on this idea throughout his prolific career as a teacher, writer, and activist, promoting a unique definition of American democracy. In The Democratic Soul: A Wilson Carey McWilliams Reader, editors Patrick J. Deneen and Susan J. McWilliams, daughter of the famed intellectual, have assembled key essays, articles, reviews, and lectures that trace McWilliamsÕs evolution as a scholar and explain his often controversial views on education, religion, and literature. The book also showcases his thoughts and opinions on prominent twentieth-century figures such as George Orwell and Leo Strauss. The first comprehensive volume of Wilson Carey McWilliamsÕ collected writings, The Democratic Soul will be welcomed by scholars of political science and American political thought as a long-overdue contribution to the field.