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Title details for Rome 1960 by David Maraniss - Available

Rome 1960

The Olympics that Changed the World

by David Maraniss
David Maraniss
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
From the New York Times bestselling author of Clemente and When Pride Still Mattered, the blockbuster story of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, seventeen days that helped define the modern world.

Legendary athletes and stirring events are interwoven into a suspenseful narrative of sports and politics at the Rome games, where cold-war propaganda and spies, drugs and sex, money and television, civil rights and the rise of women superstars all converged to forever change the essence of the Olympics.

Using the meticulous research and sweeping narrative style that have become his trademark, maraniss reveals the rich palette of character, competition, and meaning that gave rome 1960 its singular essence.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 1, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780743572729
      • File size: 164335 KB
      • Duration: 05:42:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The Olympics that made Americans Rafer Johnson, Wilma Rudolph, and Cassius Clay--who later became Muhammad Ali--famous also signaled turning points in world history. That's Maraniss's thesis for his look back at the 1960 Rome Games. Reading his book himself, Maraniss holds listeners' attention with small personal details about the athletes, as well as the big picture. He recreates the 1960 Olympics skillfully, as well as chronicling the changes in athletics, politics, and culture--from the Civil Rights Movement to the advent of television coverage to Cold War tensions to the independence of black Africa. Maraniss's examination of one pivotal Olympiad and the world that watched it shows the importance of the world's largest sporting event. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      The author hones in on a pivotal time in Olympics history. The 1960 Summer Games were touched by the Civil Rights movement (Rafer Johnson became the first black American to carry the U.S. flag at the games), television rights, performance-enhancing drugs, defection, questions about the athletes' amateur status, and the Cold War. L.J. Ganser's energetic, enthusiastic voice covers all the topics and competitors. He maneuvers through most of the Italian pronunciations pretty well and alters his voice in various ways when quoting athletes and coaches. Some of the names listeners will know (Cassius Clay), and others they may not, but, overall, Ganser makes Maraniss's reporting and anecdotes smooth and enjoyable. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 21, 2008
      Overshadowed by more flamboyant or tragic Olympics, the 1960 Rome games were a sociopolitical watershed, argues journalist Maraniss (Clemente
      ) in this colorful retrospective. The games showcased Cold War propaganda ploys as the Soviet Union surged past the U.S. in the medal tally. Steroids and amphetamines started seeping into Olympian bloodstreams. The code of genteel amateurism—one weight-lifter was forbidden to accept free cuts from a meat company—began crumbling in the face of lavish Communist athletic subsidies and under-the-table shoe endorsement deals. And civil rights and anticolonialism became conspicuous themes as charismatic black athletes—supercharged sprinter Wilma Rudolph, brash boxing phenom Cassius Clay, barefoot Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila—grabbed the limelight while the IOC sidestepped the apartheid issue. Still, we’re talking about the Olympics, and Maraniss can’t help wallowing in the classic tropes: personal rivalries, judging squabbles, come-from-behind victories and inspirational backstories of obstacles overcome (Rudolph wins the gold, having hurdled Jim Crow and
      childhood polio that left her in leg braces). As usual, these Olympic stories don’t quite bear up under the mythic symbolism they’re weighted with (with the exception perhaps of Abebe Bikila), but Maraniss provides an intelligent context for his evocative reportage. Photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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