Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

It's An Olympic Book Review (or Two)

3/7/2021

 
I admit, I am usually bit delinquent in staying current with Olympic-themed books and film, but I have rather recently made a commitment to catch-up. Progress! Better late than never! Right?

So...over the holidays (told you I'm running behind), I finally caught up with two books that had long burned holes in my to-read pile. Both struck me as key pieces for my Olympic fandom, and I'm thrilled that I finally experienced them.

I'll share some quick thoughts:

​Running for My Life (Lopez Lomong and Mark A. Tabb, 2012)

Subtitled One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games, Running for my Life is just that: the telling of U.S. runner Lopez Lomong's dramatic life ahead of his second Olympic appearance at London 2012.
Picture
​By 2012, the general story of Lomong's background was well-known. Born in South Sudan, he and his family were subject to the brutal civil war there which displaced countless people. At age six, Lomong was kidnapped from his village, and after escaping militants, spent ten years at a refugee camp as a "Lost Boy" in Kenya. In 2001, he was selected for resettlement in New York state, and he eventually took advantage of his running talent through high school and college, and onto the national level. Earning U.S. citizenship in 2007, he earned a spot on Team USA for Beijing 2008.

But Running for My Life is an autobiography, so we encounter this story in Lomong's own words and personal retrospection. And his telling of dramatic moments is poignant and inspiring. It's harrowing, to read his of his experience yet throughout, he maintains a positivity that belies any readers' discomfort. His charming wide-eyed-ness comes into best view as he settles, at times awkwardly, into a new life in the States and with a welcoming host family. From there, life is quick...his running prowess allowing him to integrate better than perhaps he would have otherwise. 

Lomong eventually finished 10th in the 5,000 meters at the London Olympics. Since, he's added four national championships and two NACA Championships, and he is still active in running and humanitarian work.

His story is a powerful one, and an important one to consider when seeing the United States - and its national team  - as a melting pot. His is a unique story, and his success is unique piece of Team USA's fabric.

The Olympic Games: The First Thousand Years (M.I. Finley and H.W. Pieket, 2012)
Picture
 Also from 2012 - although a republication of a 1976 edition (!) - The Olympic Games is a fascinating review of the origins of the Games, looking back to Ancient Greece.

Certainly, any true Olympics fan will want to be familiar with its origin story. And while The Olympic Games is a scholarly work, it's definitely readable. Reviewing a period from 776 B.C. to A.D. 261, the authors take us through the place and prestige of the Olympics at the time, juxtaposed with context of what was happening sociopolitically during these years.

​Understanding the Olympics as one of four Panhellenic Games, including the Nemean, Pythian, and Isthmian, is a revelation. All four Games were held regularly, in fixed locations - the Olympics in Olympia - and the intervening years helped the Greeks measure time. Athletes, in general rule Greek and of means, routinely participated in multiple Games. Surprisingly or not, sponsorship and politics played a role as years went on and popularity grew, challenging some modern romantic notion of the ancient purity of competition. The Olympics, the largest of the Panhellenic Games, lasted into Roman rule, but eventually fell into disfavor.

Details abound in The Olympic Games, and fans should revel in the descriptive accounts of the competition and its respect. One aspect interestingly filled out is the legendary Olympic truce. Rather than a complete stoppage of war, it's more true that warring parties would allow athlete travel, and would respect a no-battle zone around competition sites.

It's a fascinating look at the times, and what the Games are thought to have been like, and have meant to the populace then. I'll be revisiting this book often as I continue to consider the modern Games.



Comments are closed.
    Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics


    About This Blog

    An Olympics fan blog celebrating all things Olympic sport athletes

    Picture
    Read about me.

    Navigate It

    Celebrating Olympic sport athletes with news links, social media peeks, and more, seen through the cheeky lens of this particular, passionate fan.

    ​Check out:
     A Little Roundup
    Get caught up on the athletes of Olympic sports with a collection of links to recent news and feature stories

    Let's Get Social
    Taking a look at what some of your favorite Olympic sport athletes are up to on social media away from competition.

    They are the Champions
    Congratulations to the world champions of Olympic sports!

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Who are some emerging Olympic sport athletes worth keeping an eye on for the future?

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own comment and opinions sometimes!

    A Quick Review
    Quick thoughts on Olympic sports-related films, art, books, TV, etc. that I've come across .
    p.s. see my Bookshop!

    Picture
    Me at Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park


    Follow Me

    Twitter
    Instagram
    ​
    Spotify
    Medium
    ​
    Bookshop
    Post.
    Mastodon
    Tumblr

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​Intl Olympic Academy
    ​Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    The Sports Examiner
    ​AP Olympics
    ​AP Winter Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​
    Global Athlete
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Coubertin Speaks
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    Off The Podium
    The Games Odyssey
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    All Sports Books Reviews
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Amsterdam 1928
    Ancient Olympics
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Berlin 1936
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Helsinki 1952
    Ice Hockey
    Innsbruck 1976
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1932
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Non-Olympic Sports
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Salt Lake City 2002
    Sarajevo 1984
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Ski Mountaineering
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Stockholm 1912
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    They Are The Champions
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    To opt-out of cookies, and to read this site's privacy policy, read the Policy page.

    The following link is listed for Mastodon site verification purposes only:
    Mastodon

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly