The First London Olympics: 1908
Summary
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The First London Olympics: 1908 by Rebecca Jenkins
In the summer that saw the first successful flight of the Zeppelin, a 140 acre site of scrubland in West London was transformed into the White City, which housed the 1908 Franco British Exhibition - and a state-of-the-art stadium built to house the first London Olympics. The Olympics were organised by volunteers in just 18 months and at a fraction of the cost of the modern Olympics and yet, just as today, the sport was overshadowed by doping scandals and caused international uproar. The ferocious competitiveness of a US team dominated by New York Irish Americans led to a succession of 'scandals' culminating in the historic marathon when Italian confectioner baker Dorando Pietri's heroic efforts at the limits of exhaustion so entranced on-lookers that track officials helped him across the finish line. Coinciding with the 100th Anniversary of the first London Olympics, this delightful social and sporting history - illustrated with over 70 contemporary images - provides a thought-provoking contrast to the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games.
Jenkins, in particular, captures the many ironies of that shambolic occasion and wittily evokes the amateurish spirit that pervaded the early Olympic movementTHE TIMES A must for Olympic-philes. HEALTH AND FITNESS MAGAZINE A delightful book THE OLYMPIC REVIEW
Rebecca Jenkins, the daughter of the late Bishop of Durham, is a cultural historian, novelist and biographer. She is the author of a biography of Fanny Kemble, the nineteenth-century actress and celebrity. Rebecca lives in Durham.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780749951689 |
| ISBN 10 | 0749951680 |
| Title | The First London Olympics: 1908 |
| Author | Rebecca Jenkins |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Year published | 2008-06-26 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Prizes | Long-listed for William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2008 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |