Review by New York Times Review
THE IDIOT, by Elif Batuman. (Penguin, $16.) This loosely autobiographical novel - which our reviewer, Parul Sehgal, called "a hefty, gorgeous, digressive slab of a book" - charts the college life of Selin, a bookish naif at Harvard in the mid-1990s. The story borrows from Batuman's earlier work - heavy on Russophilia and kooky anecdotes - but offers a portrait of the intellectual and emotional development of an irresistible narrator. THE GAMES: A Global History of the Olympics, by David Goldblatt. (Norton, $17.95.) Goldblatt traces the glories and the stumbles of the modern Games, first held in Athens in 1896. Sexism, antiSemitism and racism have all plagued the Olympics for decades, as have scandals over worker conditions and concerns about doping. The book delves into the origins of beloved events like the marathon. SHADOWBAHN, by Steve Erickson. (Blue Rider, $16.) Twenty years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the twin towers inexplicably crop up in the South Dakota badlands, inhabited by Elvis's stillborn twin brother. Our reviewer, Fiona Maazel, compared the novel to "a polyphonic dirge for an America that has perhaps never lived anywhere but in the imagination of those of us who keep fighting for it anyway." WHITE TEARS, by Hari Kunzru. (Vintage, $16.) Seth and Carter, two 20-something New Yorkers, are music-obsessed and imagine themselves as cutting-edge producers. The pair release a track - a recent recording from Washington Square - but pass it off as a relic from Charlie Shaw, a singer of their invention supposedly lost to history. When the hoax gets traction, it sets off a ghost story that touches on appropriation, race and the blues. The novel benefits from Kunzru's cleareyed and canny view of America's cultural shifts. AGAINST EMPATHY: The Case for Radical Compassion, by Paul Bloom. (Ecco/HarperCollins, $16.99.) Bloom, a Yale psychology professor, urges a reconsideration of the roles that emotions play in moral decisions; as he puts it, "I want to make a case for the value of conscious, deliberative reasoning in everyday life, arguing that we should strive to use our heads rather than our hearts." THEMEN IN MY LIFE: A Memoir of Love and Art in 1950s Manhattan, by Patricia Bosworth. (Harper/ HarperCollins, $17.99.) Bosworth is perhaps best known as a biographer of stars like Diane Arbus and Montgomery Clift; her autobiography follows her navigating a glamorous career and sexual coming-of-age. But she doesn't give short shrift to what she calls "the bereaved creature inside me," mourning her brother and father.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 29, 2018]
Review by Booklist Review
British sports journalist Goldblatt tackles the goliath of sporting events in this history of the Olympics, covering the Games from the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896 through the twenty-first century to the troubled 2016 Summer Games in Rio. We learn that there is really nothing unusual about the Rio situation;there are only a few examples throughout the modern era when the Olympic Games have been crisis-free. Goldblatt's well-documented study explores the successes and challenges of each Olympics, including the roles of international conflicts, the struggles of female athletes for inclusion, and the introduction of competition for wounded veterans following WWII (now evolved into the Paralympic Games). Goldblatt also covers the evolution of the Games as media spectacle, including the now-standard (and often over-the-top) theatrical productions that complement the competition. Scholarly in content but readable, this volume makes a significant contribution to sports history. Recommended for Olympics fans looking to gain a broad perspective on a sporting event the captures the imagination of the world every two years.--Barrera, Brenda Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Starting with the vigorous reboot of the modern Olympics by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the 19th century, Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) chronicles the largest sporting event from the ancient games to the highly organized current spectacles of competition. Goldblatt, who uses peerless research to support his smoothly academic narrative, touches on the history of the first Greek games in 776 BC, the revival of the event in Athens in 1859, and its decline until Coubertin's effort to restart the games. The narrative includes the struggle of women and minorities in the games, and hits its stride when it details the grandeur of Hitler's 1936 games and the boldness of two black athletes, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Goldblatt casts a wide net, covering the rise of TV as a global booster, the Cold War conflicts, the 1972 Munich massacre, the dominance of American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and the Russian doping scandal. Goldblatt takes a comprehensive, balanced look at the games that rates above its peers.. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Goldblatt (The Ball Is Round) explores the social and political history of the Olympic Games, from Pierre de Coubertin's neo-Hellenic vision as founder of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the expensive spectacles of the 21st century. The bourgeois, white male origins of the games slowly transformed with the emergence of social movements, postcolonial nations, and communism; impacting medal winners and the composition of the IOC. From the 1972 Munich massacre to Jimmy Carter's failed boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the games have become a political stage for organizations, nations, and athletes. Winning sometimes comes at the price of censorship, repression, and even death as witnessed in Mexico's 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. Goldblatt does not shy away from past and ongoing controversies: doping, amateurism vs. professionalism, and corruption within the IOC. He is highly critical of the event's rising costs ($51 billion for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi) and their economic strain on host cities and nations, noting that TV and the influence of corporate sponsors have led to increased popularity. VERDICT Highly recommended for all public libraries, this work will appeal to readers interested in the Olympics, the sociology of sport, and modern history.-Chris Wilkes, Tazewell Cty. P.L., VA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
