Nazi Games

[The Kitchen Cynic]

There's a link on the home page to a book review that will apparently appear in tomorrow's Book Review section of the Sunday New York Times. I don't know whether the book ("Nazi Games") is any good, but the review is terrible. It completely ignores the fact that several other books have been written about this subject, including Richard D. Mandell's The Nazi Olympics, which I think has always been regarded as a good, if not definitive, account.

What I would think any potential reader would want to know is where this new book stands in the field. What ground does it cover that others do not? What important differences are there between the author's views and those of his predecessors? In most good reviews of non-fiction books, this is basic stuff.

Unfortunately, this review is not worthy of The New York Times. (Or maybe, sadly, these days, it is.)

[gh]

I too was struck the lack of reference to Mandell.

[bambam]

Within the past year, for some odd reason, there have been 6 books on the 1936 Olympics - Jeremy Schaap's book, one by Guy Walters, another one in English (?author name), one in French by Monique Berlioux, one by Arnd Kruger as editor, and one in German. Also, there has been a new bio of Leni Riefenstahl this year as well. Don't know why all of a sudden this year.

For the record, although Mandell's was one of the first in English on teh 1936 Games, I don't think it was very good.

[gh]

"not very good" in terms of the writing, or just (I'd hate to hear) in terms of basic scholarship?

[tandfman]

Within the past year, for some odd reason, there have been 6 books on the 1936 Olympics - Jeremy Schaap's book, one by Guy Walters, another one in English (?author name), one in French by Monique Berlioux, one by Arnd Kruger as editor, and one in German.

Of the ones in English, which do you recommend?

[Pego]

Within the past year, for some odd reason, there have been 6 books on the 1936 Olympics - Jeremy Schaap's book, one by Guy Walters, another one in English (?author name), one in French by Monique Berlioux, one by Arnd Kruger as editor, and one in German. Also, there has been a new bio of Leni Riefenstahl this year as well. Don't know why all of a sudden this year.

For the record, although Mandell's was one of the first in English on teh 1936 Games, I don't think it was very good.

Wasn't Monique Berlioux the IOC spokesperson that announced Ben Johnson's positive in '88?

[bambam]

Answering various ?s -

Monique Berlioux was, from 1971-1985, the Director General of the IOC, and remains probably the most powerful woman ever in International Sports. She came into the administration under Brundage, shepherded Killanin thru his Presidency, but was fired by Samaranch, as she became almost too powerful, and they clashed. Here is my bio of her from one of my recent Olympic books:

Berlioux, Monique Libotte. [FRA-SWI] B. 22 December 1925. Monique Berlioux was a French national swim champion, primarily in the backstroke, in the 1940s. During World War II she worked for the French underground, often swimming across the River Seine with messages detailing German intelligence gathering. She competed at the 1948 Olympic Games, finishing 6th in a semi-final of the 100 backstroke. But her Olympic fame would come later. Berlioux was educated at the Sorbonne and then began a career in journalism. In the 1960s she took a job at the IOC and shortly thereafter was made the media chief by IOC President Avery Brundage. In 1971, she was appointed Director of the IOC, the first female to be so named, and still remained through 2004, the highest ranked female in the world of sports administration. She worked under three IOC Presidents, Brundage, Lord Killanin, and Juan Antonio Samaranch. But her relations with Samaranch were more difficult than with Brundage and Killanin and in 1985, she “resigned” from her position as IOC Director, a decision apparently made mutually after discussions with President Samaranch.

As to the various 1936 books - Mandell's book is quite superficial, I thought. He does not have much knowledge of German history or politics, and he does not have much at all of sports history, even though he has written 3 books on the Olympics (1896, 1936, 1972). He is a history professor who does not specialize in sports history and is apparently derided by both groups, neither of whom appreciate him. I thought the writing was only fair, as well.

As to the recent books, I do not yet have the Berlioux book, although I've ordered it. I do read French so will be able to comment on that. I do not read German, so cannot comment on those books. But as to the ones in English:

Nazi Games by David Clay Large - New York: Norton, 2007. This is the best one in terms of background on German history and politics, as one might expect because Large is a professor of German history. But his details on the sports are poorly researched and documented. But I think he tried pretty hard and seemed to do a lot of work on the research.

Berlin Games: How the Nazis Stole the Olympic Dream by Guy Walters - New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Probably the best combination of the sports history and Germany background. Not as good on Germany as Large's book, however. I would probably recommend this as the one choice if you wish to get only one and its available at B&N, Borders, and Amazon.

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics by Jeremy Schaap - Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Only deals with Jesse Owens, and his contribution to the whole story. Some have pointed out errors in the track details and they are there - but Dave Johnson, who is pretty sharp, was required to catch most of them. I was the copy-editor for Jeremy in checking track & Olympics details, so I think its pretty good! A nice read, but nothing earth-shaking.

The Nazi Olympics: Sport, Politics, and Appeasement in the 1930s by Arnd Kruger and William Murray - Champaign/Urbana: Univ Illinois Press, 2004. (Sorry, a bit older than I remembered - getting old). This is very different and an interesting concept. Kruger and Murray are respected academic sports historians - Kruger is German - so they have really researched this well. Each chapter looks at a single nations reaction to the 1936 Olympics prior to the Games, and the various boycott or participation movements. Very interesting. The nations examined are Germany, USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. I reviewed this book for some journal and commented that I wish they had discussed Spain a bit more, which boycotted, but tried to hold a competing "Workers Olympics".

So that’s all I got, guys.

[bambam]

Sorry one more but a more specialized topic -

Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl - by Steven Bach - New York: Knopf, 2007. Best bio I have read of Riefenstahl and I would highly recommend it. The others seem other too critical, or in the case of her autobio, much to excusatory (is that a word?). This was very balanced, well-research, and well-written. One cannot come away from this doubting much about Riefenstahl's support and complicity with the Nazis. It convinced me more than I ever had before, and I apologize to a poster on this board whom I doubted a few months ago concerning this. I wish I could remember you name but its probably better I do not so I do not have to eat too much crow.

[kuha]

bamx2: Thanks for your thoughtful summaries above. There REALLY should be a regular place for such serious analyses of the scholarly literature of the subject. Where? is the question: I presume gh feels his readership doesnt care...

[Pego]

It convinced me more than I ever had before, and I apologize to a poster on this board whom I doubted a few months ago concerning this. I wish I could remember you name but its probably better I do not so I do not have to eat too much crow.

No apologies necessary 8) :wink: .

[Whitman]

Hitler's Olympics by Christopher Hilton which was published last
year is pretty good. There's a lot on track and field, good photos, and
interesting stories about the experience of Jewish German athletes.

[bambam]

Hitler's Olympics by Christopher Hilton which was published last
year is pretty good. There's a lot on track and field, good photos, and
interesting stories about the experience of Jewish German athletes.

I knew I forgot one of them - thanx. Yes, that was pretty good as well.

[gh]

.....The Nazi Olympics: Sport, Politics, and Appeasement in the 1930s by Arnd Kruger and William Murray - Champaign/Urbana: Univ Illinois Press, 2004. (Sorry, a bit older than I remembered - getting old). This is very different and an interesting concept. Kruger and Murray are respected academic sports historians - Kruger is German - so they have really researched this well. ......

Kruger was a 1:48 type who ran for UCLA in the mid-'60s. (at least, I'm guessing it's the same guy)