The Games
A Global History of the Olympics
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Games
Buy for $21.52
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Roger May
-
By:
-
David Goldblatt
About this listen
The Olympic Games have become the single greatest festival of a universal and cosmopolitan humanity. Seventeen days of sporting competition watched and followed on every continent and in every country on the planet. Simply, the greatest show on earth. Yet when the modern games were inaugurated in Athens in 1896, the founders thought them a "display of manly virtue", an athletic celebration of the kind of amateur gentleman that would rule the world. How was such a ritual invented? Why did it prosper and how has it been so utterly transformed?
In The Games, David Goldblatt - winner of the 2015 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award - takes on a breathtakingly ambitious search for the answers and brilliantly unravels the complex strands of this history. Beginning with the olympics as a sporting side show at the great Worlds Fairs of the Belle Epoque and transformation into a global media spectacular care of Hollywood and the Nazi party, The Games shows how sport and the olympics been a battlefield in the global Cold War, a defining moment for of epoch social and economic change in host cities and countries, and a theatre of resistance for women and athletes colour once excluded from the show.
Illuminated with dazzling vignettes from over a century of olympic completion - this stunningly researched history captures the excitement of sporting brilliance and the kaleidoscopic experience of the Games. It shows us how this sporting spectacle has come to reflect the world we hope to inhabit and the one we actually live in.
Related to this topic
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,091
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,436
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,410
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,779
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,366
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,358
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,952
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,389
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,340
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 827
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 713
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 706
The bestselling fitness and self-improvement book for breaking through mental resistance and barriers, building unshakeable discipline, and keeping your goals alive when things get tough.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 792
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 657
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 647
The bestselling fitness book for women who want to lose up to 35 pounds of fat or more and gain whole-body muscle definition in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told
- By: Jay Cassell - editor
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
Follow the trails of hunters - the original storytellers - as they interpret signs, examine tracks, and chase and catch their prey (or fail to). Listeners can curl up with the best authentic hunting fiction and non-fiction, bringing the great Mount Kenya and the prairies of the American Bison into your living room. From Theodore Roosevelt and Gene Hill to Rick Bass and Charles Dickens, remember classic hunting tales and discover new stories of hunters’ luck, camaraderie, and use of smarts on the trail.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A broad collection of hunting tales
- By Elaine on 06-21-15
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,091
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,436
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,410
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,779
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,366
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,358
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,952
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,389
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,340
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 827
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 713
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 706
The bestselling fitness and self-improvement book for breaking through mental resistance and barriers, building unshakeable discipline, and keeping your goals alive when things get tough.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 792
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 657
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 647
The bestselling fitness book for women who want to lose up to 35 pounds of fat or more and gain whole-body muscle definition in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told
- By: Jay Cassell - editor
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
Follow the trails of hunters - the original storytellers - as they interpret signs, examine tracks, and chase and catch their prey (or fail to). Listeners can curl up with the best authentic hunting fiction and non-fiction, bringing the great Mount Kenya and the prairies of the American Bison into your living room. From Theodore Roosevelt and Gene Hill to Rick Bass and Charles Dickens, remember classic hunting tales and discover new stories of hunters’ luck, camaraderie, and use of smarts on the trail.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A broad collection of hunting tales
- By Elaine on 06-21-15
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,531
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,054
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,037
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
The Unlikely Thru-Hiker
- An Appalachian Trail Journey
- By: Derick Lugo
- Narrated by: Derick Lugo
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 471
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 432
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 429
Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the New York comedy scene began to think about what he might do with months of free time. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,184.2 miles of it. Suddenly he found himself asking, Could he do it?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
On My Feet All Day
- By bannedbum on 08-21-21
By: Derick Lugo
-
The Spartan Way
- Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.
- By: Joe De Sena, Jeff Csatari
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,148
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 994
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 985
Joe De Sena has one ultimate goal: to help improve everyone’s physical and emotional health by teaching them the tenets of Spartan living from ancient Greece: simple eating, smart training, mastering resilience, and an all-out commitment to achieving a goal.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Don’t know what to think...
- By bakaDOH! on 07-20-19
By: Joe De Sena, and others
-
Wildlife Wars
- The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
- By: Terry Grosz
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 453
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 452
In Wildlife Wars, Terry Grosz serves up fascinating stories - alternately hair-raising, hilarious, and heart-wrenching - from his 30-year struggle to protect wildlife in America. A natural storyteller, Grosz writes about the remarkable characters he met - on both sides of the law - as he matched wits with elk poachers, salmon snaggers, commercial-market duck hunters, and a host of other law-breakers. Best of all, though, these stories are so remarkably entertaining you won't want to put them down.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Title should be: "reckless egomaniac tells lies"
- By ross on 03-01-17
By: Terry Grosz
-
Buried in the Sky
- The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
- By: Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan
- Narrated by: David Doersch
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,225
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,064
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,059
When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalaya, Sherpas have been the unsung heroes in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers lost their lives on K2, the world’s most dangerous peak, two Sherpas survived. They had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the most skillful mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals their astonishing story for the first time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Sherpas, The True Unsung Heroes
- By Kathy in CA on 07-26-15
By: Peter Zuckerman, and others
-
The Other Talent
- The Curiously Complex Role of Mental Health in Athletic Greatness and Why It's Never Too Late to Harness Your Potential
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 20
On the playing field, natural talent isn’t enough—there’s a mental component that determines whether athletes win the race or wipe out before the finish line. But what separates standout sports stars from the rest? In a paradigm-shifting new theory, acclaimed sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald identifies two key traits behind athletic success: strict self-regulation over thoughts and emotions and an unquenchable psychological need to pursue victory—even when it means enduring extreme mental and physical suffering.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a romance novel for exercise addicts like me
- By Anonymous User on 10-19-24
By: Matt Fitzgerald
-
Playing to Win
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,274
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,934
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,922
All over America, families are investing blood, sweat, tears, and retirement savings in their children’s sports careers, all with the ultimate goal of…what exactly? A college scholarship? A professional contract? Simply the taste of victory? Through the lens of the highly competitive world of girls’ softball, Lewis reveals the youth sports industrial complex that has arisen to aggressively monetize after-school pastimes.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Listen
- By Brian Bray on 10-15-20
By: Michael Lewis
-
Twisted
- The Story of Larry Nassar and the Women Who Took Him Down
- By: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Narrated by: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,947
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,598
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,588
In early 2018, Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was sentenced to serve out the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to a variety of sex crimes. New York Times best-selling author Mary Pilon and Carla Correa chronicle the scandal from its inception, tracking the institutions that Nassar hid behind, the athletic culture that he benefited from, and the women who eventually brought him to justice.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Truth as told by the Survivors
- By DKMarkham on 07-27-19
By: Mary Pilon, and others
-
The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing
- Curing Your Hit Impulse in Seven Simple Lessons
- By: Michael McTeigue
- Narrated by: Rob Shamblin
- Length: 1 hr and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 349
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 288
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 285
The biggest paradox in golf is that the harder you try to hit the ball, the worse you do so. In The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing, Michael McTeigue offers you a simple system of sequential body movements that produces a true swinging motion with every club in the bag. The result is increased distance and greater accuracy for all sizes, shapes, and ages of golfers for a minimum investment in learning time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Swing
- By rrj0717 on 09-09-18
By: Michael McTeigue
-
Stay Sane in an Insane World
- How to Control the Controllables and Thrive
- By: Greg Harden
- Narrated by: Greg Harden
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 175
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 175
Champions aren’t born. They’re built. Greg Harden spent over 30 years building them at the University of Michigan, including 400 future professional athletes, 50 NFL first-round draft picks, and 120 Olympians from over 20 countries. He gained national recognition when 60 Minutes Sports profiled him as “Michigan’s Secret Weapon.” Now, in his first book, Greg Harden is reaching out to help anyone who wants to live their best life by offering powerful and practical advice.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book, However, prejudice shows through a bit
- By Don Dotson on 08-22-23
By: Greg Harden
-
Pickleball Mindset
- The Blueprint for Peak Performance
- By: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Narrated by: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Not just another book about how to play pickleball, Pickleball Mindset dives deep into how to think on the court. Coauthored by Dayne Gingrich, top senior professional pickleball player and renowned mental performance coach, and Jill Martin, an attorney turned personal trainer and pickleball fanatic, this book follows their year-long coaching relationship in which Jill seeks to become mentally dominant on and off the court.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Build The Confidence To Thrive in Pickleball
- By K. Ford on 11-16-24
By: Dayne Gingrich, and others
-
Horses Never Lie, 2nd Edition
- The Heart of Passive Leadership
- By: Mark Rashid
- Narrated by: Dan Lawson
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 781
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 698
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 694
A revolutionary approach to the techniques of working with horses, by a renowned instructor. In Horses Never Lie, renowned horse trainer Mark Rashid challenges the conventional wisdom of "alpha leadership" and teaches the listener to become a "passive leader" - a counterpart to the kind of horse other members of a herd choose to associate with and to follow. Applying Rashid’s principles and techniques helps cultivate horse personalities that are responsive and dependable regardless of the rider.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Robotic reading
- By Julie Lynn on 05-08-15
By: Mark Rashid