Reviewed by Stewart Johnson (Social Studies)
It tells the story of the 1960 Olympics. It focuses on Wilma Rudolph, Cassius Clay, and Rafer Johnson. These athletes and others are portrayed during the Olympics as the times are changing from a more innocent time, to a time affected by the Cold War and the social changes that the 1960s are bringing, not only to the US, but also the world. Very good read. ( )

(#49 in the 2008 Book Challenge)

I must still have lingering Olympic fever from this summer. The author goes through the Rome Olympics, pretty much day by day, and highlights the significant events and puts them in the context of what was going on in the world at large ... so for the most part, the Cold War. Headlines include decathlete Rafer Johnson, the first African-American athlete to be the flag bearer during the opening ceremonies and Wilma Rudolph getting gold medals; the first big Olympic drug scandal when Danish cyclist Knud Jensen dies after heat exhaustion is escalated by drug use; the Republic of China marches as Formosa for the first time (and I'm not really clear why they still compete as Formosa and not Taiwan), and Ethiopian Abebe Bikila wins the mens' marathon running barefoot. And more!

The funny thing about this book was that it wasn't ... great sports writing, and if you are a sports fan, you are hoping, of course, that a book about the Rome Olympics is going to be so full of awesome sports that you choke on your own enthusiasm. Because so much of the book is spent explaining the nuances of the political climate, particularly the Cold War but also apartheid, civil rights in the US, and the role of women in athletics, you are trading some of the edgy excitement for fairly substantial insight. Which seems fine in the end, you can always go google up a storm later and cry your sporty tears while watching poor quality youtube clips of Rafer Johnson lighting the torch at Los Angeles. Did you know that Johnson was one of the guys that tackled Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel?

Also, I am one of those people who has mixed feelings about gymnastics as an Olympic sport, in part because the age of the girls in particular is somewhat unsettling, but mostly because I'm not crazy about judged competitions, but whatever, I'm not rabid about the issue or anything. It seems that in Rome, the organizers held two events at landmark sites, gymnastics at the Baths of Caracalla and wrestling at the Basilica of Maxentius. I think this is such a fabulous idea that I would be completely on board with a requirement that all Olympic cities must hold gymnastics and wrestling at out-of-doors ancient landmarks.

Grade: Very strong B+
Recommended: Anyone who enjoys sports and the Olympics would enjoy this, even if only to browse though it. People who don't care for sports won't have much interest unless they have a particular interest in Cold War social history. ( )

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss chronicles the triumphs, tragedies, and treacheries of "the Olympics that changed the world" with Rome 1960. The same Games that announced the greatness of icons like Cassius Clay, Wilma Rudolph, and Rafer Johnson, also exposed a growing unrest between East and West, black and white, and male and female. Even the host city of Rome, Maraniss recounts, was "infused with a golden hue...an illuminating that comes with a moment of historical transition, when one era is dying and another is being born." With moving portraits of the Games's remarkable personalities woven among tales of espionage and propaganda, Rome 1960 explores an Olympics unable to fight off the troubles of the modern world. Cold War sniping and issues of social inequalities were spilling into fields and stadiums, and the face of sport was rapidly changing. History buffs and sports fans alike will appreciate Maraniss’s quiet reporting, as he deftly removes himself from a storyline that is still relevant today. --Dave Callanan