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Total Olympics: Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, and Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing by Jeremy Fuchs
thathappyreader's review
4.0
For anyone looking to feed their fascination of the Olympics, this book is for you. Full of historical facts of the Games (including the ancient games), this book includes chapters on Forgotten History, Legends, Wild and Strange, Firsts, Discontinued Sports, Forgotten Heroes, and an extensive list of Olympic results and stats.
I am a huge Olympic fan and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although parts of the book are too focused on the accomplishments of U.S. athletes for my non-American liking , I enjoyed learning about, or recalling, various Olympic achievements. The impact of war, politics and religion on the Games is also noted. I appreciated having the photos of the athletes alongside their stories, demonstrating the changing uniforms along the way.
Thank you to Netgalley and Workman Publishing Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.
I am a huge Olympic fan and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although parts of the book are too focused on the accomplishments of U.S. athletes for my non-American liking , I enjoyed learning about, or recalling, various Olympic achievements. The impact of war, politics and religion on the Games is also noted. I appreciated having the photos of the athletes alongside their stories, demonstrating the changing uniforms along the way.
Thank you to Netgalley and Workman Publishing Company for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.
thisisowl's review
4.0
Are you a fan of sports and the Olympics? Then this is the book for you!
This book not only gives you some historical context on the Olympic Games but also delves into interesting timbits (I am Canadian!) on athletes, sports you will no longer find, and stories just outright odd.
As a person who works in education, this would be a great book for a classroom and to use in Social Studies, especially with information devoted to how war and religion impacted the games.
Definitely recommend it for anyone who has an interest in the Olympics, sports, or even the world in general.
This book not only gives you some historical context on the Olympic Games but also delves into interesting timbits (I am Canadian!) on athletes, sports you will no longer find, and stories just outright odd.
As a person who works in education, this would be a great book for a classroom and to use in Social Studies, especially with information devoted to how war and religion impacted the games.
Definitely recommend it for anyone who has an interest in the Olympics, sports, or even the world in general.
3no7's review
4.0
“Total Olympics” by Jeremy Fuchs contains all the Olympic facts, fun, and fiction that an aficionado could want. It shows the power of friendship and peace that prevailed in the 54 Olympic Games over 122 years when the global community came together to embody the motto of the modern Olympics: “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”
“Total Olympics” gives readers a look behind the scenes, to the events and the people that made headlines and some that did not. Surprise wins are documented along with teams that dropped out leading to unexpected results. Legends and dynasties in a sport are celebrated along with the upsets of newcomers over hardened regulars. Interesting historical footnotes are documented, for example the “missing marathoner” whose official time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds. Advertising campaigns are listed including the “Thank you mom” ads from Proctor & Gamble and McDonald’s “Gold Medal Meal. Readers remember the athletes who rose from obscurity to become media “darlings.” It does not overlook the tragic or the controversial such as drug scandals and politically-motivated events.
“Total Olympics” not only tells the stories of the Olympics but it also lists every fact, every record, and every location of both the summer and winter Olympic Games. There are medal counts, the names of US flag bearers (and their sport) and even those who lit the torch. It is filled with trivia contest winning facts, and is just plain entertaining to read. It has wonderful pictures of Olympians from the past as well as details of long forgotten records, wacky contests, controversial moments, and crazy accomplishments. I am sure that the postponement of this year’s Olympics will add yet another chapter to the lore and mystery that is Olympiad.
“Total Olympics” gives readers a look behind the scenes, to the events and the people that made headlines and some that did not. Surprise wins are documented along with teams that dropped out leading to unexpected results. Legends and dynasties in a sport are celebrated along with the upsets of newcomers over hardened regulars. Interesting historical footnotes are documented, for example the “missing marathoner” whose official time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds. Advertising campaigns are listed including the “Thank you mom” ads from Proctor & Gamble and McDonald’s “Gold Medal Meal. Readers remember the athletes who rose from obscurity to become media “darlings.” It does not overlook the tragic or the controversial such as drug scandals and politically-motivated events.
“Total Olympics” not only tells the stories of the Olympics but it also lists every fact, every record, and every location of both the summer and winter Olympic Games. There are medal counts, the names of US flag bearers (and their sport) and even those who lit the torch. It is filled with trivia contest winning facts, and is just plain entertaining to read. It has wonderful pictures of Olympians from the past as well as details of long forgotten records, wacky contests, controversial moments, and crazy accomplishments. I am sure that the postponement of this year’s Olympics will add yet another chapter to the lore and mystery that is Olympiad.
bookandcat's review against another edition
4.0
Olympics fans, rejoice! This full-color book is chock full of fascinating stories, fun facts, and inspirational profiles about Olympians, individual events, and different Olympics years. I loved looking at the pictures and reading the stories celebrating the Olympics and Paralympics and the athletes that compete in them. This book is easy to pick up and put down (each profile is about a page or two). I learned a lot! I'm a huge Olympics fan and really enjoyed seeing some of my favorite folks, learning about a bunch of people who were new to me, and hearing about scandals and quirky events as well as what we've come to expect from modern Olympics. Fascinating!
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
deearr's review against another edition
5.0
This is the book with the bold subtitle, “Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, & Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing.” Playing armchair quarterback, I thought of more than a few people who had been left out of the book. Yet, I am sure we all could dredge up a memory or two about someone or some event not listed. What’s important is that author Jeremy Fuchs has compiled a fascinating book filled to the brim with stories and anecdotes I had never heard.
The book is laid out beautifully, with plenty of pictures – both black-and-white and color – of Olympic heroes. Rather than take a chronological journey, Mr. Fuchs has opted to create large categories and find places for all those who earned a story in his book. The chapter titles alone are enticing, sure to draw in the curious: Forgotten History, Legends, Wild and Strange, Firsts, Discontinued Sports, and Forgotten Heroes. The Results and Stats section in the back is an added treat of different bits of knowledge, from lists of gold medal winners to the names of all the torch lighters.
Although athletes from other countries are included, the book primarily features those from America (some of the reasoning behind that is probably due to the number of medals won, far more to Americans than any other country). The book is over 300 pages long, and the author has successfully filled every one of those pages with revealing stories. Even better, most of the stories are only a couple of pages long, making it easy to read a few stories and then set the book down for later. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.
The book is laid out beautifully, with plenty of pictures – both black-and-white and color – of Olympic heroes. Rather than take a chronological journey, Mr. Fuchs has opted to create large categories and find places for all those who earned a story in his book. The chapter titles alone are enticing, sure to draw in the curious: Forgotten History, Legends, Wild and Strange, Firsts, Discontinued Sports, and Forgotten Heroes. The Results and Stats section in the back is an added treat of different bits of knowledge, from lists of gold medal winners to the names of all the torch lighters.
Although athletes from other countries are included, the book primarily features those from America (some of the reasoning behind that is probably due to the number of medals won, far more to Americans than any other country). The book is over 300 pages long, and the author has successfully filled every one of those pages with revealing stories. Even better, most of the stories are only a couple of pages long, making it easy to read a few stories and then set the book down for later. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.
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