A review by sandrareilly513
Total Olympics: Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, and Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing by Jeremy Fuchs

3.0

I have always loved watching the Olympics, so Jeremy Fuchs' Total Olympics was a book I just had to read! I fell in love with the Olympics back in 1992, watching Shannon Miller in a tight run for gold in the women's gymnastics all-around competition. But to be honest, I didn't know much about previous Olympics until reading this book. It was fascinating! First of all, I had no idea that the first modern Olympics originated from a small town in England and featured a pig chase. Or an "old women's" race where the winner received a pound of tea. The popularity of the Wenlock Games then spread across England and just grew from there. Fuchs also goes into the history of the Winter games as well as how tightly the Olympics is weaved together with the economy of each participating and hosting nation -- lots of interesting and eye-opening back stories! The author also goes into a lot of detail about how major events such as the Cold War, refugees, and World War I and II affected the Games, as well as intriguing controversies and side stories such as a figure skating pair winning a medal 50 years after competing, It was also so compelling to read about iconic events that happened before my time, such as the 1968 Podium Protest and the Israeli hostage situation at the 1972 Games. My only complaint is that there are so many events and topics covered that I was left wanting more details for each -- some of them seem almost like a glimpse compared to a few of the earlier chapters that included more history and detail. But otherwise, this was a captivating overview of the many events, historical aspects, Olympic "lore", and interesting tidbits of the Olympic Games that many fans will enjoy.