LIBRARY MATTERS

Contributed article
Published: July 17, 2008

With the XXIX Olympiad set to kick off on August 8, there’s been a lot of discussion about the politicization of the Games. This isn’t new-even before the boycotts of the 1980 and 1984, nations and other groups used the international stage provided by the Olympics to make statements. Despite that, and even with the influx of professional athletes, increased corporate sponsorship and doping scandals, there is still something magical about seeing the athletes file in during the opening ceremonies, waiting to see who lights the torch and which records will be broken.
Set the stage for your Olympic viewing by catching up on the history of the Games with a book from the Greene County Library.
Triumph: the Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics by Jeremy Schaap
Nazi Games: the Olympics of 1936 by David Clay Large
The Amateurs: the Story of Four Young Men and Their Quest for an Olympic Gold Medal by David Halberstam profiles the four men who competed to represent the U.S. as its lone single sculler in 1984.
The Naked Olympics: the True Story of the Ancient Games by Tony Perrottet-a history of the original Olympic Games depicts the events of the first competitions more than 1,200 years ago.
The Summer Olympics by Bob Knotts describes the history, ideals, events and heroes of the Olympic Games, with an emphasis on the Summer Olympics.

Etched in Gold: the Story of America’s First-Ever Olympic Gold Medal Winning Softball Team by Ron Babb. A close up look at America’s first Olympic gold medal-winning softball team profiles the individual members of the team, their long, hard road to Atlanta, their struggle to balance their personal lives with their sports careers, and their extraordinary teamwork.
If you want to get more information about the Olympics from the comfort of your home, check out the library’s online database: eLibrary http://www.jmrl.org/on-databases.htm. It contains full text of more than 900 magazine and newspaper titles. Another reliable online resource is the Encyclopedia Americana, also available from the database website.
Check with the Greene Library staff (985-5227) for help accessing any of this information.