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The plethora of Olympic-related products, of course, will continue throughout the year, and the publishing industry is no exception.
Often, the so-called "picture book" conveys more about the immediacy of athletic events in ways that words never can. The United States Olympic Committee's Olympic Dreams: 100 Years of Excellence and the Associated Press's The Olympics at 100: A Celebration in Pictures are two of the best.
Although it doesn't specifically state it anywhere in the book, the USOC's book is devoted exclusively to the Summer Games. With a (thankfully) short introduction by James A. Michener, Olympic Dreams provides fascinating looks at each of the Summer Olympiads, beginning with Athens, Greece's inauguration of the modern Games. And while the USOC publishes this book, it fortunately includes many of the international athletes whose dominance at the Games are memorable to American audiences. The chapter on the 1972 Games in Munich, with brief but well-rounded coverage of the athletes (Olga Korbut, Mark Spitz, Frank Shorter) as well as the tragic and controversial (the terrorist killings of 11 Israeli athletes, the USSR-USA basketball championship), will jog the memories of any baby boomer.
Drawing from the AP's extensive photo and news archives, The Olympics at 100 focuses on the "newsworthy" events of the Summer and Winter Olympics. Mostly, this is to the book's credit. Although subtitled "A Celebration in Pictures," the bookÕs photography is accompanied by often-extensive stories. Its coverage of the Israeli tragedy in Munich is quite thorough. Yet the "newsworthy" aspect has its drawbacks as well. For its coverage of the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games, eight pages are wasted on the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan fiasco (ugh), while five-time speed-skating gold medalist Bonnie Blair only merits three small pictures and no mention in the text.
Shelton Clark was beaten by Uta Pippig in the 1993 New York marathon. He is a freelance writer in Nashville.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.