
From Ritual to Record
The Nature of Modern Sports
Allen Guttmann(Author)
Columbia University Press
Published on 4. August 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-231-13341-8 (ISBN)
Description
Originally published in 1978, From Ritual to Record was one of the first books to recognize the importance of sports as a lens on the fundamental structure of societies. In this reissue, Guttmann emphasizes the many ways that modern sports, dramatically different from the sports of previous eras, have profoundly shaped contemporary life.
Reviews / Votes
A pioneering work in a field remarkably little touched... For any future writer about the philosophy or the sociology of sport in general, this book will be required reading. -- Julian Symons Times Literary Supplement The chief advantage that Guttmann has over other sports theoreticians is a willingness to employ the techniques of modern rhetoric in creating some order out of the ideological confusion now swirling around his subject. He is a definer, a synthesizer, a causal analyst, as well as an arguer and a counter-arguer. Virginia Quarterly [Guttmann's] lucid, original, stimulating, blessedly jargon-free book does something to lighten our darkness. His pleasant, incisive style reflects a mind uncluttered by prejudice or ideology. -- Brian Glanville London Sunday TimesMore details
Edition
updated edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Weight
312 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-13341-8 (9780231133418)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2004
Columbia University Press
from
€44.49
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
03/1979
Columbia University Press
€21.67
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Allen Guttmann is professor of American studies at Amherst College. His many books include The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games, Games and Empires: Modern Sports and Cultural Imperialism (Columbia), and a translation of Peter Kuhnst's Sports: A Cultural History in the Mirror of Art. He lives in Leverett, Massachusetts.
Content
Play, Games, Contests, SportsFrom Ritual to RecordCapitalism, Protestantism, and Modern SportWhy Baseball Was Our National GameThe Fascination of FootballIndividualism ReconsideredConclusionAfterword. From Ritual to Record: A Retrospective Critique