
The First London Olympics: 1908
Rebecca Jenkins(Author)
Piatkus Books (Publisher)
Published on 26. June 2008
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-7499-5168-9 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check different version
Description
In the summer that saw the first successful flight of the Zeppelin, a 140 acre site of scrubland in West London was transformed into the White City, which housed the 1908 Franco British Exhibition - and a state-of-the-art stadium built to house the first London Olympics. The Olympics were organised by volunteers in just 18 months and at a fraction of the cost of the modern Olympics and yet, just as today, the sport was overshadowed by doping scandals and caused international uproar. The ferocious competitiveness of a US team dominated by New York Irish Americans led to a succession of 'scandals' culminating in the historic marathon when Italian confectioner baker Dorando Pietri's heroic efforts at the limits of exhaustion so entranced on-lookers that track officials helped him across the finish line. Coinciding with the 100th Anniversary of the first London Olympics, this delightful social and sporting history - illustrated with over 70 contemporary images - provides a thought-provoking contrast to the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games.
Reviews / Votes
Jenkins, in particular, captures the many ironies of that shambolic occasion and wittily evokes the amateurish spirit that pervaded the early Olympic movement. THE TIMES A must for Olympic-philes. HEALTH AND FITNESS MAGAZINE A delightful book THE OLYMPIC REVIEWMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 220 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
660 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7499-5168-9 (9780749951689)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Rebecca Jenkins
The First London Olympics: 1908
Book
05/2012
Piatkus Books
€32.37
Article exhausted; check different version
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2011
Piatkus Books
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Rebecca Jenkins, the daughter of the late Bishop of Durham, is a cultural historian, novelist and biographer. She is the author of a biography of Fanny Kemble, the nineteenth-century actress and celebrity. Rebecca lives in Durham.