Rome 1960

Maraniss, David. Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World. New York: Simon & Schuster 2008. Print

First Sentences:

Darkness fell slowly to midsummer Moscow, but the Americans arrived so late that the chartered buses needed headlights to illuminate the ride from the the airport.

Every now and then, for no readily apparent reason, the Russian drivers clicked off the lights, drove a few blocks through the crepuscular murk, then turned on the beams again.


Description:

Ah, the Olympics. Every one of these international competitions offers thrilling stories of the events, the athletes, and the background of the world in the year the competitions are played. From Jesse Owens' four gold medals in the "Nazi Olympics" of 1936 to the hostage slayings in the 1972 Munich Olympics to the overwhelming spectacle of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, these games never fail to thrill on so many levels.

For David Maraniss in his highly readable Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World, it was the 1960 Games that reflected a critical era. Eighty-three countries sent over 5,300 athletes to Rome that year. The Cold War was in full bloom with Russia which had realized that triumphs in sports were good propaganda against the West. Many African countries were competing for the first time, with Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia winning the marathon while running barefoot. Cassius Clay, 18 years old, won the gold medal in boxing while brashly touting his greatness to every audience.

 

Maraniss devotes each chapter to an event and its major competitors, their early years, dreams, training, the competition itself, and the consequences of their individual results. Some athletes triumphed and were loudly hailed internationally. Others bombed out, including one athlete who was the favorite for the gold but finished last in the 100 and 200 meter races and fouled on the 4x400 relay.

 

It's thrilling to read of real heroes who struggled their way to triumph. Wilma Rudolph, the twentieth of twenty-two children, overcame pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio paralysis in one leg to win three track gold medals. With television sending Olympic action worldwide for the first time, Rudolph became a star mobbed wherever she went.

 

And there's Rafer Johnson, the Black decathlete who won gold in his final decathlon, and became the symbol of athletic perfection as well as racial unity in the United States for the world to observe.

 

The Soviets dominated the individual strength events, while the American won more medals in the track and field events as team sports. Rumors of a new Russian training technique, the injection of steroids, raised some eyebrows for the first time, but the drug was not banned during those Games. Avery Brundage, the multimillionaire president of the International Olympic Committee, staunchly threatened all athletes with loss of amateurism and further competition for receiving any sort of compensation, including acting in movies or getting married on a television show and accepting wedding gifts, both events which actually happened that year. 

 

It is a detailed and well-researched book, but Maraniss is a also very skilled storyteller. The book sails along event to event, athlete to athlete. I loved the opportunity to learn more about these men and women from America as well as other countries, and experience the heat of summer in Rome, the pressure felt by athletes, and the enthusiasm of fans for their favorites. A very solid, interesting, transporting read for lovers of sports, Italy, and athletes during this 2021 Olympic summer. 

 

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Goldblatt, David. The Games: A Global History of the Olympics.   

A thorough, readable, fascinating history of the Olympic Games from the birth of the modern games in 1895 in Athens, Greece through the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.