Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics
by Jeremy Schaap
List Price:
Our Price: $3.33
You Save: $11.62 (78%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.49 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jeremy SchaapEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2008-02-05
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics
Book Review: Eulace Peacock
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is about Jesse Owens indeed but I find as an extremely fascinating detail about this book is that their was one, Eulace Peacock, part-Cherokee who was the one man who seemed to be able to equal Jesse Owens in the USA in trying out for the Olympics and in collegiate track and field events and Peacock missed out on the Olympics due to a torn hamstring, how strange fate can be, that these two men were so close to each other's ability, if not for that torn hamstring, we could be talking about Eulace Peacock along with Jesse Owens in regards to the 1936 Olympics, as it is, Peacock is more of a footnote in US Track and Field history. The facts are is that Peacock managed to defeat Jesse Lewis in 7 out of 10 100 yard dashes the two ran against each other.
Otherwise, one character in the book briefly mentioned is a Dr. Wilhelm Gustloff. Not mentioned in the book, is that a Ship was named after him and that ship sunk in 1945 to be the largest Maritime disaster ever recorded, it may have been a hospital ship in fact. Of course, Gustloff was associated with the Nazi party.
All of this might go to say, this book is more than about Jesse Owens and the 1936 Olympics, Luz Long being another part of the whole story, a German Long jumper who in fact, was Owens competitor but selflessly aided Owens with advice that may have helped Owens to another gold medal. Long seems to be a true hero who became a fatality during World War II.
Yes, I've read the other reviews and perhaps Schaap has interjected some personal views but I'd still grade this the full five stars for telling us this vibrant story. The build up is fascinating and concise in telling of some of Owens' early life and the build up of the Olympics. Too, I'm happy that Schaap relates to us information about the Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage and the AAU. Clearly, we frown upon people saying Olympics should be boycotted from time to time such as to our efforts in China or the 1980 games. But Schaap and other authors point out information that I believe shows that some of our American Olympic officials may not be fair as well. One example was the treatment of Jim Thorpe and there are many others throughout the years. Schaap gives press accounts from back then and then, to the year 2008: I will read Epoch Times on the internet in covering the Beijing Olympics and I see parallels though in this case, attending the Olympics seems to have been the best thing to do. As for the 1936 question, maybe we should have passed on those Olympics that the Nazis hosted; but from the book, it seems the German public were truly enamored with Owens, the world's greatest athlete.
Lastly, the book does build up to the Olympics, maybe it is like the first 2/3rds of the book is the build up and then once in Berlin, the book seems to go at a very fast pace, understandably but it does cover Jesse Owens and what a sprinter, I appreciate him even more after this book as opposed to the modern sprinters we might have seen in Beijing or Athens or Sydney in recent years. On the back of the book is the quote: "You think you know about Jesse Owens, you think you know the whole story about the '36 Olympics. Think again"- Mike Lupica. To this, I only thought, I wouldn't claim to know about those '36 Olympics barely an iota. All we hear about it seems is how Jesse won those gold medals back then. This book informs us about that event extremely well.
Summary of Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics
At the 1936 Olympics, against a backdrop of swastikas and goose-stepping storm troopers, an African-American son of sharecroppers won a staggering four gold medals and single-handedly demonstrated that Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy was a lie. The story of Jesse Owens at the Berlin games is that of an athletic performance that transcends sports. It is also the intimate and complex tale of one remarkable man's courage. Drawing on unprecedented access to the Owens family, previously unpublished interviews, and exhaustive archival research, Jeremy Schaap transports us to Germany and tells the dramatic tale of Owens and his fellow athletes at the contest dubbed the Nazi Olympics.With his incisive reporting and rich storytelling, Schaap reveals what really happened over those tense, exhilarating weeks in a nuanced and riveting work of sports history.
African-American & Black Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in African-American & Black Books
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex HaleyBallantine Books; Published: 1992-11; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.40
Price in other shops:
The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhoodby Helene Cooper
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-09-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Storyby Ben Carson, Cecil Murphey
Zondervan; Published: 1996-12-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.41
Price in other shops:
The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Editionby James McBride
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2006-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
Letter to My Daughterby Maya Angelou
Random House; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.90
Price in other shops:
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Lifeby Tony Dungy, Nathan Whitaker
Tyndale House Publishers; Published: 2008-05-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Familyby Annette Gordon-Reed
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2008-09-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.41
Price in other shops:
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)by Barack Obama
Vintage; Published: 2008-07-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.36
Price in other shops:
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritanceby Barack Obama
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2004-08-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Togetherby Ron Hall, Denver Moore
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2008-03-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.77
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing Historyby Jeremy Schaap
Mariner Books; Published: 2006-04-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.67
Price in other shops:
Time For Kids: Jesse Owens: Running into Historyby Editors Of Time For Kids
Collins; Published: 2008-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.75
Price in other shops:
Jesse Owens: An American Life (Sport and Society (SPS))by William J. Baker
University of Illinois Press; Published: 2006-07-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the Worldby David Maraniss
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-07-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.26
Price in other shops:
Hitler's Olympics: The 1936 Berlin Olympic Gamesby Christopher Hilton
The History Press; Published: 2008-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.12
Price in other shops:
Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936by David Clay Large
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2007-04-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.67
Price in other shops:
Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith (Sporting)by Tommie Smith, Delois Smith, David Steele
Temple University Press; Published: 2008-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.30
Price in other shops:
Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Seasonby Jonathan Eig
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.19
Price in other shops:
Berlin Games: How the Nazis Stole the Olympic Dreamby Guy Walters
Harper Perennial; Published: 2007-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravichby Mark Kriegel
Free Press; Published: 2008-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.49
Price in other shops: