Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's OlympicsThis New York Times–bestselling author’s account of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin offers a “vivid portrait not just of Owens but of ’30s Germany and America” (Sports Illustrated). 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, single-handedly falsifying Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy. 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 Drawing on unprecedented access to the Owens family, previously unpublished interviews, and archival research, Jeremy Schaap transports us to Germany and tells the dramatic tale of Owens and his fellow athletes at the contest dubbed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 incisive reporting and rich storytelling, Schaap reveals what really happened over those tense, exhilarating weeks in a “snappy and dramatic” work of sports history (Publishers Weekly). “A remarkable job of tackling a complex subject and bringing it to life.” —John Feinstein “Add[s] even more luster to the indelibly heroic achievements of Jesse Owens.” —Ken Burns |
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Alan Gould Albritton Amateur Athletic American Olympic Committee Angeles asked Associated Press Avery Brundage Berlin boycott broad jump champion championship Charles Riley Cleveland coach compete Cromwell crowd Daley despite Draper Eulace Peacock feet film final finished Frank Wykoff Führer German Goebbels going gold medal Grantland Rice Hitler hurdles Ibid inches Jesse Owens Jesse’s Jews Joe Louis Johnson July jumper knew Larry Snyder later legs Leni Riefenstahl Lewald Luz Long Mahoney Marty Glickman meet meters Nazi Negro never official Ohio Olym Olympians Olympic Games Olympic team Olympic trials Owens’s Paddock Paul Gallico race Ralph Metcalfe Randall’s Island reported runners Ruth salute Sam Stoller Schmeling Sherrill Shirer snub sprint sprinter stadium star Stoller There’s Third Reich thought tion told track and field victory wanted Washington Post weeks Westbrook Pegler world record wrote yards York