Sports in World History

<p>This lively and clear survey provides a wide-ranging overview of the history of modern sports, covering such topics as:</p><ul> <li>why human beings are athletes</li> <li>how the major modern sports came about and how they spread throughout the world with the help of enthusiastic individuals, sports organizations, the YMCA and the Olympic movement</li> <li>discussions of some of the most popular of the 300 modern world sports including: soccer, basketball, baseball, cricket, table tennis, tennis, Formula One racing, golf, swimming, skiing, volleyball, track and field, boxing, judo and cycling</li> <li>the history of both western and non-western sports in depth, as well as the increasing globalization of sports today</li> <li>the challenges facing the world of sports today, such as commercialization and the use of performance-enhancing drugs.</li> </ul><p>Sports historians and cultural studies students will all find this book gives a fascinating and invaluable insight into the world of sport through history.</p> <p>Preface Introduction 1. The Athletic Imperative and the Reasons for Sport 2. The Emergence of Modern Sports 3. The Globalization of Sport 4. The Significance of Global Sports</p>