Aug 14

Written by: Joe Longo
Thursday, August 14, 2008 

Many are surprised about the variety of library materials available about the Summer Olympics.

Just published this year are “Swifter, higher, stronger : a photographic history of the Summer Olympics” by Sue Macy for National Geographic and David Wallechinsky’s "The complete book of the Olympics".

“The bone cage” by Angie Abdou is a recent novel which questions “what happens to athletes who put everything else on hold for a chance at the Olympics”. “What lurks in the shadows of elite athletics is what makes Abdou's ... stories so compelling."

Borrow fascinating DVDs such as “The Concrete Revolution” which tells the story of the construction workers who have been recruited from rural China to work in Beijing as the city prepares for the 2008 Olympics.

Watch again “Chariots of Fire” which won the Academy Award for best picture in 1981.

Listen to the Boston Pops Orchestra’s compact disc “Summon the heroes” from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Books which celebrate Olympic highs and lows include “Triumph : the untold story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics” by Jeremy Schaap and “Massacre in Munich : the manhunt for the killers behind the 1972 Olympic’s massacre” by Michael Bar-Zohar.

“The Olympics' strangest moments : extraordinary but true tales from the history of the Olympic Games” by Geoff Tibballs is a must read.

Canadian Richard Pound’s “Inside the Olympics” is a behind-the-scenes look at the politics, the scandals, and the glory of the games.

There has been great interest in reading about Beijing and China. Two recent mystery novels to borrow are “The eye of jade” by Diane Wei Liang and “The killing room” by Peter May.

Canadian writer Jan Wong’s “Beijing confidential : a tale of comrades lost and found” was published last year as was “Beijing : from imperial capital to Olympic city” by Lillian M. Li.

Our DVD collection has two recent powerful films by the Beijing New Picture Film Company called “Curse of the golden flower” and “Riding alone for thousands of miles”.