Draws together international scholars on issues that emerge from ancient Olympic contests, and over one hundred years of modern Olympic history, with varied perspectives, while encompassing an assessment of literature and debates on the Olympics. This book serves as a resource for students and researchers interested in significance of the Games.

Introduction: "Coubertin's Olympic Games: The Greatest Show on Earth" (K.B. Wamsley, K. Young). Part I: The History and Development of the Olympic Games. From Olympia 776 BC to Athens 2004: The Origin and Authenticity of the Modern Olympic Games. (D. Young). The Olympic Games Experience: Origins and Early Challenges. (D. Brown). The Nazi Olympics of 1936. (A. Kruger). The Cold War Games. (C.R. Torres, M. Dyreson). Amateurism, High Performance Sport, and the Olympics. (H. Cantelon). Olympic Men and Women: The Politics of Gender in the Modern Games. (K.B. Wamsley, G. Pfister). International Politics and Olympic Governance. (B. Houlihan). 'Another World is Possible': Recapturing Alternative Olympic Histories, Imagining Different Games. (B. Kidd). Part II: The Olympic Games: Contemporary Issues and Controversies. The Five Rings and the Small Screen: Television, Sponsorship, and the New Media in the Olympic Movement. (G. Whannel). The Commercialisation of the Olympics: Cities, Corporations, and the Olympic Commodity. (A. Tomlinson). Lobbying Orgies: Olympic City Bids in the Post-Los Angeles Era. (D. Booth). Symbols without Substance: Aboriginal Peoples and the Illusions of Olympic Ceremonies. (J. Forsyth, K.B. Wamsley). Olympic Drug Testing: An Interpretive History. (J. Hoberman). Political Violence, Terrorism, and Security at the Olympic Games. (M. Atkinson, K. Young).