Sport history now provides a burgeoning literature, exploring themes from aerobics to yachting. Though the field is in good health Douglas Booth argues that in comparison to most mainstream history, sport history has rarely been called upon to question the foundations of its historical knowledge. In "The Field: Truth and Fiction in Sport History, Booth offers a comprehensive assessment of sport history as an academic discipline, exploring the ways in which professional historians can gather materials, construct and interrogate evidence and arguments, and present their stories about the sporting past. - Part I examines theories of knowledge in sport history. - Part II examines the uses of historical knowledge in popular and academic studies of sport history. In advocating greater reflexivity and openness, "The Field makes clear the need for a new rationale within sport history, and sets the agenda for the debate to come. With a clear structure, sport-specific examples, summary tables and a detailed glossary of terms, The Field provides students, teachers and researchers in sport history with an unparalleled resource to tackle issues that are fundamental to the future of their subject.

Prologue: An Introduction to Sport Historiography. Part I: Models. Introduction to Part I 2. Facts, Objectivity, and Interpretation: Truth in Sport History 3. Facts, Concepts, and Structures: Theory in Sport History 4. Narratives, Non-narratives, and Fiction: Presenting the Sporting Past 5. Remnants of the Past: Sources, Evidence, and Traces in Sport History Part II: Explanatory Paradigms. Introduction to Part II 6. Advocacy: Debunking Myths 7. Comparison: Expanding the Evidence 8. Causation: Explaining Determinants 9. Social Change: Explaining Transformations 10. Context: Interpreting the Big Picture 11. New Culture: Interpreting Language and Discourse Epilogue: Towards an Alternative Model? Glossary.