John E. Findling is a professor emeritus of history at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana, USA. With Frank W. Thackeray, he is an editor for the Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations series.

Preface
Introduction by John A. Daly
Prologue: The Ancient Games by Robert K. Barney
The Summer Games
Athens 1896 by Joanna Davenport
Paris 1900 by Reet Ann Howell and Max L. Howell
St. Louis 1904 by C. Robert Barnett
Athens 1906 by Karl Lennartz, translated by Stephanie L. Peters and Curtis H. Peters
London 1908 by James R. Coates, Jr.
Stockholm 1912 by Horst Ueberhorst
Berlin 1916 by William Durick
Antwerp 1920 by Roland Renson
Paris 1924 by Paula D. Welch
Amsterdam 1928 by Edward S. Goldstein
Los Angeles 1932 by Doris Pieroth
Berlin 1936 by Dietmar Herz and Angelika Altmann
Tokyo/Helsinki 1940 by Jerry A. Pattengale
London 1944 by Martin J. Manning
London 1948 by Richard A. Voeltz
Helsinki 1952 by Adam R. Hornbuckle
Melbourne 1956 by Ian Jobling
Rome 1960 by Eric Leslie Davies
Tokyo 1964 by Mohammed B. Alam
Mexico City 1968 by Joseph L. Arbena
Munich 1972 by Maynard Brichford
Montreal 1976 by Bruce Kidd
Moscow 1980 by James Riordan
Los Angeles 1984 by Wayne Wilson
Seoul 1988 by Ron Palenski
Barcelona 1992 by Larry Maloney
Atlanta 1996 by Larry Maloney
Sydney 2000 by Max L. Howell
The Winter Games
Chamonix 1924 by Paula D. Welch
St. Moritz 1928 by Donald C. Simmons, Jr.
Lake Placid 1932 by John Fea
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 by Jon W. Stauff
Sapporo/St. Moritz/Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1940 by Swantje Scharenberg
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1944 by Astrid Engelbrecht, translated by Jamey J. Findling
St. Moritz 1948 by Donald C. Simmons, Jr.
Oslo 1952 by Gordon MacDonald and Douglas Brown
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 by Allan W. Hall
Squaw Valley 1960 by Tim Ashwell
Innsbruck 1964 by John J. Kennedy, Jr.
Grenoble 1968 by Douglas Brown and Gordon MacDonald
Sapporo 1972 by Donna Addkison-Simmons
Innsbruck 1976 by John J. Kennedy, Jr.
Lake Placid 1980 by John Fea
Sarajevo 1984 by Robert Dunkelberger
Calgary 1988 by K. B. Wamsley
Albertville and Savoie 1992 by Michele Lellouche
Lillehammer 1994 by Larry Maloney
Nagano 1998 by John E. Findling
Appendix A: The International Olympic Committee by Dwight H. Zakus
Appendix A1: Demetrios Vikelas by Kimberly D. Pelle
Appendix A2: Pierre de Coubertin by Ute Schwabe
Appendix A3: Henri de Baillet-Latour by Edward S. Goldstein
Appendix A4: Sigfrid Edström by Edward S. Goldstein
Appendix A5: Avery Brundage by Robert K. Barney
Appendix A6: Michael Morris, Lord Killanin by Kathy Nichols
Appendix A7: Juan Antonio Samaranch by John E. Findling
Appendix B: The United States Olympic Committee by Robert P. Watson
Appendix C: Olympic Films
Appendix C1: Olympic Documentary Films by Linda K. Fuller
Appendix C2: Olympic Feature Films by Scott A. G. M. Crawford
General Bibliography
Index

The foremost sporting event in the world, the Olympic Games have grown from a quaint idea in the 1890s to a major world happening. This unique book shows the historical context in which each of the Olympic Games has taken place. Divided into sections on the Summer Games and the Winter Games, the book includes chronologically arranged entries on each of the games since 1896. Entries focus on such information as site selection, political questions, controversies, collateral events, changes in programming, and political and economic consequences of the games-all information that is not available in other reference works on the Olympics.
Once again the Olympic flame will burn in the U.S.A. as Atlanta, GA, hosts the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, marking the 100th anniversary of the Modern Olympic Movement. The first Games of the Modern Era were celebrated in Athens in 1896 and have grown from a quaint idea in the 1890s to a major world happening. It is a testament to the founders of the games that the ideals upon which the Olympic Movement was founded have continued throughout the years and will be carried into the next century in Sydney, Australia. Valued for their idealism and revered for the moral code they demonstrate in heroic sporting contests, the Olympic Games are the foremost sporting event in the world. Divided into sections on the Summer Games and the Winter Games, this unique reference work shows the historical context in which each of the Olympic Games has taken place. The book includes chronologically arranged entries on each of the games from 1896 to the Centennial games planned for 1996, and the Olympic Games planned for 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and 2000 in Sydney. Entries focus on such information as site selection, political questions, controversies, collateral events, changes in programming, and political and economic consequences of the games-all information that is not available in other reference works on the Olympics.
Adding another dimension, the appendixes provide biographical profiles of the members of the International Olympic Committee and an entry on the United States Olympic Committee. The volume also provides information on Olympic films and a general bibliography.