Description
Book SynopsisMexican leaders eagerly anticipated the attention that hosting the world''s most visible sporting event would bring, yet they could not have predicted the array of conflicts that would play out before the eyes of the world during the notorious 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Following twenty years of economic growth and political stabilityknown as the Mexican miracleMexican policy makers escaped their prior image of being economically underdeveloped to successfully craft an image of a nation that was both modern and cosmopolitan but also steeped in culture and tradition. Buoyed by this new image, they set their sights on the Olympic bid, and they not only won but also prepared impressive facilities.
Prior to the opening ceremonies, several controversies emerged, the most glaring of which was a student protest movement that culminated in a public massacre, leaving several hundred students dead. Less dramatic were concerns that athletes would suffer harm in the high elevation and thi
Trade Review
Witherspoon's organization of the material is tight, his exposition rich, at times riveting, and always lucid. Before the Eyes of the World is the best book I have ever read treating one specific Olympic Games.
* Olympika *
Witherspoon does a commendable job at delivering a cogently organized, very readable narrative of the history of sporting events in Mexico, culminating in the 1968 Games. The book's broader discussion of the politics of international Olympic sporting is both engaging and revealing.
* The Americas *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: How the Olympics Came to Mexico
Chapter 2: Image Preserved: Early Controversies and the Cultural Olympics
Chapter 3: Image Tarnished: The Revolt of the Black Athlete
Chapter 4: Image Shattered: Tlatelolco
Chapter 5: The World Watches: October '68
Chapter 6: Settling the Score
Notes
Bibliography
Index
