Description
Book SynopsisTells the individual stories of the athletes who gathered in Mexico City in 1968, a year of dramatic upheaval around the world. Racial tensions were high on the US Olympic team, where inflamed black athletes had to choose between demands for justice, on the one hand, and loyalty to country, on the other.
Trade Review“Richard Hoffer reminds us why sports matter, deftly returning to the roiling 1968 Olympics, when it was the athlete who often stood at the forefront of social change. . . .
Something in the Air reconnects sports to America, as it should be. It is a truly terrific book.”—Howard Bryant, ESPN senior writer and author of
Juicing the Game“Richard Hoffer has given us a wonderful cross-section of characters and a thorough portrayal of the controversial events surrounding the 1968 Olympics, so that we learn to appreciate these Mexico City Games in a way we never did before. It’s sports history at both its finest and most fun.”—Frank Deford,
Sports Illustrated senior contributing writer
“Suddenly, as if picked up by some gust, you’re hurtled into the political, cultural, and athletic tempest of 1968, and into the hearts and minds of the American Olympians in its swirl. That gust is Richard Hoffer’s exhilarating prose. Just go with the wind.”—Gary Smith,
Sports Illustrated senior writer
“[Hoffer’s] jaunty but disciplined prose puts the wind at the reader’s back and shows us how the leaps, lifts and dashes of 1968 made a significant impact on the civil rights movement and raised the political consciousness of athletes.”—Gordon Marino,
New York TimesTable of Contents1. Roads to Glory - Dogs on Ice, a Third-String End, and Robin Hood2. 1968 - Tanks on the Streets, Dead on a Balcony, and Audie Murphy3. Speed City - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, "Tutti Frutti," and Jack Daniels4. Countdown to Mexico - Lymphocytes, Zip Guns, and ROTC5. Boycott - Hells Angels, a Petrified Pig, and More Ralph Henry Barbour6. A Desperate Innovation - Rolls, Straddles, and an Airborne Seizure7. The Trials - Spondylolisthesis, Brush Spikes, and a Brutal Stomping8. Denver - The Anarchists' Convention, a Vote for Nixon, and a Cold Chill9. Mexico City - Thin Air, Fresh Paint, and Shots in the Night10. Opening Ceremony - Flag Dipping, a Family Feud, and 6,300 Pigeons11. And They're Off - A Grisly Tableau, Pinochle, and a Guided Missile Launch12. Protest - Licorice Hammers, Tommie Jets, and Black Gloves13. Harder and Higher - The Little Stinker, Beauty and the Beast, and Hollywood Agents14. Aftershocks - Pimped-Out Socks, a Mutation Performance, and Sparks Under His Feet15. Monday - A Grunion Hunt, a Crying Tigerbelle, and a Jig for Joy16. Week Two - A Cuddlesome Junior, a Ragtag Bunch, and a Blonde in a Beehive17. Pappy's Boys -
Rateros, Various Sarges, and a Lucky Picture of a Pretty Girl18. Going Home - Boy Scouts, Psychedelic Mileage, and a Black BraAfterword
AcknowledgmentsNotes on SourcesIndex
