Sports in the Western World

William J. Baker is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Maine. He is the author of Jesse Owens: An American Lifeand coeditor of Sports in Modern America, Sports and the Humanities, and Sport in Africa: Essays in Social History.

"A complete sports history from Paleolithic times to the present. There's something revealing on almost every page of this fine effort."--Publisher's Weekly "Lively narrative. . . . [I]ts virtues are rich detail, extended coverage, and a fluid writing style."--Historian "Every . . . sporting even, from amateur Olympics to professional media hypes [is] presented in this thorough, well-composed chronicle."--Best Sellers "[This] ambitious book examines the impulses behind the games that man has always played. . . . Entertaining throughout."--Kliatt "An elegant book, which examines the rise of competitive sport in Western society from ancient times to the present. . . . The focus is on athletes, sporting patrons, spectators, and opinion makers. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice