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The Dark History of the Olympics

Related Topics: Pierre de Coubertin

THE GAMES
A Global History of the Olympics
By David Goldblatt
Illustrated. 516 pp. W.W. Norton & Company. $29.95.

In the late 19th century, Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and dropout from the priesthood, found his life’s goal: to create a sporting culture that existed separate from political concerns. And in 1896, with the staging of the first modern Olympic Games, Coubertin got his wish. Sort of.