Controversy, bitter rivalry and unlikely wins have become emblematic of the Olympic Games, this year hosted in Pyeonchang, South Korea. Here are three books that delve into the history of the Games and the sacrifices required of the athletes to win the gold.
THE GAMES In this sweeping history of the Olympics, Goldblatt recounts the origin of the Games, first staged by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the late 1800s with the goal of creating a sporting event absent of politics.
A Global History of the Olympics
By David Goldblatt
516 pp. W.W. Norton & Company. (2016)