Triumph : The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics

by Schaap, Jeremy

• ISBN13: 9780618919109
• ISBN10: 0618919104
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-05
• Publisher: Houghton Miff

Summary

At the 1936 Olympics, against a backdrop of swastikas and goose-stepping storm troopers, an African-American son of sharecroppers won a staggering four gold medals and single-handedly demonstrated that Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy was a lie. The story of Jesse Owens at the Berlin games is that of an athletic performance that transcends sports. It is also the intimate and complex tale of the courage of one remarkable man. Drawing on unprecedented access to the Owens family, previously unpublished interviews, and exhaustive archival research, Jeremy Schaap transports us to Germany and tells the dramatic tale of Owens and his fellow athletes at the contest dubbed the Nazi Olympics. With his incisive reporting and rich storytelling, Schaap reveals what really happened over those tense, exhilarating weeks in a nuanced and riveting work of sports history.

Author Biography

Jeremy Schaap is the author of the New York Times bestseller Cinderella Man. An ESPN anchor and national correspondent, his work has been published in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Time, Parade, TV Guide, and the New York Times. He has also appeared on ABC's World News Tonight and the CBS Evening News. He is the son of the award-winning journalist Dick Schaap.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. xi
A Day to Remember	p. 3
Out of Alabama	p. 14
Vincible	p. 31
Heel Bones and a New Start	p. 55
The Judge and the Millionaire	p. 63
"We Are with You, Adolf"	p. 83
A Blessing in Disguise	p. 98
Jew Kills Nazi	p. 105
A Friend and a Foe Felled	p. 112
Olympic Trials	p. 122
Olympia	p. 137
The Belle of the Ball	p. 142
The Battle Tent of Some Great Emperor	p. 150
The Youth of the World	p. 159
Day One	p. 172
Day Two	p. 183
Day Three	p. 196
"He Flies Like the Hindenburg": Day Four	p. 213
The Relay	p. 219
Epilogue	p. 230
Notes	p. 237
Acknowledgments	p. 257
Index	p. 261
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