Download or read book Gymnastics and Politics written by Hans Bonde and published by Museum Tusculanum Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first international biography of Niels Bukh (1880-1950), the charismatic founder of the special Danish school of modern gymnastics. His team of young elite gymnasts travelled around the world demonstrating his gymnastics, and in Japan his school is still attracting thousands of pupils. Bukh's private life and his fascination with the German Nazi party makes him a very controversial figure even fifty years after his death.
Download or read book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes written by Joan Ryan and published by Doubleday. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sports reporter investigates the training of girls as professional gymnasts and figure skaters, arguing that the pressure to succeed and to look beautiful results in mental and physical harm, from eating disorders to psychological trauma.
Download or read book Feel No Fear written by Bela Karolyi and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 1994-05-31 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The charismatic coach of gymnastic stars including Nadia Comanec and Mary Lou Retton chronicles his life and career, from troubles with Romanian secret police, through his decision to defect, to his fight for better gymnastics in the United States.
Download or read book Degrees of Difficulty written by Georgia Cervin and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How the Cold War era changed the trajectory of women's gymnastics Electrifying athletes like Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci helped make women’s artistic gymnastics one of the most popular events in the Olympic Games. But the transition of gymnastics from a women’s sport to a girl’s sport in the 1970s also laid the foundation for a system of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of gymnasts around the world. Georgia Cervin offers a unique history of women's gymnastics, examining how the high-stakes diplomatic rivalry of the Cold War created a breeding ground for exploitation. Yet, a surprising spirit of international collaboration arose to decide the social values and image of femininity demonstrated by the sport. Cervin also charts the changes in style, equipment, training, and participants that transformed the sport, as explosive athleticism replaced balletic grace and gymnastics dominance shifted from East to West. Sweeping and revelatory, Degrees of Difficulty tells a story of international friction, unexpected cooperation, and the legacy of abuse and betrayal created by the win-at-all-cost attitudes of the Cold War.
Download or read book Gymnastics and Politics written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Embodying the Nation written by Berit Elisabeth Dencker and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 932 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Feel No Fear written by Bela Karolyi and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 1996-07-11 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The controversial gymnastics coach shares his own personal story of a life in gymnastics, detailing his career in his communist homeland, clashes with Romanian secret police, defection, and work with such stars as Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. Reprint.
Download or read book The End of the Perfect 10 written by Dvora Meyers and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exciting and insightful account of the controversial world of gymnastics, the recent changes of the scoring system, and why those changes will drive American gymnasts to the top of the sport in the twenty-first century.
Download or read book Germany Incarnate written by Daniel Alexander McMillan and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 1154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Letters to a Young Gymnast written by Nadia Comaneci and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2009-04-28 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If there were such a thing as an "elder" stateswoman in women's gymnastics today, Nadia Comaneci would win that title as readily as she once won gold medals. Olga Korbut came before her, and many other medalists would follow, but none has ever been as dominant in winning the hearts of millions around the world. With grit and determination, Nadia Comaneci ushered in a new era for women's sports, one where young girls could vault into the arena of superstardom. Even today, almost thirty years after her greatest triumphs, you need only mention the name "Nadia" and gymnastics fans know instantly whom you are talking about. In Letters to a Young Gymnast, Nadia shows what it takes to achieve athletic perfection and become the best. With inspiring and dramatic stories from her own experience, she tells us how the young girl that Bela Karolyi discovered in a Romanian elementary school found the inner strength to become a world-class athlete at such a young age. This collection of Nadia's memories, anecdotes, and advice grants unique insights into the mind of a top competitor. From how to live after you've realized your dream, to the necessity of "a spirit forged with mettle," Nadia's thoughts on athleticism and sacrifice are eye-opening and surprisingly challenging.
Download or read book Head Over Heels written by Hannah Orenstein and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a best beach/summer read by O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Parade, PopSugar, Marie Claire, Bustle, and more! From the author of the Love at First Like and Playing with Matches, an electrifying rom-com set in the high stakes world of competitive gymnastics, full of Hannah Orenstein’s signature “charm, whimsy, and giddy romantic tension” (BuzzFeed). The past seven years have been hard on Avery Abrams: After training her entire life to make the Olympic gymnastics team, a disastrous performance ended her athletic career for good. Her best friend and teammate, Jasmine, went on to become an Olympic champion, then committed the ultimate betrayal by marrying their emotionally abusive coach, Dimitri. Now, reeling from a breakup with her football star boyfriend, Avery returns to her Massachusetts hometown, where new coach Ryan asks her to help him train a promising young gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Despite her misgivings and worries about the memories it will evoke, Avery agrees. Back in the gym, she’s surprised to find sparks flying with Ryan. But when a shocking scandal in the gymnastics world breaks, it has shattering effects not only for the sport but also for Avery and her old friend Jasmine. Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jasmine Guillory, Head Over Heels proves that no one “writes about modern relationships with more humor or insight than Hannah Orenstein” (Dana Schwartz, author of Choose Your Own Disaster).
Download or read book The Little Communist Who Never Smiled written by Lola Lafon and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning novel powerfully re-imagines a childhood in the spotlight of history, politics, and destiny. Montreal 1976. A fourteen-year-old girl steps out onto the floor of the Montreal Forum and into history. Twenty seconds on uneven bars is all it takes for Nadia Comaneci, the slight, unsmiling child from Communist Romania, to etch herself into the collective memory. The electronic scoreboard, astonishing spectators with what has happened, shows 1.0. The judges have awarded an unprecedented perfect ten, the first in Olympic gymnastics, though the scoreboard is unable to register anything higher than 9.9. In The Little Communist Who Never Smiled, Lola Lafon tells the story of Comaneci's journey from growing up in rural Romania to her eventual defection to the United States in 1989. Adored by young girls in the west and appropriated as a political emblem by the Ceausescu regime, Comaneci's life was scrutinized wherever she went. Lafon's fictionalized account shows how a single athletic event mesmerizes the world and reverberates across nations.
Download or read book Off Balance written by Dominique Moceanu and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this searing and riveting New York Times bestseller, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu reveals the dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics, the true price of success…and the shocking secret about her past and her family that she only learned years later. At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American women’s team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships. Off Balance vividly delineates each of the dominating characters who contributed to Moceanu’s rise to the top, from her stubborn father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a public battle with her parents. But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanu’s incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second sister—born with a physical disability and given away at birth—who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu’s footsteps in an astonishing way. A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life.
Download or read book Politics Is for Power written by Eitan Hersh and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-01-14 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brilliant condemnation of political hobbyism—treating politics like entertainment—and a call to arms for well-meaning, well-informed citizens who consume political news, but do not take political action. Who is to blame for our broken politics? The uncomfortable answer to this question starts with ordinary citizens with good intentions. We vote (sometimes) and occasionally sign a petition or attend a rally. But we mainly “engage” by consuming politics as if it’s a sport or a hobby. We soak in daily political gossip and eat up statistics about who’s up and who’s down. We tweet and post and share. We crave outrage. The hours we spend on politics are used mainly as pastime. Instead, we should be spending the same number of hours building political organizations, implementing a long-term vision for our city or town, and getting to know our neighbors, whose votes will be needed for solving hard problems. We could be accumulating power so that when there are opportunities to make a difference—to lobby, to advocate, to mobilize—we will be ready. But most of us who are spending time on politics today are focused inward, choosing roles and activities designed for our short-term pleasure. We are repelled by the slow-and-steady activities that characterize service to the common good. In Politics Is for Power, pioneering and brilliant data analyst Eitan Hersh shows us a way toward more effective political participation. Aided by political theory, history, cutting-edge social science, as well as remarkable stories of ordinary citizens who got off their couches and took political power seriously, this book shows us how to channel our energy away from political hobbyism and toward empowering our values.
Download or read book Chalked Up written by Jennifer Sey and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2008-04-22 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of the 1986 U.S. National Gymnastics champion whose lifelong dream was to compete in the Olympics, until anorexia, injuries, and coaching abuses nearly destroyed her Fanciful dreams of gold medals and Nadia Comaneci led Jennifer Sey to become a gymnast at the age of six. She was a natural at the sport, and her early success propelled her family to sacrifice everything to help her become, by age eleven, one of America’s elite,competing at prestigious events worldwide alongside such future gymnastics’ luminaries as Mary Lou Retton. But as she set her sights higher and higher—the senior national team, the World Championships, the 1988 Olympics—Sey began to change, putting her needs, her health, and her well-being aside in the name of winning. And the adults in her life refused to notice her downward spiral. In Chalked Up Sey reveals the tarnish behind her gold medals. A powerful portrait of intensity and drive, eating disorders and stage parents, abusive coaches and manipulative businessmen, denial and the seduction of success, it is the story of a young girl whose dreams would become eclipsed by the adults around her. As she recounts her experiences, Sey sheds light on the destructiveness of our winning-is-everything culture where underage and underweight girls are celebrated and on the need for balance in children’s lives.
Download or read book How Gymnastics Systems Reflect the Government of Their Home Country written by Elizabeth A. Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sport and International Politics written by Pierre Arnaud and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sociology and history of sport is a fast rising subject. There is a growing interest in issues associated with globalization and sport culture across European and North American boundaries. This book fills an important gap. At the forefront of new areas of research in sport studies, it deals with a significant historical period systematically and, above all, internationally. Brought together in a single volume, this work examines the shaping of sport both by the fascist and communist institutions of Europe during the interwar period. It shows how sport was used as an instrument of propaganda and psychological pressure by major political and sporting nations as well as international movements such as the Catholic Church and the International Worker Sport Movement. This volume will be a key reference for researchers and students in sports history, sports sociology, politics and European studies.
