2024 Summer Olympics Reading List

In the Olympic Spirit yet? In honour of the Paris 2024 Olympics we’ve compiled some book recommendations in sports and leisure studies, Olympics history, and sports history in Canada and beyond.

Beyond the Finish Line
Images, Evidence, and the History of the Photo-Finish
By Jonathan Finn

A fascinating journey through the history of the photo-finish in sports, and a lively biography of a critical technology, this book illuminates the cultural role of the photo-finish in win-at-all-costs culture and warns that in our pursuit for precision we may threaten the human element of sport that galvanizes mere spectators into fans.

Games of Discontent
Protests, Boycotts, and Politics at the 1968 Mexico Olympics Games
By Harry Blutstein

Describing a range of protest activities preceding and surrounding the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, Games of Discontent shines light on the world during a politically transformative time when discontents were able, for the first time, to globalize their protests.

The Montreal Olympics
An Insider’s View of Organizing a Self-financing Games
By Paul Charles Howell

The 1976 Summer Olympics were the most riveting Games the world had ever seen, but planning efforts in Montreal were complicated by a wilful mayor, an inexperienced head of the IOC, a federal government that stayed at arm’s length, and a provincial government split along federalist/separatist lines.

Red Mitten Nationalism
Sport, Commercialism, and Settler Colonialism in Canada
By Estée Fresco

Unacknowledged truths about the history and persistence of Settler colonialism in Canada haunt the commercial features of this country’s sporting events. Red Mitten Nationalism investigates contemporary Canadian patriotism by exploring how understandings of Canadian identity are shaped at the intersection of sport, nationalism, and commercialism.

Who’s Coming Out to Play
Disruption and Disorientation in Queer Community Sports
By Claire Carter

Who’s Coming Out to Play paints a vivid picture of the lived experiences of queer bodies in queer sporting spaces, exploring both the possibilities and the continued problems they face. Exploring queer teams and leagues of varying sizes and from various locations, this book focuses on leagues that have previously identified as women’s or lesbian and are now becoming trans and genderqueer inclusive.