Winning is the Only Thing

James S. Olson is the Texas State University System Regents Professor of History at Sam Houston State University. He has written and edited dozens of books, including Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History, also published by Johns Hopkins.

An important and absorbing book... Scholars, students, and the general adult reading public all have much to gain from it. -- Arthur McClure History Probably the best brief treatment of the culture and business of American sports and the warping influence of television, commercialism, nationalism, and narcissism... An ambitious overview, Winning Is the Only Thing treats politico-cultural themes and a host of other subjects in a book that is clearly aimed at both general and scholarly audiences. -- Lawrence N. Powell Journal of Southern History A provocative essay on sports in America. It provides analyses of a multitude of people and trends, it is a synthesis of the best sports writing and sports history of the last several decades, and it offers insight into this significant part of American culture. Orlando Sentinel Reminds us that while the sports world may be seamier than ever, scandals are nothing new. -- Felicia E. Halpert The Nation

• PrefaceChapter 1. The World That Hiroshima Created: The Olympic Games and the Cold WarChapter 2. The Integration of American SportsChapter 3. Work and Play: The Business of Professional SportsChapter 4. Scandal TimeChapter 5. Television, Sports, and Mass CultureChapter 6. The Roone RevolutionChapter 7. The New Rules of the GameChapter 8. The Black Rebellion in American SportsChapter 9. In the Shadow of MunichChapter 10. Sports and Self in Modern AmericaBibliographic EssayIndex