Gerald Gems is professor emeritus at North Central College and past president of the North American Society for Sport History.

This succinct monograph provides not only a general study of sports history in the United States from the late 19th to early 20th centuries but also a study of how sports have provided diversion and reassurance during periods of great societal change … Mental Health, Gender, and the Rise of Sport is an entertaining and informative read, made more so by plenty of illustrations and suitable sources.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Modernization: A Society in FluxChapter 2: Neurasthenia: A National EpidemicChapter 3: The Rise of Sport: The Expression of Physical VitalityChapter 4: Baseball; Creating the National GameChapter 5: Cycling: Upsetting Gender NormsChapter 6: Boxing: Reasserting MasculinityChapter 7: Football: A Surrogate Form of WarfareChapter 8: Sport as Therapy: Stress ReliefConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author

Gerald Gems is professor emeritus at North Central College and past president of the North American Society for Sport History.

This succinct monograph provides not only a general study of sports history in the United States from the late 19th to early 20th centuries but also a study of how sports have provided diversion and reassurance during periods of great societal change … Mental Health, Gender, and the Rise of Sport is an entertaining and informative read, made more so by plenty of illustrations and suitable sources.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Modernization: A Society in FluxChapter 2: Neurasthenia: A National EpidemicChapter 3: The Rise of Sport: The Expression of Physical VitalityChapter 4: Baseball; Creating the National GameChapter 5: Cycling: Upsetting Gender NormsChapter 6: Boxing: Reasserting MasculinityChapter 7: Football: A Surrogate Form of WarfareChapter 8: Sport as Therapy: Stress ReliefConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author

Gerald Gems is professor emeritus at North Central College and past president of the North American Society for Sport History.

This succinct monograph provides not only a general study of sports history in the United States from the late 19th to early 20th centuries but also a study of how sports have provided diversion and reassurance during periods of great societal change … Mental Health, Gender, and the Rise of Sport is an entertaining and informative read, made more so by plenty of illustrations and suitable sources.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Modernization: A Society in FluxChapter 2: Neurasthenia: A National EpidemicChapter 3: The Rise of Sport: The Expression of Physical VitalityChapter 4: Baseball; Creating the National GameChapter 5: Cycling: Upsetting Gender NormsChapter 6: Boxing: Reasserting MasculinityChapter 7: Football: A Surrogate Form of WarfareChapter 8: Sport as Therapy: Stress ReliefConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author