YOUNG ADULT NONFICTION : Games of Deception: The True Story of the First U.S. Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany by Andrew Maraniss


ABOUT THE BOOK

The true story of the birth of Olympic basketball at the 1936 Summer Games in Hitler's Germany.

On a scorching hot day in July 1936, thousands of people cheered as the U.S. Olympic teams boarded the S.S. Manhattan, bound for Berlin. Among the athletes were the 14 players representing the first-ever U.S. Olympic basketball team. As thousands of supporters waved American flags on the docks, it was easy to miss the one courageous man holding a BOYCOTT NAZI GERMANY sign. But it was too late for a boycott now; the ship had already left the harbor.

1936 was a turbulent time in world history. Adolf Hitler had gained power in Germany three years earlier. Jewish people and political opponents of the Nazis were the targets of vicious mistreatment, yet were unaware of the horrors that awaited them in the coming years. But the Olympians on board the S.S. Manhattan and other international visitors wouldn't see any signs of trouble in Berlin. Streets were swept, storefronts were painted, and every German citizen greeted them with a smile. Like a movie set, it was all just a facade, meant to distract from the terrible things happening behind the scenes.

This is the true story of basketball, from its invention by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, to the sport's Olympic debut in Berlin and the eclectic mix of people, events and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible. Includes photos throughout, a Who's-Who of the 1936 Olympics, bibliography, and index.


REVIEW

As a lover of narrative nonfiction, I'm always happy to give a book like this a read.  The book combines many topics of interest : basketball, Olympics, history, WWII, and prejudice.  It can be a challenge, however, to bring all those topics together in a coherent and readable way.  But Maraniss has succeeded in writing a book that covers all of the topics in an easy-to-read and compelling way.  That's undoubtedly one of the reasons the book was just awarded a Sydney Taylor Book Award honor.  

The book begins with the departure of the S.S. Manhattan from New York harbor with the Olympic athletes on board.  The book then goes back and explains how basketball was invented and eventually became an Olympic sport.  Giving brief background information on some of the most influential people, the book then proceeds to describe the players and teams who tried out for the Olympic team and the process used to choose the participants.  Other issues related to the Olympics in Germany are also covered including the Nazi's attempts to minimize their deep-seated hatred and mistreatment of the Jews.  The deceptions they used to make their country look better reveal the underlying politics that seem to effect every Olympics, despite ongoing efforts to keep politics out of the games.  The movement to keep the U.S. from sending athletes to the 1936 games is also covered including the reasons behind it.  The book concludes by describing the actual Olympic Games focusing especially on the basketball games.  

This excellent nonfiction book provides an intriguing glimpse into the history of basketball, but also the fact that sports don't exist in a vacuum.  The historical events leading up to World War II played a key role in the development of both the Olympics as an event and basketball as a sport.  Those who participated or observed those games were changed by the experience.  Overall, the book is a fabulous addition to a growing number of narrative nonfiction titles that help young readers understand the past a bit better.

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