September 1, 2018
The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico are remembered for historic track-and-field performances by Americans Bob Beamon (long jump), Dick Fosbury (high jump), and Tommie Smith (200 meters), but most of all for the now-classic image of Smith and John Carlos on their 200-meter award podium with black-gloved fists in the air, a silent statement drawing attention to civil rights injustices. Sports journalist Burns draws the curtain back to a few months prior to the unconventional and picturesque high-altitude training camp and the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, held at Echo Summit in the El Dorado National Forest, above Lake Tahoe. He notes the women were denied this experience, preparing for the Games for less time at a high-altitude training camp in New Mexico. Burns does a masterful job weaving the narratives of the men training together, vying for coveted spots on the U.S. team in an idyllic setting, a stark contrast to the turbulent events shaking the country. The book is meticulously researched with plenty of statistics and backstories to satisfy track fans, but also with a firm grasp on the sociocultural setting that gave these Olympics their place in history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)