1
of
1
What Are the Olympics For?
Series: What Is It For?
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 33 ratings, 7 reviews)
Brief Description
Athletes first is a slogan the International Olympic Committee often touts, but the reality is very different, as preeminent Olympics expert Jules Boykoff shows in What Are the Olympics For? While the world's attention is riveted by the triumphs and tribulations on their screens, there is...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2199
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
What Are the Olympics For?
$2199
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
From Page to Panel: The Rise of Graphic Novel Adaptations
Discover why graphic novel adaptations are booming, from ‘Dune’ and ‘Sapiens’ to ‘Call Me by...
Why You Should Read Folk Horror!
If you're looking for a new read and haven't yet tried Folk Horror as a...
Movie Review on The End of Oak Street
Lizzy and Roopa are sharing their reviews of The End of Oak Street, a movie...
We Expanded Our Board Game Range…400+ New Games in Stock Now!
Board game week has arrived at Book Hero! 🎲 We’ve expanded our range, with 400...
What We Played: A Weekend Full of Board Games
What happens when you fill an entire weekend with board games? From family games with...
See moreWhile attention is on Olympic triumphs and tribulations, there is much that goes on behind the scenes that is deeply troubling. Boykoff tells us that radical steps are required if the Games are to be fixed and only then will they be truly 'athletes first'.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Athletes first is a slogan the International Olympic Committee often touts, but the reality is very different, as preeminent Olympics expert Jules Boykoff shows in What Are the Olympics For? While the world's attention is riveted by the triumphs and tribulations on their screens, there is much that goes on behind the scenes that is deeply troubling: athletes are increasingly voicing concerns over physical, mental and sexual abuse, and they are collectively expressing grievances around equity and human rights.
Outside the stadiums, problems range from the democratic deficit and corruption surrounding the awarding of the Games, to displacement of people and gentrification of neighbourhoods to make way for Olympic venues, to the environmental damage that Olympic construction inflicts and then tries to greenwash away.
Boykoff tells us that radical steps are required if the Games are to be fixed and only then will they be truly athletes first.
Series: What Is It For?
View all-
What Are Zoos For?
Are zoos an anachronism in the 21st century when we can watch animals in their natural habitat, close-up from our couches without worrying about cruelty? Should they go the way of other bygone era 'spectacles' and 'attractions' that we now regard as barbaric? There are vocal campaigners and activists who believe so. Heather Browning and Walter Veit disagree, but they...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Drug Policy For?
There is general agreement about the need to criminalise the production, sale, and possession of certain drugs, yet the costly international apparatus surrounding this is failing. But why do we criminalise some substances and not others? Is the purpose misguided, or the methods, or both? Julia Buxton looks at how our current drug control regime came about from the first...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Truth For?
Truth is for striving at, for the sake of good collective action. With new media technologies, it seems that falsehoods can spread faster and further than ever. And with new norms of public discourse, while being caught in a lie would once end a politician's career, today it is shrugged off, which has profound implications for democracy. Does the truth...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Veganism For?
Across the world, an increasing number of people are turning to veganism, changing not just their diets, but completely removing animal products from their lives. For some, this is prompted by concerns over animal ethics; for others, it's a response to the part played by animal agriculture in the climate crisis or an attempt to improve their own health. What...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Cybersecurity For?
How will protecting our digital infrastructure shape our future? Cybersecurity is one of the key practical and political challenges of our time. It is at the heart of how modern societies survive and thrive, yet public understanding is still rudimentary: media portrayals of hoodie-wearing hackers accessing the Pentagon don't convey its complexity or significance to contemporary life. What Is Cybersecurity...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is History For?
History, suggests Robert Gildea, "is a battlefield." Questions of power, rights, identity, and nationhood always have an ancient and modern historical dimension, and countries still go to war over their interpretation of history. Yet accounts of history are just as prone to fabrication as fake news, so how can we tell good history from bad? How can history be critical,...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Humanism For?
Religious belief is declining in many parts of the world, yet people still seek purpose in their lives and guidance on how to navigate life's challenges. Humanism is a broad tradition of thought and action that encourages thinking for oneself about what to believe and accommodating diversity. What is the purpose of humanism in an increasingly secular world? Written by...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is the Welfare State For?
Most states in the world make some provision for the welfare of their citizens. Every state engages with health care provision, almost all provide education services, and, after an explosion of interest in recent years, a substantial majority now have national schemes in place for cash assistance. Welfare states matter for people's lives – but there is little agreement about...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is Journalism For?
What is at stake when journalism is threatened? Does society still need journalists? Journalism faces multiple threats today all over the world: economic decline, online disinformation, the rise of AI, authoritarian curbs on freedom of the press, and violence against journalists. In such a climate, it is more urgent than ever to ask what journalism is for. Drawing on his...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Is the Monarchy For?
Does the British monarchy still have a place in today's society? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit cast light on institutional racism, Prince Andrew's alleged sexual abuse highlighted troubling attitudes towards gender and power, while the abolition of the monarchy in Barbados accentuated its relationship to colonialism. But what is the monarchy actually for? Does it benefit the UK, or...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Are Animal Rights For?
How should we treat animals? The long-held belief that other animals exist solely for human use has undergone radical challenge in the past half century. How much further do we need to go to minimise, and even eliminate, animal suffering? The field of animal rights raises big questions about how humans treat the other animals with which we share the...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
What Are Museums For?
The days when museums were dusty, stuffy institutions displaying their wealth and wisdom to a reverential public are over. Museums today are a cultural battleground. Who should decide what is put on display and how it is presented? Who gets to set the narrative? In this passionately argued book, Jon Sleigh maintains that museums must be for all people and...Paperback$2199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529230284
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 26 March 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Bristol University Press
Illustration: 1 Tables, black and white; 13 Illustrations, black and white
Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 127.0mm
Height: 203.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 174
About the Author
Jules Boykoff is a professor of politics and government at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. His writing on the connection between politics and sport have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, the Los Angeles Times and New Left Review. He is also a former professional soccer player who represented the US U-23 men's national team in international competition.
Also by Jules Boykoff
View all-
The Suppression of Dissent
Despite longstanding traditions of tolerance, inclusion, and democracy in the United States, dissident citizens and social movements have experienced significant and sustained—although often subtle and difficult to observe—suppression in this country. Using mechanism-based social-movement theory, The Suppression of Dissent explores a wide range of twentieth century episodes of contention, involving such groups as mid-century communists, the Black Panther Party, the...Hardback$61400Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
More from Sports
View all-
Formula One 2026
The world's bestselling Grand Prix handbook is back for the new season. This is the definitive guide to Formula One 2026 — a complete examination of all the teams, drivers, and tracks featured in the packed Grand Prix calendar. Also including a full review of the 2025 season and a breakdown of the new rules and regulations for 2026, this...Paperback$3800Elsewhere:$4499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Legends and Soles
The brilliant autobiography from the ‘saviour of Nike’ If you’re a sneaker head, you know him as the saviour of Nike. If you’ve watched Air, you saw Matt Damon’s portrayal of the man who discovered Michael Jordan and how he revolutionised the payment structure of endorsements for athletes. Legends and Soles tells Sonny’s story – his blind-sided firing by Nike...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinSurviving to Drive
A hugely entertaining access-all-areas account of a year inside Formula 1, from Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner, star of Drive to Survive, one of the most successful Netflix series of all time. THE INSTANT NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Gripping to read. Funny, real, exciting. It's a brilliant book.' - Chris Evans 'Fearless and candid... A gleeful guide to...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Good, the Bad & the Rugby – Unleashed
The long-awaited book from rugby stars Alex Payne, James Haskell and Mike Tindall. Rugby megastars James Haskell, Mike Tindall, and Alex Payne get together to discuss the highs and lows of their podcast, friendship, and rugby. Among the key questions answered: What happened when Mike took their shambles of a podcast inside the walls of Windsor Castle to meet the...Hardback$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Gloves Off
The unflinching autobiography from the two-time world heavyweight champion and British People's Champion, Tyson Fury, now out in paperback, Gloves Off is an enthralling journey into the life of one of boxing's most charismatic and controversial figures. From his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise and dramatic falls, Fury’s story is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. In this...Paperback$2800Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
13% offThe Salt Path
The Salt Path is a deeply moving and profoundly inspiring true story that captures the essence of human resilience and the profound impact of nature on our well-being. This compelling narrative, a Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the prestigious Wainwright Prize, recounts the life-changing journey of Raynor and Moth Winn—a couple who, facing monumental life challenges, find solace and...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
15% offThe Salt Path
The bestselling true story of the couple who lost everything and embarked on a journey not of escape but salvation, soon to be a major motion picture starring Golden Globe winning Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, the couple lose their home and their livelihood. With...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Swimmer of Auschwitz
'Propulsive... Readers will be hooked' - Publishers Weekly Based on the extraordinary true story of Alfred Nakache, subject of the Oscar-nominated short film Papillon. Alfred Nakache, a Jewish child from Constantine, never imagined that he would one day swim for France at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, nor that he would achieve a world record, as he did...Paperback$4500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Formula
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'HANDS DOWN THE GREATEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT F1.' - Sam Walker, author of The Captain Class 'MODERN F1 IS THE SPORTS STORY OF THIS ERA AND NO ONE COULD TELL IT BETTER' - Kevin Clark, ESPN 'THE FASTEST READ YOU WILL EVER PICK UP' - A.J. Baime, author of Go Like Hell F1 is...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Buy to WinBreath
Discover the transformative power of breathing in Breath by esteemed journalist James Nestor. This revolutionary book delves into the science and history of one of the most fundamental human activities - breathing. From the bustling streets of São Paulo to the serene temples of India, Nestor embarks on a global journey to uncover the secrets of ancient breathing techniques such...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Forever Forward
With a foreword by McLaren CEO Zak Brown and written with inside access, this is the real-time, unfolding story of one of F1's greatest ever teams, as they rise back up from oblivion. Few names in motorsports carry the same authority as McLaren, and with their remarkable victory in the 2024 constructors championship, they are now returning to form in...Hardback$4000Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
12% off
Happy Mind, Happy Life
A brand-new edition of Dr Rangan Chatterjee's biggest book to date, reimagined with exclusive content and a beautiful new design. The Instant No.1 Bestseller 'Even your first taste of this book's practical, inviting and effective strategies for happiness will make you glad you did.' - from the foreword by Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks Happiness is a practice,...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
