1995
First Published
3.50
Average Rating
336
Number of Pages
Riess examines the evolution of sport from its rural and urban origins as a less-than-respectable entertainment for the lower classes, through its antebellum upsurge when, with the development of a new sport ideology, it attained respectability-penetrating and finally remaking popular culture. Using a topical approach, Riess looks at sport from several vantage points, analyzing the interaction between sport and the rise of modern cities; the impact of sport on immigration, race, class, and gender; how sport became accessible through technological innovations; how it became integral to various educational and social movements; the coming of the professional sports figure; sport's links to politics and organized crime; and the role of women in sport. Highlighted with colorful anecdotes, the narrative unfurls a pageant of celebrities and unknowns, players, spectators, and entrepreneurs-all engaged in the drama that is American sport.
Avg Rating
3.50
Number of Ratings
16
5 STARS
19%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
31%
2 STARS
19%
1 STARS
0%
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Author
Steven A. Riess
Author · 5 books
A leading authority on the history of sports in modern America, Steven A. Riess is the former the Bernard Brommel Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of History at Northeastern Illinois University. A graduate of New York University, he earned his masters and doctorate degrees at the University of Chicago.
