The Olympic Games brings together thousands of athletes, competing in over 40 sports, and representing over 200 nations. But that is just the surface, for none of this would be possible without the constant efforts of an incredible organization consisting of tens of thousands of sports lovers united in sports associations, National Olympic Committees, and the International Olympic Committee. The third edition of this fascinating book deals with both levels of the competition - the competitive side and the administrative side. The dictionary includes hundreds of entries on the major sports, more outstanding athletes, participating countries and numerous bodies in the organization as well as successive generations of officials - starting with the founder, Pierre de Coubertin. But that is not all. Two chronologies trace the history of the Olympic movement back to the Ancient Olympiad first celebrated in Greece in 776 B.C. as well as all of the modern Games up to Athens in 2004. The appendixes then provide elusive facts on the Games, the officials, the torchbearers, and the top Olympic medal winners. A bibliography is included to allow further research. Reviews of the Previous Edition: "Buchanan and Mallon provide comprehensive, clearly written, and well-organized historical information about the Olympic movement. Highly recommended." -Choice "...most useful for quick lookups and is the only one to have most information on individual athletes" -Reference Books Bulletin