The Athletic Crusade

The Athletic Crusade PDF

Author: Gerald R. Gems

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0803222165

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The Athletic Crusade is the first book to systematically analyze the role of sports in the expansion of U.S. empire from the 1890s through World War II. Gerald R. Gems details how white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant males set the standard for inclusion within American society, transferred that standard to foreign territories, and subtly used American sports to instill allegedly desirable racial, moral, and commercial virtues in colonial subjects. In the realm of such expansion, sports provided a less harsh, less militaristic means of instilling belief in a dominant system?s values and principles than more overt methods such as war. The process of change, however, had unexpected consequences as subordinate groups adapted or even rejected American overtures. Sport became a means for nonwhites to challenge whiteness, Social Darwinism, and cultural hegemony by establishing their own physical prowess, claiming a measure of esteem, and creating a greater sense of national identity. Gems shows the direct influence of sports in Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic and explores their comparatively minimal influence in countries such as China and Japan. Amid increasing globalization, The Athletic Crusade offers a welcome perspective on how the United States has attempted to spread its influence in the past and the implications for the future of indigenous and other societies.

The Caped Crusade

The Caped Crusade PDF

Author: Glen Weldon

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-03-21

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1476756732

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"Since his debut in Detective Comics #27, Batman has been many things: a two-fisted detective; a planet-hopping gadabout; a campy Pop Art sensation; a pointy-eared master spy; and a grim ninja of the urban night. Yet, despite these endless transformations, he remains one of our most revered cultural icons. [In this book, Weldon provides a] look at the cultural history of Batman and his fandom"--Amazon.com.

The Children's Crusade

The Children's Crusade PDF

Author: Ann Packer

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1476710465

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In 1954 Bill Blair and Penny Greenway marry and have four children. Thirty years later, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence and all-too-familiar troubles force a reckoning with who they are, separately and together, and set off a struggle over the family's future.

Game Changer

Game Changer PDF

Author: PE4Life

Publisher: Human Kinetics

Published: 2011-08-12

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 149258245X

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Engaging and inspiring, Game Changer: Phil Lawler’s Crusade to Help Children by Improving Physical Education charts Lawler’s tireless mission to refocus physical education to a wellness-based model that encourages fitness for a lifetime. Game Changer captures the passion of this legend in the field of physical education who believed that every child—regardless of athletic ability—should be given a chance to find an activity he or she can embrace and enjoy for a lifetime. The renowned Dr. Kenneth Cooper of Cooper Aerobics Center names Phil Lawler the "Father of the New PE." Game Changer offers an inspiring glimpse at the life of Lawler and his “New PE,” the wellness-based approach to physical education that has energized a revolution in the world of education. Full of ideas and strategies, Game Changer provides both the information and motivation to develop, implement, and support PE and community programs that encompass all children, not just the athletically inclined. Messages from leaders in the physical education field provide lessons learned in the development, leadership, promotion, and ongoing advocacy of wellness-based PE programs. Game Changer takes readers through Lawler’s beginnings as a stereotypical PE teacher and coach and his dawning realization of how physical education class can be a positive tool for encouraging a lifetime of health and physical activity. As Lawler’s work received a boost from the mounting research connecting physical activity to academic and behavioral improvements, the New PE gained momentum nationally and abroad. Readers will be inspired by Lawler’s vision and commitment, despite his own health challenges, to improving the health and fitness of children worldwide. Though his battle with cancer cut short his own work, Game Changer carries the torch of Lawler’s New PE by providing information and tools to assist physical educators in developing more inclusive PE programs that emphasize developing, attaining, and renewing personal fitness goals across the life span.

The Boys' Crusade

The Boys' Crusade PDF

Author: Paul Fussell

Publisher: Modern Library

Published: 2005-09-13

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0812974883

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The Boys’ Crusade is the great historian Paul Fussell’s unflinching and unforgettable account of the American infantryman’s experiences in Europe during World War II. Based in part on the author’s own experiences, it provides a stirring narrative of what the war was actually like, from the point of view of the children—for children they were—who fought it. While dealing definitively with issues of strategy, leadership, context, and tactics, Fussell has an additional purpose: to tear away the veil of feel-good mythology that so often obscures and sanitizes war’s brutal essence. “A chronicle should deal with nothing but the truth,” Fussell writes in his Preface. Accord-ingly, he eschews every kind of sentimentalism, focusing instead on the raw action and human emotion triggered by the intimacy, horror, and intense sorrows of war, and honestly addressing the errors, waste, fear, misery, and resentments that plagued both sides. In the vast literature on World War II, The Boys’ Crusade stands wholly apart. Fussell’s profoundly honest portrayal of these boy soldiers underscores their bravery even as it deepens our awareness of their experiences. This book is both a tribute to their noble service and a valuable lesson for future generations.

Boxing

Boxing PDF

Author: Gerald R. Gems

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2014-03-13

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1442229918

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Sports fans have long been fascinated with boxing and the brutal demonstration of physical and psychological conflict. Accounts of the sport appear as far back as the third millennium BC, and Greek and Roman sculptors depicted the athletic ideals of the ancient era in the form of boxers. In the present day, boxers such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Robinson, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. are recognized throughout the world. Boxing films continue to resonate with audiences, from the many Rocky movies to Raging Bull, The Fighter, Million Dollar Baby, and Ali. In Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science, Gerald R. Gems provides a succinct yet wide ranging treatment of the sport, covering boxing’s ancient roots and its evolution, modernization, and global diffusion. The book not only includes a historical account of boxing, but also explores such issues as social class, race, ethnic rivalries, religious influences, gender issues, and the growth of female boxing. The current debates over the moral and ethical issues relative to the sport are also discussed. While the primary coverage of the political, social, and cultural impacts of boxing focuses on the United States, Gems’ examination encompasses the sport on a global level, as well. Covering important issues and events in the history of boxing and featuring numerous photographs, Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science will be of interest to boxing fans, historians, scholars, and those wanting to learn more about the sport.

The Athlete as National Symbol

The Athlete as National Symbol PDF

Author: Nicholas Villanueva, Jr.

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2020-01-21

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1476671176

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 Examining the phenomenon of nationalism in the world of sport, this collection of new essays identifies moments when athletes became national symbols through their actions on and off the field. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, and related global events of the 1980s and 1990s, scholars have explored how race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality shape and are shaped by nationalism and national participation. Topics include: race, golf and the struggle for social justice in South Africa; sport as a battleground within the Israel/Palestine conflict; multiculturalism and the Olympic Games; and white privilege in sport. These case studies explore the strength (and fragility) associated with national identity, and how athletes become icons for their nations.