Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice

Gr 9 Up—The first three volumes of this set are arranged regionally and then alphabetically. Volume one covers Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania; volume two discusses sports in Europe; and volume three covers Latin America and North America. Students who need background information for research papers or essays (for example: to compare U. S. soccer with the sport as played in Italy) will appreciate the readable narrative that is presented in a generous-sized font and that includes a short, current further-reading list. Volume four lists winners in various major sporting events such as the Olympic games. This is a general overview that is extremely broad in scope, therefore there is limited detail and no in-depth analysis. Sports growing in popularity that may generate interest, such as lacrosse, or popular names in U.S. sport history, such as former basketball coach John Wooden, are treated in only a few paragraphs or a single page. The black-and-white photographs are infrequent and unfortunately often too small. Additional.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA