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The Olympics For Beginners

By Brandon Toropov

Illustrated by Joe Lee

ISBN-13: 978-1-934389-33-1
Price: US $14.95
5-1/2 x 8-1/4, 176 pp
June 2008

The Olympic Games, summer and winter, transfix humanity every time the torch is lit. With athletes from every country in the world eligible to compete in up to 300 athletic events in as many as 28 different sports, the potential for human drama is endless. Episodes outside of the competition — the scandals, international incidents, political maneuverings, and the occasional over-the-top costume during the opening ceremony —only add to the richness and lore of this spectacular tradition. With so much information to process, and so many events to track each time the Games are staged, the scale of it all can be overwhelming.

The Olympics For Beginners provides clear, concise and amusing assessments of the key elements of the Games. It travels back in time to look at the original Greek Games, leads the reader on a brisk tour of the modern Olympic movement, simplifies the rules and regulations of the summer and winter competitions, andshines a spotlight on many dazzling high points, such as Jesse Owens’ triumph in the 1936 Berlin Games. The book also replays infamous low points, from the tragic — the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes in Munich — to the downright pathetic: Tonya Harding.

Author Brandon Toropov and illustrator Joe Lee showcase the Olympics’ remarkable hold on the global imagination in a fun, accessible and memorable illustrated format. Whether you’re one of the billions who is obsessed with this one-of-a-kind spectacle, or you’re simply curious to learn what the fuss is all about, The Olympics For Beginners is for you.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Brandon Yusuf Toropov is founder and CEO of IWordsmith.com, a content creation and book development firm. He is the author of over a dozen published books, including Shakespeare For Beginners, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Koran. He lives in Massachusetts.

Joe Lee is an illustrator and author of The History of Clowns For Beginners and Dante For Beginners. He is also the illustrator of seven other titles in the ongoing series published by For Beginners LLC including the recently released Dada & Surrealism For Beginners and Shakespeare For Beginners. Joe is the editorial cartoonist for the Bloomington Herald-Times (winning the “Best Cartoon of the Year” from the Indiana branch of the Society Of Professional Journalists for 2006) and the staff illustrator for our Browncounty Magazine and Into Art. He has worked for publications as varied as the Phi Delta Kappan, Skeptic, Cricket, and Technos. Joe lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife Bess, son Brandon, cat George, and the terrible terriers, Jack and Max.

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