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Hot Topic: SUMMER OLYMPICS

The Olympics have a two part history, one ancient and one modern. The ancient Olympics began as a religious festival in honor of Zeus in Greece in 776 BCE and ended in 393 CE. At these festivals male citizens of the Greek poleis engaged in physical competition for various prizes. The modern Olympics began in 1896 in Athens, Greece, and involved male athletes from fourteen countries (women began competing in 1900), and today both men and women from hundreds of countries participate in the summer and winter games.

Beijing: from imperial capital to Olympic city
Lillian Li.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
951.156/LI

Rome 1960: the Olympics that changed the world David Maraniss.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
796.48/MARANISS

Olympic swimming and diving Greg Kehm.
New York: Rosen Publishing's Rosen Central, 2007.
YA 797.2109/KEHM

The complete book of the summer Olympics Wallechinsky, David.
Wilmington, Del.: Sports Media Pub., 2004.
796.48/WALLECHINSKY

The naked Olympics: the true story of the ancient games Tony Perrottet.
New York: Random House, 2004.
796.48/PERROTTET

The Olympics, a history of the modern games
Allen Guttmann.
Urbana: Univesity of Illinois Press, 2002.
796.48/GUTTMANN

Olympic Special. (Television; What to Watch) Entertainment Weekly 1005 (August 8, 2008): p60. (984 words) (General OneFile)

The Olympic Challenge.(Beijing '08 Summer Olympic Preview)(Essay)(China's human rights record)(Viewpoint essay) Pico Iyer. Time. 172.5 August 4, 2008: p80. (General OneFile)

These showdowns should spice up GamesScott Fowler. News & Observer. Raleigh, N.C.: Aug 2, 2008. p. C.1 (ProQuest)

Olympics Used To Be Less Polished, More Fun SCOTT OSTLER. Seattle Post - Intelligencer. Seattle, Wash.: Aug 1, 2008. p. C.7 (ProQuest)

Something to Prove.(Features; Summer Olympics Preview) Sarah Braunstein, Sachin Shenolikar and Amy Tryon. Sports Illustrated Kids 20.7 August 2008: p38. (General OneFile)

NBC's Olympic Games plan is a gamble as coverage will span 3,600 hours. Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) July 30, 2008 (General OneFile)

Official Site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: http://en.beijing2008.cn/

NBC Beijing 2008: http://www.nbcolympics.com/

NBC 7/39, Olympic Coverage from San Diego:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/knsd/index.html

Official Website of the Olympic Movement:
http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp

Olympics through Time (Foundation of the Hellenic World):
http://www.fhw.gr/olympics/ancient/en/100.html

Official Site of the U.S. Olympic Team: http://www.usoc.org/

Independent news and information about the Olympic Movement: http://www.aroundtherings.com/

World Anti-Doping Agency : http://www.wada-ama.org/en/index.ch2