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BOOK REVIEW: Rome, 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World By David Maraniss Simon & Schuster, 2008. 496 pp. For better or for worse, the Olympics have often reflected the social and political climate of our times, and nowhere is this better illustrated than in David Maraniss' Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World. The early 1960s reflected a time on the border of great change. As Maraniss puts it, "In sports, culture, and politics - interwoven in so many ways - one could see an old order dying and a new one being born. With all its promise and trouble, the world as we see it today was coming into view." The 1960 Olympics echoed this changing world. By telling the stories of different athletes from around the world, Maraniss has been able to capture this time through the story of the Olympics. Rafer Johnson was a world-class decathlon athlete, considered by almost all as the best in the world, and he would win a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. However, he was more than a medal-winning athlete; he had become a symbol. At a time when the United States was in the midst of its own civil rights struggle for African-Americans, Rafer Johnson became the first black athlete to walk in front of the U.S. team as the flag carrier during Opening Ceremonies. In some ways, his dignified and historic march with the United States flag was a symbolic answer to the criticism the country was taking around the world about its poor treatment of African-Americans, but it also symbolized the changing face of American society. The 1960 Olympics were held just a few years after the Montgomery bus boycotts, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and minorities were demanding and taking their rightful place in society. Rafer Johnson's walk into the stadium during opening ceremonies showed that our society was in the midst of change that few could have dreamed of a decade or two before. Johnson knew the importance of this ceremonial event and said that it was "as important as the competition itself." Maraniss also tells the story of Wilma Rudolph. At a time when female athletes were still disregarded by many as serious athletes, Rudolph garnered the spotlight. Like Johnson, her classy and graceful demeanor won her many fans, but her gold medals elevated women's track and field in the United States and paved the way for future female athletes. Maraniss writes, "She was by no means the first great woman Olympian, but a unique combination of personal and cultural forces . . . made her a powerful symbol of the rise of women in sports. If there were a Mount Rushmore of women athletes, her profile would be one of the four chiseled faces. 'For every women athlete who came after, she was the person who opened the door,' Ed Temple [her coach] said later." Rudolph was aware of the importance of her accomplishments and her responsibilities as a gold medal winner: "In every effort I have been motivated by one thing: to do justice to those who believe in me and to use my physical talents to the glory of God and honor of womanhood." This was also the Olympics that introduced the world to Cassius Clay (later Mohammed Ali). At the time, he had not yet achieved worldwide fame and recognition, but he used the Olympics as a stepping-stone to a career filled with championships and controversy. At the 1960 Olympics, he was "always preaching, no matter where it was - in the cafeteria, out on the grounds, in the enormous village, downtown, over at the boxing venue," recalled Paula Jean Myers Pope, one of his fellow athletes. His charisma and outspoken nature - evident at this early stage in his career - would later catapult him to worldwide fame as a social activist and world-champion boxer. While Rome, 1960 focuses on many great US athletes, Maraniss also writes about Olympians from around the world and places their accomplishments within a larger historical and cultural context. There is Abebe Bikila, the winner of the marathon, who represented the rise of the African continent. Maraniss notes, "The ambitions of the post-colonial world were played out at the Olympics when marathoner Abebe Bikila of Etiopia became the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win a gold medal, running barefoot through Roman streets less than a quarter century after Italy had invaded his homeland." There was also Milkha Singh of India, the sprinter who was favored by mnay to win a gold medal. He had risen to stardom from a life filled with terrible international conflict and violence and knew the importance a victory would mean to his country. However, when he came in 4th place in the 400-meter dash behind first place winner Otis Davis, he was "the first to shake Davis's hand. Singh was heartbroken, feeling he had disappointed his country, but in fact his showing was hailed back home." He had - along with the medal winners - broken the world record and done his best as a representative of his country and all of South Asia. The 1960 Olympics also took place at the height of the Cold War, and as Maraniss points out, the games were full of political maneuvering by both the United States and Soviet Union. Each government saw the Olympics in Rome as a time to make a statement to the rest of the world and to gain favor with other nations. Athletes were trained and instructed to be on their best behavior, and there was international intrigue when one Soviet athlete tried to defect to the United States. The Cold War would last another two plus decades, but all of its elements were present in the Olympics of 1960. Maraniss' book will appeal not only to those who love sports but also to those interested in history. As Maraniss so brilliantly illustrates, Rome in 1960 was the stage of a changing world order, ushering in the modern world as we know it. While other Olympics will be remembered as historically more important - Munich and Mexico City, for example - the 1960 Olympics should be remembered as a time of great social and political change. Italian Catholic Federation, 8393 Capwell Drive, Suite 110, Oakland CA 94621 tel: 888/ICF-1924; 510/633-9058; fax: 510/633-9758; Email: info@icf.org Website designed by HYPERSPHERE