I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review. This was genuinely very interesting for anyone with even a remote interest in sports - so many inspiring, funny, difficult or amazing stories and so many people I’d never heard of before. The only problem I had with this was possibly a result of it being an ARC - many times I’d be part way through a person’s story, and it would suddenly cut off and another “topic” would be inserted (e.g. how the Paralympics originated), and then it would go back to the previous story. It would cut off mid sentence, and I’d have to skip a few pages ahead to finish a paragraph, go back and read the inserted topic, then resume. I think this is just a blip and it wouldn’t be in the final released copy/print hopefully.

This was a great book full of fun facts and stories about the games that people don't know. It was really well written and is an easy read. Total Olympics is fascinating and will keep you wanting to read more. This book will be for any fan of the Olympics or even sports in general. You are sure to learn something that you didn't know before. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. I will be adding this to my shelf when it is released.

I continued to read this book long after I should have gone to sleep. Just one more section... This book is very difficult to put down. Every story is interesting. Many of them I had never heard before. Starting with history of the ancient Greek Olympics, the author then explains how the modern Olympics came into being and evolved into what it is today (for better or worse).
This book is completely absorbing. You can lose all track of time. Conversely, you can also pick it up when you have a free moment and just read one tidbit. This is a good one to have on your coffee table or nightstand. It is very readable and beautifully Illustrated.
It would make a great gift for any sports fan. This is a winner. Pun intended.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Total Olympics is a comprehensive trivia and history book collected and curated by Jeremy Fuchs. Due out 11th May 2021 from Workman Publishing, it's 336 pages (print version) and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I love trivia and factoids. My subjects have always been classics, language, science and nature, with modern culture and entertainment a distant fourth place. Sports (for me) was a never-ran. In fact, on my pub trivia team, nobody ever listens to me on the sports questions. I should've committed this book to memory. Journalist sports writer Fuchs has assembled a pretty staggering array of facts and tidbits from Olympic history. The entries are arranged thematically: (forgotten) history, standout legends, wild and strange, firsts, discontinued sports (some real howlers included here), and forgotten heroes. Each of the chapters includes a dizzying array of facts and interludes about olympic games from the past, when and where, who and sometimes why.

The writing is clear and engaging, Mr. Fuchs has a good sense of humor and ties the history together in an entertaining fashion. The book is full of historical photos and facsimiles of documents. There's a very useful collection of medalists by sport, with winners arranged chronologically, in the back of the book. There is, naturally, an index included, to facilitate finding information.

The publication date has been pushed back ostensibly to coordinate with the Tokyo olympic games, in 2021.

Five stars. This is a comprehensive guide, full of useful photos, and very good at its stated purpose.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

While there is no one aspect, sport, site or other topic covered in depth in this book, it gets high marks for covering a lot of material in a relatively brief amount of pages. I particularly liked the portions that weren't about sport, but instead on why the Olympics were postponed such as world wars. A rarity in that this was billed as a sports book but I enjoyed the non-sports parts instead. I see the publication date is pushed back to 2021, probably to accommodate the moving of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021.

A fun read about the olympics. It was interesting to read about people who have competed in the past and present. Almost like an evolutionary history of the athlete.

This would have been right in time for the summer Olympics if they hadn't been postponed to 2021, a book looking back at interesting facts about the previous editions. Filled with some history, some remarkable people who competed in the various sports events, and also some discontinued sports this was a very nice read to get in the mood for Tokyo 2020.

While not everything was new to me, I did find out that the international parking sign (white on blue P) was invented for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, and that initially it had been planned as a two-yearly rather than a four-yearly event.

I just found that the book, clearly marketed for the American market, focused a bit too much on American athletes. Especially chapter two, about the Legends, was at least 90% American where I’m sure there are also ‘legends’ from other countries. In the later chapter ‘Forgotten Heroes’ this is slightly less, but remains prominent still.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

“Total Olympics” by Jeremy Fuchs contains all the Olympic facts, fun, and fiction that an aficionado could want. It shows the power of friendship and peace that prevailed in the 54 Olympic Games over 122 years when the global community came together to embody the motto of the modern Olympics: “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

“Total Olympics” gives readers a look behind the scenes, to the events and the people that made headlines and some that did not. Surprise wins are documented along with teams that dropped out leading to unexpected results. Legends and dynasties in a sport are celebrated along with the upsets of newcomers over hardened regulars. Interesting historical footnotes are documented, for example the “missing marathoner” whose official time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds. Advertising campaigns are listed including the “Thank you mom” ads from Proctor & Gamble and McDonald’s “Gold Medal Meal. Readers remember the athletes who rose from obscurity to become media “darlings.” It does not overlook the tragic or the controversial such as drug scandals and politically-motivated events.

“Total Olympics” not only tells the stories of the Olympics but it also lists every fact, every record, and every location of both the summer and winter Olympic Games. There are medal counts, the names of US flag bearers (and their sport) and even those who lit the torch. It is filled with trivia contest winning facts, and is just plain entertaining to read. It has wonderful pictures of Olympians from the past as well as details of long forgotten records, wacky contests, controversial moments, and crazy accomplishments. I am sure that the postponement of this year’s Olympics will add yet another chapter to the lore and mystery that is Olympiad.

Total Olympics by Jeremy Fuchs is a full of interesting facts about past Olympians and Paralympics. The colorful pages are a treat and as well as learning the back stories of the different people profiled. It was an easy book to read and as totally enjoyable. I recommend this book to all, whether or not you enjoy stories about athletes or not.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for an honest opinion.

Olympics fans, rejoice! This full-color book is chock full of fascinating stories, fun facts, and inspirational profiles about Olympians, individual events, and different Olympics years. I loved looking at the pictures and reading the stories celebrating the Olympics and Paralympics and the athletes that compete in them. This book is easy to pick up and put down (each profile is about a page or two). I learned a lot! I'm a huge Olympics fan and really enjoyed seeing some of my favorite folks, learning about a bunch of people who were new to me, and hearing about scandals and quirky events as well as what we've come to expect from modern Olympics. Fascinating!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting, fun snippets

I enjoyed this book. It certainly provided a lot of interesting information in the form of short snippets about the Olympics, stories that don’t usually pop up in mainstream media. The stories are well-written and author Jeremy Fuchs writes conversationally and with a good sense of humor. The only shortcoming of the book is the preponderance of stories that revolve around the US, possibly at the expense of interesting stories from elsewhere. Nonetheless, this is a book well worth reading.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

Such a fun read! I will definitely share this one with my teenage daughter who loves to feed her brain with interesting information. I'm glad this was written.

This is the book with the bold subtitle, “Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic, & Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing.” Playing armchair quarterback, I thought of more than a few people who had been left out of the book. Yet, I am sure we all could dredge up a memory or two about someone or some event not listed. What’s important is that author Jeremy Fuchs has compiled a fascinating book filled to the brim with stories and anecdotes I had never heard.

The book is laid out beautifully, with plenty of pictures – both black-and-white and color – of Olympic heroes. Rather than take a chronological journey, Mr. Fuchs has opted to create large categories and find places for all those who earned a story in his book. The chapter titles alone are enticing, sure to draw in the curious: Forgotten History, Legends, Wild and Strange, Firsts, Discontinued Sports, and Forgotten Heroes. The Results and Stats section in the back is an added treat of different bits of knowledge, from lists of gold medal winners to the names of all the torch lighters.

Although athletes from other countries are included, the book primarily features those from America (some of the reasoning behind that is probably due to the number of medals won, far more to Americans than any other country). The book is over 300 pages long, and the author has successfully filled every one of those pages with revealing stories. Even better, most of the stories are only a couple of pages long, making it easy to read a few stories and then set the book down for later. Highly recommended. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

Read if you: Want a fun. informational, and browsable collection of Olympic triumphs, disappointments, and oddities.

While there are usually several excellent children's books about the Olympics/Olympic sports before each Olympics, this is usually not the case for adult readers. Luckily, this intriguing and attractively designed collection of Olympic stories (both well-known and lesser known) will be published just in time for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Although published for the general adult market, young adults interested in Olympic history will definitely enjoy this.

Librarians and booksellers: Your patrons/customers will definitely gravitate to this when the Tokyo Olympics gets closer in 2021!

Note: This was originally slated for a May 2020 publication. I requested it several months ago, before the COVID-19 outbreak forced the postponement of the Games scheduled for July-August 2020. I;m glad Workman was able to reschedule this publication; it will be a great book for readers to dip into during the airing of the games!

Many thanks to Workman Publishing Company and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful book. The kind you keep and read on Sunday afternoon..And every Olympic time.
There are stories about the famous athletes and the not so famous. Stories about how the Olympics end up in places like Bejing.
Read about how the Olympics looked during Hitler rule. How at one Olympics, the athletes brought their own food...and even built their own dive board.
Cant say it enough, a terrific read Sports fan, Olympic fan, This is a must.

I received an electr0nic ARC from Workman Publishing Company through NetGalley.
Fuchs has done an incredible amount of research and shares a wide variety of facts and background information about the Olympics. Short chapters capture the events and people involved - love the succinct style. Trivia buffs will be prepared for all Olympics categories after enjoying this book.
His writing style flows smoothly; he provides enough details without bogging down on any one topic. He also provides an entire chapter of dates, people and locations to sum up the entire history of the modern Olympics. I enjoyed learning about so many people who have been part of history - known and unknown.
I recommend it for history and sports fans as well as trivia buffs.

What a treat for Olympic sports fan! The book includes chapters on Forgotten History, Legends, the Wild and Strange, Firsts, Discontinued Sports, and Forgotten Heroes. It also contains a Results and Stats section at the end.
I decided to read this book as a way to get excited for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and I was not disappointed. I was happy to see gymnasts such as Mary Lou Retton, Keri Strug, Shannon Miller and Simone Biles represented. I was surprised though that Nadia Comaneci was reduced to a couple of sentences.
Overall, the book had a tendency to focus primarily on athletes from the United States, and also focused primarily on athletes from disciplines such as swimming and track and field. Despite these relative shortcomings, the book does a great job at teaching readers interesting facts about the Olympics in the past and relative recent.

This book is a must read for any fan of the modern Olympics full of interesting facts and stories I recommend for any history lover

This will be a popular title for our current Olympics year. Stuffed with trivia, historic photos, and behind-the-scenes stories from the entire history of the Olympics competition. The layout has lots of white space and clever use of photos and pullout quotes. This will appeal to sports enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone who likes a good nonfiction story--should be good for advanced middle school readers and up to adults.

A great book full of Olympics trivia. Each passage on an important event or athlete is one to two pages. The writing style is very easy to read and would not be too difficult for an Olympics or sports loving child to read. Overall, if you are interested in the Olympics this is a great addition to any collection. With the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo coming up it will surely generate some interest.