Olympic Affair
A Novel of Hitler's Siren and America's Hero
by Terry Frei
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Pub Date Dec 17 2012 | Archive Date Dec 03 2012
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group | Taylor Trade Publishing
Description
Although not a member of the National Socialist Party,
Leni Riefenstahl was the film-maker darling of the Nazis and Adolf
Hitler. First a successful dancer and actress in Germany, she became
more notorious when she produced and directed Victory of Faith and Triumph of the Will, the chilling documentaries about Nazi Party congresses at Nuremberg.
Glenn Morris was an All-American farm boy from tiny Simla,
Colorado, as well as a former college football star and student body
president at the school now known as Colorado State University. At the
1936 Olympics, he won the decathlon, earning him the label “the world’s
greatest athlete.” Among the American heroes at the Berlin Games, he was
considered second only to Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals.
Riefenstahl and Morris: An unlikely couple? Perhaps, but in her
1987 memoirs, the German filmmaker belatedly confirmed she had an affair
with the American athlete during the filming of Olympia,
Riefenstahl’s documentary about the Berlin Games. In fact, she
portrayed it as much more than a dalliance, saying that she had dreamed
of marrying Morris and that he broke her heart. Morris, who went on to
Hollywood, the National Football League, and military service, spoke
sparingly of the relationship, but mused late in life that he "should
have stayed in Germany with Leni.”
In Olympic Affair,
author Terry Frei turns to historical fiction in a novel researched in
much the same fashion as his widely praised works of non-fiction,
including Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming and Third Down and a War to Go.
Using deduction, imagination and narrative skill to augment documented
fact (as well as debunk myths parroted for many years), Frei tells the
story of their ill-fated affair…and beyond.
About the Author: Award-winning journalist, author, and screenwriter Terry Frei is in his second stint with the Denver Post. A native of Oregon, he has also written for the (Portland) Oregonian and the Sporting News, and for eight years was a featured columnist on ESPN.com. Among his previous books are Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming; 77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age; and Playing Piano in a Brothel. He and his wife, Helen, live in Denver.
Read Terry's comments about how this novel came to be.
Advance Praise
“Olympic sports, an international romance, and world politics on the eve of World War II collide in the electrifying Olympic Affair....This meticulously researched and historically accurate novel is illuminated with plausible fictional dialog, using the same readable approach as Alex Haley's Roots and Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace....Olympic Affair is simultaneously fun, informative, and thought-provoking.” —Richard C. Haney, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Professor of History Emeritus, Author of When Is Daddy Coming Home?: An American Family During World War II
“...[A] compelling look at an historic sporting event and a love/sex scandal cloaked in intrigue and danger. Frei’s style is reporter/novelist, cleanly balanced between event and character, offering a panorama of human triumph saddened by failure. Of the books I’ve read in the past four or five years, this one is near the top of the list.” —Terry Kay, Author of To Dance with the White Dog
“History tells us that decathlon champion Glenn Morris and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl had an affair at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. In his riveting and richly researched novel, Terry Frei tells us what might well have happened between them, what was happening around them, and what it all might have meant had things ended a bit differently.” —Neal Rubin, Detroit News
“[Frei] succeeds brilliantly. His research is impeccable and names are not changed to protect the guilty….This is history as historians seldom write it and should be required reading for everyone. Highly recommended.” —David Milofsky, Professor of English, Colorado State University, novelist and author of Playing From Memory and A Friend of Kissinger
“In a sad but revealing tale of history, heartbreak, and hometown heroes, Terry Frei has captured an era through a searing tale that leaves [the reader] convinced that the fiction surrounding a story that actually happened is really true. It is movingly written; you won’t put this one down!” —Thomas W. Zeiler, University of Colorado, Boulder
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781589796980 |
| PRICE | $24.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |
