x, 257 pages : 24 cm

"The Olympic Odyssey takes the reader on a mythic journey from the ancient to the modern Games, telling tales of gods, athletes, and coaches in all their splendid pageantry. But their fabled gold medals are only half the story. Author and life-long athlete Phil Cousineau's real fascination is for what Olympian Jesse Owens called the athlete's "inner life," the mysterious source of the drive, deeper than the one to win, to excel for an ideal beyond the self - transcending gender, race, nationality, and perhaps even the line between the human and the divine." "To explore this territory, Cousineau interweaves mythology, religion, and sports history, quoting from Homer to Whitman, Jim Thorpe to Babe Didrikson, and Yeats to Yogi Berra. His exuberant call to revive the ancient Greek ideal of integrating body, mind, and spirit reminds us that the Games provide marvelous metaphors for how to go about any venture: with passion and compassion, focus and fairness, and a sense for the sacred play at the heart of life."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 250-252) and index

The Olympic spirit: the secret strength of the great games -- The mythic origins: the spirit of place and the soul of sports -- Gods, games, and guts: the roots of agony and ecstasy -- The sacred festival: celebration of the contest -- The struggle for revival and the passing of the torch, 1896-1980 -- The fiery pursuit of excellence, 1980-2000 -- The philosopher coach: the art of winning wisely -- An Olympic vision for the future

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