Encyclopedia of World Sport

Description

This convenient book provides fascinating information about sports throughout the world. Over 245 separate pieces written by the world's greatest authorities offer everything you could possibly want to know about hundreds of sports, including traditional sports and national games, and sporting events. Each entry includes an introduction to the sport, followed by details of its history, the rules of play and suggestions for further reading. Moreover, the volume explores the emotions and issues surrounding the sporting life and looks at sport as an essential part of human experience.Readers will find entries on acrobatics, the African Games, aggression, billiards and snooker, boxing, coaches and coaching, the Commonwealth Games, cricket, disabled sports, extreme sports, hang gliding, Highland Games, horse racing, judo, the media, motorcycle racing, Rugby League, Rugby Union, skiing, football/soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field events, traditional sports, umpires and umpiring, wrestling, women's sports, yachting, and much more.

Informations

• Publié par: Berkshire Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 27 juillet 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781614729587
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Praise for the Encyclopedia of World Sport
“...an impressive and heavyweight work, compiled with the help of a vast team of sports scholars and experts from all over the world, [with] fascinatingly detailed coverage of almost 300 sports, which include . . . some that you will probably never have heard of. How about trying your hand at Cudgeling, Buzkashi, Camogie or even Maori Darts? All the rules are here, along with a description of how the games evolved and are played.” — The Times (London)



“[ The Encyclopedia of World Sport ] was, honestly, so interesting, I wanted to read [it] from cover to cover.” — VOYA



“Accessible and enjoyable.” — GQ Active



“The Encyclopedia of World Sport ... is a truly phenomenal work....Anthropologist David Levinson and Karen Christensen must be proud of the sheer scale of this exhaustive work which is virtually a complete sporting library....” —William Hill All Sport & Leisure (UK)


“International in scope, it also includes articles on sports little known in the United States—sports such as charioteering, korfball, luge, pelota, shinty, sumo, wushu, and the traditional games of various regions of the world.... In addition to the games themselves, the encyclopedia gives considerable attention to the social issues implicit in and illustrated by sport; articles address topics such as the diffusion of sports from one country to others, ethics, leadership, the media, patriotism, ritual, and violence ... scholarly, but readable and always informative....” — Rettig on Reference


“What makes this a truly memorable reference work are the countless inserts, personal letters, and historical anecdotes about the sporting life for all libraries.” — Library Journal


“This encyclopedia will be of great value to students and will also appeal to sports minded leisure readers.” — School Library Journal


“The overall quality of the work and its unique coverage make it an outstanding addition.” — Booklist
Encyclopedia of World Sport

From Ancient Times to the Present
Foreword by Sebastian Coe, KBE
Editorial Board
John Bale , Keele University , Alyce Cheska, University of Illinois, Champaign–Urbana , Garry Chick , Pennsylvania State University , Karen Christensen , Berkshire Publishing , Allen Guttmann , Amherst College , Richard Holt , De Montfort University , Donald G. Kyle , University of Texas , David Levinson, Independent Scholar , John W. Loy Jr. , University of Otago , Roberta Park , University of California, Berkeley


BERKSHIRE PUBLISHING GROUP
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Foreword by Sebastian Coe


Over the period of the last twenty years, and particularly during my time as Vice-Chairman of the United Kingdom Sports Council, I was frequently asked if I could recommend a suitable publication which would cover a wide range of sporting activities and topics. The requests indicated the need for a publication of both width and gravitas. Apart from general enquiries, there were a number of requests from those involved in further and higher education and from individuals undertaking a variety of research activities. I was able to offer advice regarding physiology, coaching/training techniques, the Olympic Games, the usual sporting biographies and autobiographies and some subject specific works. However, at the time, I was unable to recommend a single comprehensive volume providing authoritative treatment of hundreds of sports throughout the world. I am pleased to say that this is no longer the case and I can strongly recommend ABC-CLIO’s Encyclopedia of World Sport .
The Encyclopedia of World Sport certainly has both width and gravitas. Not only does the volume take an international perspective but it covers those sporting activities which do not enjoy a high international media profile, as well as many which enjoy no media profile at all, like speedball, softball, barrel jumping and a variety of traditional ethnic/national activities like African and Asian sports.
The approach taken in this publication includes the sociological and historical aspects of specific sports and it also draws attention to many of the major issues in sport today. The historical aspects are particularly informative as can be seen in the chapter on baseball: was its origin the old English game of rounders? The historical detail is central in the demonstration of the importance of sport as a mode of cultural expression. This is particularly pertinent today at a time when there is an emergence of an international sporting culture driven by television, electronic communications and modern transport systems. The recognition of the contribution which sport and related activities make to culture is especially valuable in the context of the performance/participation debate. Many performance sports at elite level are, to the performer and the governing body, financially rewarding and form part of the emerging international sporting culture. Such sports will continue to have large numbers of participants fuelled by media coverage.
However, perhaps the most significant contribution made by this publication is the documentation of the myriad of sporting activities, which are regarded, rightly or wrongly, as minority sports. In most cases these activities, although encompassing the pursuit of excellence and in some cases professionalism, are fundamentally about participation. Accordingly, the need for a collected work such as this, recording their origins and socio-historical context, is axiomatic. The Encyclopedia of World Sport meets this need in an accessible manner.
This is a publication that is of enormous value to students of sport, history and sociology as well as to individuals seeking enlightenment in any, or all, of these disciplines.

—Sebastian Coe is Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) and chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games. He won four Olympic gold medals as a middle-distance runner, was a Conservative Member of Parliament, and then became the head of London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
About the 2012 Digital Edition

When the first Encyclopedia of World Sport was published with ABC-CLIO in 1996, it was so successful that we were asked to create a condensed paperback edition to be published in the USA by Oxford University Press and in the UK by ABC-CLIO, with a foreword from Olympic runner, Sebastian Coe, who later became chair of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games.
When the first Encyclopedia of World Sport was published with ABC-CLIO in 1996, it was so successful that we were asked to create a condensed paperback edition to be published in the USA by Oxford University Press and in the UK by ABC-CLIO, with a foreword from Olympic runner, Sebastian Coe, who later became chair of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games.
We’re delighted to publish Lord Coe’s remarks again with this first e-book of the Encyclopedia of World Sport , and pleased to highlight a few of the reviews of that original edition, including a feature in The Times that called it “the newest sporting bible” and its selection as sports book of the week by the UK betting agency William Hill’s newspaper, All Sport and Leisure . A second edition of the larger work was published in 2005, and the third edition in 2013. As Coe puts it, “This is a publication . . . of enormous value to students of sport, history, and sociology as well as to individuals seeking enlightenment” about the entire world of sports.
The 2013 Encyclopedia of World Sport consists of a five-volume print set and an expanded digital edition containing a much larger collection of articles, supplementary documents, biographies, charts, maps, statistical tables, and teaching materials. The online edition will provide subscribing libraries with regular updates on major sporting events. Coverage includes sports management and marketing, branding, sponsorship, sporting goods, and technology, as well as on environmental and economic issues. The Encyclopedia of World Sport is designed for use in world history, regional history, international relations, global studies, and other social science and humanities courses.
Berkshire sports titles have been praised by GQ magazine, The (London) Times , La Gazzetta dello Sport , and UK bookmakers William Hill and have received awards from Choice , Library Journal , Booklist and from the American Library Association and New York Public Library .

—Karen Christensen, CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia of World Sport

From Ancient Times to the Present

BERKSHIRE PUBLISHING GROUP
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the practice of performing physically unusual feats with one’s body. Principally the art of jumping, tumbling, and balancing; it often involves apparatus such as poles, one-wheel cycles, and flying trapezes. The somersault is the fundamental tumbling act of acrobatics. Acrobatics, with a long recorded history and many noted practitioners, has hovered on the fringes of dance and the theater and provided an aesthetic alternative to sport.
History
The history of acrobatics is the history of its constant marginalization—but also its constant presence. From the early Egyptians to the European Middle Ages, acrobatic feats (particularly somersaults) were an integral, if unofficial, element of funeral rites. Acrobatic stunts have always seemed morally as well as physically dangerous. The ambiguous status of acrobatics may derive from its forgotten symbolism. Whether walking a tight-rope or performing a somersault, the acrobat is exposing himself to the possibility of serious injury and thus defying death. The acrobat who survives the danger to which he has willfully exposed himself embodies ou