Triumph

The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics

By: Jeremy Schaap

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

In 1936, against a backdrop of swastikas flying and storm troopers looming, an African-American son of sharecroppers set three world records and won an unprecedented four gold medals, single-handedly crushing Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy. The story of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games is that of a high-profile athlete giving a performance that transcends sports. But it is also the intimate and complex tale of the courage of one remarkable man.

Drawing on unprecedented access to the Owens family, previously unpublished interviews, and exhaustive archival research, Jeremy Schaap transports us to Nazi Germany to weave this dramatic tale.

From the start, American participation in the games was controversial. A boycott, based on reports of Nazi hostility to Jews, was afoot, but it was thwarted by the president of the American Olympic Committee. At the games themselves, the plots and intrigues continued: Owens was befriended by a German rival, broad jumper Luz Long, who helped Owens win the gold medal at his own expense. Two Jewish sprinters were, at the last moment, denied the chance to compete for the United States out of misguided politeness to the Nazi hosts. And a myth was born that Hitler himself had snubbed Owens.

Like Neal Bascomb's The Perfect Mile, Triumph captures this momentous episode in sports - and - world, history in a nuanced yet page-turning narrative full of drama, suspense, and color.

©2007 Jeremy Schaap (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Snappy and dramatic, with an eye for the rousing climax....Schaap makes good use of his prodigious research." (Publishers Weekly)

What an amazing athlete

I learned much about Jesse Owens as an athlete and a man. Good pace and narrator. Definitely worth a listen.

Great Listen

Through the years all track and field stars have heard of Jesse Owens. Being from Ohio and a graduate of Ohio State University, this story has an even better meaning. Never knowing the back story of what Jesse went through to get to the Olympics, makes his accomplishments even greater.

Thorough yet strangely misses a key historical event

Schaap though thorough about this focal point in American and German Olympic political history, misses the biggest snub of all that Jesse Owens experienced: when President Franklin Roosevelt invited all of the white athletes to the White House, but none of the blacks. How in the world the author was able to omit this episode we can only assume shows a protective bias towards FDR and the Democratic Party and hence makes him a disappointing, if not worthless historian. This is so sad because otherwise, the book is a great read, and does cover the other important facts incredibly thoroughly. 😢 Hopefully someone else can write another book that can fill in that particular event.

Excellent Book

Really great storey. Was very interesting learning about who and what Jesse Owens was about. Worth reading. Good narration.

History

What did you love best about Triumph?

Really learned a lot about the history surrounding the 1936 Olympics. May be too detailed for some listeners.