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The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics

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By: Glenn Allen, Richard Kaufman
Narrated by: Rick Kaufman
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About this listen

American Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage, unmoved by the new Nazi regime's anti-Jewish doctrines, leads the fight to participate in the 1936 Berlin Games after much debate of a U.S. boycott. Brundage desperately wants to be on the International Olympic Committee. If he doesn't get the Americans to Berlin, he can kiss that dream goodbye.

When the vote is decided in Brundage’s favor, AP Sports Editor, Alan J. Gould, friend and champion of the athletes, travels to Berlin to cover all of the “games” being played. Through his eyes we see the machinations of Brundage’s complicity with the Nazis, the tenacity of the proud American athletes, and the extreme pressure from the Nazis on their German athletes. Their stories, heartbreaking and tragic, give rise to feats of heroism that go beyond the playing field.

PLAYED is a cauldron of politics, sports, espionage and courage. Along the way we meet some of the most famous people of the time; Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Goebbels, Leni Riefenstahl, Eva Braun and the madman himself, who vowed to “make Germany great again,” Adolf Hitler.

©2024 Glenn Allen and Rick Kaufman (P)2024 Glenn Allen and Rick Kaufman Historical Fiction Sports Game

Critic reviews

“A brilliantly written, absorbing book which puts the full impact of the ’36 Olympic games—and its aftermath—into proper perspective. Seldom does a book immediately draw you in like this one does. An important book about a critical time in world history.” -ERIK SHERMAN

As a fan of ‘THE BOYS IN THE BOAT’ and ‘CITIZENS OF LONDON’ this novel did not disappoint. A clever and captivating look behind the scenes of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. I couldn't put it down.” -DANIEL P. HANLEY
All stars
Most relevant
The story of the 1936 Olympics and the complicity of other countries in it is fascinating. If you look up the IOC website for Britain’s participation, it doesn’t even mention the Nazis! Anyway, I’m afraid this book isn’t going to give you a concise history. It looks at way too many characters to be focussed and isn’t clear on what’s fact and what’s fiction (which makes it a slightly dull novel or an untrustworthy history). Lastly but by no means least, some of the narrator’s pronunciations of names and words in German was painful although his characterisation of Hitler as a New Yorker was fun.

Amazing story told averagely

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