Brace yourself for a slew of new books inspired by the Olympics in Athens. Travel writer Tony Perrottet's enjoyable and vivid take on the ancient games, The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Olympic Games (New York: Random House, 2004; $12.95), re-creates the contests in all their original gritty glory. Robin Waterfield's Athens: From Ancient Ideal to Modern City (New York: Basic Books, 2004; $27.50) is a readable account of Athens' incredible history. Stephen Miller, excavator of Nemea, a site which also hosted the ancient sacred games, weighs in with Ancient Greek Athletics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004; $35), a well-illustrated volume on sports in the Greek world. [More books on Greece...] |