Celebrate the Olympics

The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Paris this year. Go for the gold with these books about Olympians and Paralympians past and present, real and fictional

Updated May 29, 2024
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Beneath the surface : my story
Phelps, Michael
Paper Book
Peek into the mind of a champion swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time (28 medals, including 23 gold) In this candid memoir, Phelps talks openly about his battle with attention deficit disorder, the trauma of his parents' divorce, and the challenges that...
The boys in the boat : nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Brown, Daniel James
Paper Book
Now a Major Motion Picture Directed by George Clooney The #1 New York Times-bestselling story about the American Olympic rowing triumph in Nazi Germany--from the author of Facing the Mountain. For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the...
Coming up for air
Daley, Tom
Paper Book
A deeply personal and inspiring memoir from the celebrated Olympic gold medal diver and LGBTQ+ advocate, who is set to make history in his fifth Olympic games in Paris 2024 Tom Daley is one of the most beloved athletes of our time,  garnering Olympic diving medals and...
The end of August
YÅ«, Miri
Paper Book
From the National Book Award winning author, an extraordinary, ground-breaking, epic multi-generational novel about a Korean family living under Japanese occupation. In 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, Lee Woo-cheol was a running prodigy and a contender for the upcoming Tokyo...
For the glory : Eric Liddell's journey from Olympic champion to modern martyr
Hamilton, Duncan
Paper Book
Most people will know Eric Liddell as an Olympic gold medalist and a focal character in "Chariots of Fire." Famously, the Scot would not run on Sunday, leading to ridicule and, some might say, his teammate winning the 100 metres in the 1924 Paris Olympics. But for Liddell, running was always second...
The games
Patterson, James
Paper Book
In the #1 bestselling series, Private's Jack Morgan must hunt down a killer before the Olympic games begin in Rio. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil knows how to throw a party. So it's a natural choice to host the biggest spectacles in sports: the World Cup and the...
The games : a global history of the Olympics
Goldblatt, David
Paper Book
The definitive sports and social history of the modern Olympic games--by a New York Times best-selling sportswriter. A Boston Globe Best Book of 2016 A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2016 For millions of people around the world, the...
Games of deception : the true story of the first U.S. Olympic basketball team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany
Maraniss, Andrew
Paper Book
*"Rivaling the nonfiction works of Steve Sheinkin and Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat....Even readers who don't appreciate sports will find this story a page-turner." --School Library Connection, starred review *"A must for all library collections." --...
The Hard Parts : From Chernobyl to Paralympic Champion-My Story of Achieving the Extraordinary
Masters, Oksana.
Paper Book
A 2024 Christopher Award Winner "A gut-wrenching, wildly inspiring story about overcoming the most daunting obstacles through steely tenacity, sheer will, and a great big dose of motherly love." --Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of<...
The horsewoman : a novel
Patterson, James
Paper Book
This "hugely entertaining, riveting page-turner" (Louise Penny) follows the complicated relationship between mother and daughter as they face off in the Olympics--and into a ride they can barely control. Maggie Atwood and Becky McCabe, mother and daughter, both champion...
The John Carlos story : the sports moment that changed the world
Carlos, John
Paper Book
2012 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work--Biography/Autobiography "A powerful and poignant memoir."--Cornel West, from the foreword "John Carlos is an American hero. And finally he has written a memoir to tell us his story--and a powerful story it is...
Limitless : the power of hope and resilience to overcome circumstance
Weggemann, Mallory
Paper Book
Meet Mallory Weggemann: a Paralympic gold-medalist, world champion swimmer, ESPY winner, and NBC Sports commentator whose extraordinary story will give you the encouragement you need to rise up to meet any challenge you face in life. On January 21, 2008, a routine medical...
The longest race : inside the secret world of abuse, doping, and deception on Nike's elite running team
Goucher, Kara
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In "one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation" (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest...
The making of a miracle : the untold story of the captain of the 1980 gold medal-winning US Olympic hockey team
Eruzione, Mike
Paper Book
On the fortieth anniversary of the historic "Miracle on Ice," Mike Eruzione--the captain of the 1980 U.S Men's Olympic Hockey Team, who scored the winning goal--recounts his amazing career on ice, the legendary upset against the Soviets, and winning the gold medal. It is the...
Path lit by lightning : the life of Jim Thorpe
Maraniss, David
Paper Book
A riveting new biography of America's greatest all-around athlete by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered. Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon...
The race of the century : the battle to break the four-minute mile
Bascomb, Neal
Paper Book
Highly acclaimed author Neal Bascomb brings his peerless research and fast-paced narrative style to a young adult adaptation of one of his most successful adult books of all time, The Perfect Mile, an inspiring and moving story of three men racing to achieve the impossible -- the...
Rise : my story
Vonn, Lindsey
Paper Book
The first ever memoir from the most decorated female skier of all time, revealing never-before-told stories of her life in the fast lane, her struggle with depression, and the bold decisions that helped her break down barriers on and off the slopes. 82 World Cup wins. 20...
The Spencer Haywood Rule : Battles, Basketball, and the Making of an American Iconoclast
Spears, Marc J.
Ebook
From picking cotton in rural Mississippi to the historic 1968 Olympics to ABA MVP to the battle with the NBA that would go all the way to the Supreme Court and change the league forever, Spencer Haywood's life has been a microcosm of 20th century sports and culture. One of the most dominant big men...
The three-year swim club : the untold story of Maui's sugar ditch kids and their quest for Olympic glory
Checkoway, Julie
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling inspirational story of impoverished children who transformed themselves into world-class swimmers. In 1937, a schoolteacher on the island of Maui challenged a group of poverty-stricken sugar plantation kids to swim upstream against the...
Tigerbelle : the Wyomia Tyus story
Tyus, Wyomia
Paper Book
In 1968, Wyomia Tyus became the first person ever to win gold medals in the 100-meter sprint in two consecutive Olympic Games, a feat not repeated for twenty years or exceeded for almost fifty. From Tyus's childhood as the daughter of a dairy farmer, through her Olympic triumphs to her post...
Victory. Stand! : raising my fist for justice
Smith, Tommie
Paper Book
On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon...
Work with what you got
Clark, Zion
Paper Book
Elite wheelchair racer, wrestler, and America's Got Talent contestant Zion Clark joins with New York Times best-selling author James S. Hirsch for a stunning memoir--recounting childhood adversity, awe-inspiring perseverance, and self-invention. When a baby named...

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