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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Michael Phelps : beneath the surface
Phelps, Michael
Paper Book
Eight Olympic medals, including six gold and two bronze in Athens in 2004, Michael Phelps is the current holder of six world records, and seven gold medals at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships. Phelps is well on his way to his ambitious goal of changing the sport of swimming. But despite Michael...
The boys in the boat : Nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 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...
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...
The hard parts : a memoir of courage and triumph
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 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...
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...

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