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
Just in time for the 2012 Olympics--prepare to peek into the mind of a champion with this newly updated edition of Michael Phelps' autobiography, Beneath the Surface. In this candid memoir, Phelps talks openly about his battle with attention deficit disorder, the trauma of his parents'...
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
Longlisted for Autobiography of the Year, Sports Book Awards 2022 The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller A deeply personal and inspiring memoir from one of the most celebrated and influential names in British sport. Tom Daley captured...
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 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 : 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...
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 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...
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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