Sport and the British: A Modern History (Oxford studies in social history)

by RichardHolt (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1989

  $23.45

  Richard Holt has written a history of British sport since 1800 in which he attempts to explain how sport has changed and what it has meant to ordinary people. He argues that the way we play reflects not just our lives as citizens of a predominantly urban and industrial world, but also what is unique about British sport. How and why were the British unique in their sports? Holt tries to show that the British were innovators in abandoning traditional, often brutal, sports and in establishing a code of fair play , which spread throughout the late Victorian Empire. He suggests that they were also pioneers in popular sports and in the promotion of organized commercial spectator events, with the accompanying rise of professionalism. The author also discusses modern media coverage of sport, gambling, violence and attitudes towards it, nationalism and the role of sport in sustaining male identity.

• Used

  Paperback
  1990

  $3.24

  This lively and deeply researched history - the first of its kind - goes beyond the great names and moments to explain how British sport has changed since 1800, and what it has meant to ordinary people. It shows how the way we play reflects not just our lives as citizens of a predominantly urban and industrial world, but what is especially distinctive about British sport. Innovators in abandoning traditional, often brutal sports, and in establishing a code of `fair play', the British were also pioneers in popular sports and in the promotion of organized spectator events. Modern media coverage of sport, gambling, violence and attitudes towards it, nationalism, and the role of sport in sustaining male identity are also explored, and the book is rich in illuminating and entertaining anecdotes, which it combines with a serious historical understanding of a fascinating subject.

• New

  Paperback
  1990

  $63.87

  This lively and deeply researched history - the first of its kind - goes beyond the great names and moments to explain how British sport has changed since 1800, and what it has meant to ordinary people. It shows how the way we play reflects not just our lives as citizens of a predominantly urban and industrial world, but what is especially distinctive about British sport. Innovators in abandoning traditional, often brutal sports, and in establishing a code of `fair play', the British were also pioneers in popular sports and in the promotion of organized spectator events. Modern media coverage of sport, gambling, violence and attitudes towards it, nationalism, and the role of sport in sustaining male identity are also explored, and the book is rich in illuminating and entertaining anecdotes, which it combines with a serious historical understanding of a fascinating subject.