This compelling book provides the first comprehensive history of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, notorious for abduction of Israeli Olympians by Palestinian terrorists and the hostages' tragic deaths after a botched rescue mission. Eminent historian David Clay Large explores the 1972 festival in all its ramifications, interweaving the political drama surrounding the Games with the athletic spectacle, itself hardly free of controversy. Writing with flair and an eye for telling detail, Large brings to life the stories of the indelible characters who epitomized the Games. With the Olympic movement in constant danger of terrorist disruption, and with the fortieth anniversary of the 1972 tragedy upon us in 2012, the Munich story is more timely than ever.
