Games People Played: A Global History of Sport

‘Compendious . . . The book does have an underlying mission, which is to argue for sport to be taken seriously as an object of study. And it shows how deeply sport is embedded in culture’ – Sunday Times

‘Vamplew is as informative and comprehensive as one could want . . . An outstanding guide to [sports’] role in history.’ – David Papineau, Wall Street Journal

Games People Played is, surprisingly, the first global history of sport. Wray Vamplew shows how sport has been practised, experienced and made meaningful by players and fans, and assesses how sports have developed and diffused across the globe. He examines not only how sport is sociable and health-giving, but how economics has turned sport into a huge consumer industry. Sport’s dark side – its environmental impact, the use of performance-enhancing drugs, discrimination and match fixing – is explored in detail. Covering everything from curling to baseball, boxing to motor racing, this book, now in paperback, will appeal to anyone who plays, watches or enjoys sport.

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