Something in the Air

Something in the Air is Richard Hoffer’s gripping sports narrative that tells the individual stories of the athletes who gathered in Mexico City in 1968, a year of dramatic upheaval around the world. Racial tensions were high on the U.S. Olympic team, where inflamed black athletes had to choose between demands for justice, on the one hand, and loyalty to country, on the other. Although basketball star Lew Alcindor (later to become the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) decided not to participate, heavyweight boxer George Foreman not only competed and won a gold medal but waved a miniature American flag at foreign judges. Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos became as famous for their raised-fist gestures of protest as for their speed on the track. No one was prepared for Bob Beamon’s long jump, which broke the world record by a staggering twenty-two inches. And then there was Dick Fosbury, the goofball high jumper whose backward, upside-down approach to the bar (the “Fosbury Flop”) baffled his coaches while breaking records. Filled with human drama, Something in the Air is a powerful, unforgettable tale that will resonate with sports fans and readers of social history alike. This edition features a new afterword by the author on the fiftieth anniversary of the Olympics.  

Richard Hoffer was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated for nineteen years and is the author of A Savage Business: The Comeback and Comedown of Mike Tyson, Jackpot Nation, and Bouts of Mania: Ali, Frazier, and Foreman-and an America on the Ropes. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife.  

1. Roads to Glory - Dogs on Ice, a Third-String End, and Robin Hood2. 1968 - Tanks on the Streets, Dead on a Balcony, and Audie Murphy3. Speed City - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, "Tutti Frutti," and Jack Daniels4. Countdown to Mexico - Lymphocytes, Zip Guns, and ROTC5. Boycott - Hells Angels, a Petrified Pig, and More Ralph Henry Barbour6. A Desperate Innovation - Rolls, Straddles, and an Airborne Seizure7. The Trials - Spondylolisthesis, Brush Spikes, and a Brutal Stomping8. Denver - The Anarchists' Convention, a Vote for Nixon, and a Cold Chill9. Mexico City - Thin Air, Fresh Paint, and Shots in the Night10. Opening Ceremony - Flag Dipping, a Family Feud, and 6,300 Pigeons11. And They're Off - A Grisly Tableau, Pinochle, and a Guided Missile Launch12. Protest - Licorice Hammers, Tommie Jets, and Black Gloves13. Harder and Higher - The Little Stinker, Beauty and the Beast, and Hollywood Agents14. Aftershocks - Pimped-Out Socks, a Mutation Performance, and Sparks Under His Feet15. Monday - A Grunion Hunt, a Crying Tigerbelle, and a Jig for Joy16. Week Two - A Cuddlesome Junior, a Ragtag Bunch, and a Blonde in a Beehive17. Pappy's Boys - Rateros, Various Sarges, and a Lucky Picture of a Pretty Girl18. Going Home - Boy Scouts, Psychedelic Mileage, and a Black BraAfterword AcknowledgmentsNotes on SourcesIndex