Books & ideas

Sport as a battlefield

Michael C. Behrent & François Doppler-Speranza — 2025-03-27T08:00:00Z

After 1945, the geopolitical use of sport found a place in the alliances of the Cold War. Ideology and diplomacy slipped into every aspect of the practice of sports.

Above it All

Claude Reichler — 2019-10-21T07:00:00Z

Mountaineering combines surpassing oneself, taking things to excess, and achieving practical wisdom. The philosopher P.-H. Frangne explains that this activity is an important exercise in the decentering of the self, which allows for the perception of the incomparably sublime landscapes provided by mountain peaks.

The Culture of Qi

Marceau Chenault — 2016-11-21T08:00:00Z

Qi—“breath” or “energy”—lies at the heart of many traditional Asian practices, be they martial or artistic, that rest upon a broader understanding of mind and body. This concept has now become pervasive in Western ideas of health and spirituality. Could this trend be a positive effect of globalization?

Coding the Body

Igor Martinache — 2016-06-30T07:00:00Z

In contrast to general theories that claim to explain sports practices, a recent book sheds light on the forms of socialization and the institutions that make sports an eminently social phenomenon.

Gifted men, giving women

Dominique Memmi — 2016-02-08T07:13:18Z

Relying on recent studies on the working-class, Dominique Memmi shows that building a talent is not just a matter of class relations, but is also related to gender-relations. While men are believed to have gifts that distinguish them, women give of themselves for others.

A History of Show-Business Football

Marion Fontaine — 2010-11-19T11:08:23Z

Is people's passion for football as we know it today a recent development? Marion Fontaine retraces the history of supporters and show-business football, showing how the game gradually became a form of major entertainment.