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.

Homosexuality on Trial

Danièle Voldman — 2018-02-19T08:00:00Z

Paris, 1933. Oscar Dufrenne, a music hall mogul and notorious homosexual, was found murdered in his office. Even though a suspect was arrested, the investigation led nowhere. The case paints a portrait of interwar France in its desire to restore order, its political violence, and the slow evolution of social mores.

“What a Show It Will Be!” Freak Shows and American Society

Elise Lantz — 2015-03-19T06:30:00Z

At a time when “Disability Studies”—a multidisciplinary approach to physical incapacities that blends scholarship and activism—were first establishing themselves, Robert Bogdan protested the reduction of individuals to purely medical definitions. The translation of his book may contribute to overcoming this position, which remains dominant in France.

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.