Abel Kiviat, national champion; twentieth-century track & field and the melting pot.

9780815609391

Abel Kiviat, national champion; twentieth-century track & field and the melting pot.

Katchen, Alan S.

Syracuse U. Press

2009

391 pages

$34.95

Hardcover

Sports and entertainment

GV1061

Katchen (history of education, U. of California at Santa Barbara) has written this biography of track-and-field legend Abel Kiviat that contrasts his athletic achievements with American social history throughout the 20th century. Written for general audiences, this book explores Kiviat's upbringing in New York City, his relationship with Olympic roommate Jim Thorpe and ultimately his world record in the metric mile and Olympic Gold Medal. The author also discusses such topics as the evolution of the I-ACC and its relationship to Tammany Hall, and the way track-and-field was modernized over the course of Kiviat's 99 years of life.

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