This 2nd edition of a highly successful book (published in 2000) provides a comprehensive, critical analysis of the Olympic Games using a multi-disciplinary social science approach. This revised edition contains much new data relating to the Sydney 2000 Games and their aftermath; and preparations for Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games. The book is broad-ranging and independent in its coverage, and includes the use of drugs, sex testing, accusations of power abuse among members of the IOC, the Games as a stage for political protest, media-related controversies, economic costs and benefits of the Games and historical conflicts between organizers and host communities.Table of Contents: 1: Introduction: Studying the Olympic Games 2: The Ancient Olympics and their Relevance to the Modern Games 3: The Revival of the Olympic Games 4: The Modern Olympic Phenomenon 5: Politics, Nationalism and the Olympic Movement 6: The Economics and Financing of the Games 7: The Olympics and the Mass Media 8: Doping and the Olympics 9: Women and the Olympic Games 10: Case Studies of the Summer Olympic Games 11: The Future of the Olympic Games