Synopsis "The Running Games: A Novel of the 1936 Olympics"
Harry Robertson, an American distance runner is caught up in a plot to assassinate Charles Lindbergh and draw america into the coming war. Olympic distance runner Harry Robertson is a man on a mission. He just doesn't know it yet. From his first experience in Los Angeles at the 1932 Games, to the dark drama of the 11th Olympiad in Berlin, Harry Robertson is drawn further into a web of political intrigue. While Harry dreams of gold, a beautiful British girl and a zealous German anti-Fascist- both Olympians, as well- use their friendship with Harry to drag him, and America, into the war that is certain to come soon after the Games end in August of 1936. Charles Lindbergh's visit to Germany poses a unique opportunity for the Nazi resistance to embarrass Hitler and the Third Reich in front of the world, and perhaps, to ignite a firestorm of anti-Nazi sentiment in the USA. Harry Robertson is tossed into this tinder box by his zealous friends and is forced to take sides in a running game he doesn't want to play. If you like sports, Olympic and world history, and political suspense, then The Running Games has plenty for you to enjoy! Political violence, assassination plots and a German eugenics experiment on humans provide ongoing suspense over the pentimento of Olympic grandeur and athletes' dreams of glory. Those interested in the Olympics will enjoy the detailed information on the evolution of the Games themselves. Ironically, many of the traditions of the modern Olympics originated in the Nazis' love of pomp and ceremony, such as the parade of athletes, the bearing of the Olympic torch from Greece and even the promotion of the interlocking Olympic Rings.The pageantry and excitement of the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games provide an interesting backdrop for the story of Harry Robertson and his role in the darkening political climate that is the world before World War II.
