Encyclopedia of World Sport: abridged edition: From Ancient Times to the Present

The original hard‐backed edition of this work was published in 1996 and was well received by the general and sporting press. The volume under review, published in 1999, is an abridged paperback version of what is claimed to be “the definitive reference work on sports throughout history and throughout the world”. How does this abridged edition match against this assertion?

Entries are arranged alphabetically and include, as well as text on specific sports, items on generic issues such as “Worker Sport” (the work of the Worker Gymnastic Association and similar bodies) and “Ritual” in which we are informed that “all...