Sports fans or not, readers will be fascinated by this revealing examination of the pressures leading to the widespread use of steroids in sport and the negative, unintended consequences of their ban. From Baron Pierre de Coubertin's original objectives in establishing the modern Olympic Games to the increasingly widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs during the Cold War to the 1998 drug scandal during the Tour de France and beyond, Steroids: A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs puts the social construction of steroids as a banned substance under the microscope and interprets the implications of that particular conception of steroid use in sport. Clearly written and highly accessible for all readers, this book addresses a pressing issue in professional and high-performance sport-the use of steroids-by placing it within the historical context of the ongoing desire to achieve the pinnacle of human sport. Topics examined in detail include the three major crises of Ben Johnson's positive test in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the creation of the World Anti-Doping Association, and the House Committee on Government Oversight's probe into steroid use. The author provides a critical examination of the current ban on steroids, and boldly advocates a common-sense solution to the complex problem of steroid use in sport: the adoption of harm-reduction strategies and policies rather than outright proscription. A comprehensive history of steroid use in Olympic sport and the policy decisions related to their proscription

"Fastest, Highest, Strongest" presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:
- The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport.
- The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach.
- The changing meaning of "sport."
- The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance.
- The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.
"Fastest, Highest, Strongest "is a profound, critical examination of modern sport, of interest to both students and scholars in the field of sport studies, as well as sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, sports administrators, and athletes themselves

"Fastest, Highest, Strongest" presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:
- The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport.
- The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach.
- The changing meaning of "sport."
- The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance.
- The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.
"Fastest, Highest, Strongest "is a profound, critical examination of modern sport, of interest to both students and scholars in the field of sport studies, as well as sociologists, political scientists, policymakers, sports administrators, and athletes themselves

Unlike most introductory texts that take a topical approach to studying sociology, this smart, challenging, and accessibly written text looks at the core principles of the discipline, making links to a contemporary context. The second edition of this award-winning book has been substantially revised, making more direct connections between Generation Z, Mills's concept of the sociological imagination, and the challenges students face in higher education today. The section on popular culture contains a new chapter on the history of popular music from early rock 'n' roll to contemporary pop and R&B. New chapter objectives, end-of-chapter review and reflection questions, key terms, and glossary, as well as an instructor's manual, make this text much more useful in the classroom.