International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports

Description

The three-volume International Encyclopedia of Women and Sports is the largest and most comprehensive work about women’s sports ever published. It includes articles on individual sports, sports medicine and women’s health, societal and cultural issues, biographies, and historical country profiles. The work provides unique international and historical coverage of women’s sports from earliest recorded times to the dawn of the twenty-first century, as well as the geographical and cultural context necessary for a thorough understanding of this burgeoning topic.

In 430 A-Z articles, leading scholars and specialists cover numerous sports and sports figures, as well as health issues such as eating disorders, nutrition and bone density, and social issues such as body image, gender equity and Title IX legislation (which mandates equity in school funding for women’s sports programs). A number of organizations contributed to this project, including the Women’s Sports Foundation, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, Amateur Athletic Foundation, and others.

One of the American Library Association RUSA Committee’s Outstanding Reference Publications.

• “An important contribution to the study of women’s participation in athletic activity. The wide variety of coverage and depth of the articles will make it a valuable addition to any collection needing information on women or sports. It is appropriate for public and academic libraries.” —Booklist
• “A monumental undertaking, this encyclopedia covers women’s sports worldwide and throughout history…. This encyclopedia’s strengths lie in its unique, cross-cultural treatment of all subjects…. A scholarly resource for public libraries and schools at all levels, middle school through college.” —Library Journal
• “The wide coverage of the present encyclopedia reflects the diversity in women’s sport…. Major health issues of concern to female athletes (e.g., amenorrhea, osteoporosis, eating disorders) are given excellent coverage…. Highly recommended for all academic and large public libraries.” —Choice
• “A very well organized and comprehensive reference work…. Normally I would recommend a work like this for strong sports collections, however … I strongly recommend it for all serious reference collections.” —Reference and User Services Quarterly

Allen Guttmann is emeritus professor of English and American Studies at Amherst College. He is the author of Women’s Sports: A History, Sports: The First Five Millennia, The Olympics, a History of the Modern Games, From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports, and other books. He received the first President’s Award for Sports Studies from the International Olympic Committee.

Gertrud Pfister is a sociologist and professor in the Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports at the University of Copenhagen’s Institute of Exercise and Sports Sciences. Pfister is former president of the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport, the International Sport Sociology Association. She also coedited the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport.

Karen Christensen is a writer specializing in community and environmental issues with a longstanding interest in sports. She was senior editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Community, coeditor of the first edition of the i, and coeditor of the book China Gold: China’s Quest for Global Power and Olympic Glory.