The Culture and Sport of Skiing: From Antiquity to World War ll
by E. John B. Allen
University of Massachusetts Press, 2007 Paper: 978-1-55849-601-9 | eISBN: 978-1-61376-060-4 Library of Congress Classification GV854.1.A45 2007 Dewey Decimal Classification 796.93
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
A comprehensive history of skiing from its earliest origins to the outbreak of World War II, this book traces the transformation of what for centuries remained an exclusively utilitarian practice into the exhilarating modern sport we know today. E. John B. Allen places particular emphasis on the impact of culture on the development of skiing, from the influence of Norwegian nationalism to the role of the military in countries as far removed as Austria, India, and Japan. Although the focus is on Europe, Allen's analysis ranges all over the snow-covered world, from Algeria to China to Zakopane. He also discusses the participation of women and children in what for much of its history remained a male-dominated sport.
Of all the individuals who contributed to the modernization of skiing before World War II, Allen identifies three who were especially influential: Fridtjof Nansen of Norway, whose explorations on skis paradoxically inspired the idea of skiing as sport; Arnold Lunn of England, whose invention of downhill skiing and the slalom were foundations of the sport's globalization; and Hannes Schneider, whose teachings introduced both speed and safety into the sport.
Underscoring the extent to which ancient ways persisted despite modernization, the book ends with the Russo-Finnish War, a conflict in which the Finns, using equipment that would have been familiar a thousand years before, were able to maneuver in snow that had brought the mechanized Soviet army to a halt.
More than fifty images not only illustrate this rich history but provide further opportunity for analysis of its cultural significance.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
E. John B. Allen is professor emeritus of history at Plymouth State University, and author of From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport, 1840-1940.
REVIEWS
"An excellent comprehensive history of the modernization of skiing from its origins to WW II. . . . The book is superbly researched—using primary sources in several languages—and beautifully illustrated (more than 50 graphics provide additional evidence). . . .Essential."—Choice
"No one alive today can equal E. John B. Allen in his meticulous, comprehensive historical research about skiing. . . . an unprecedented, immeasurably valuable contribution to the historical record."—John Fry, author of The Story of Modern Skiing
"An exemplary study. If sports history were a slalom, John Allen would get the gold."—Allen Guttmann, author of Sports: The First Five Millennia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Preface 00
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Archeology and Myth 00
Bog Finds and Rock Art 00
Tales from the Sagas
Linguistics
Chapter 2 Skis for a Purpose
The Wooden-Board People of Asia
The Outlandish North, c. 500?1650
Defense and Competition, 1650?1826
Enlightened Europe Marvels at Skiing
Skiing in Isolation: Bloke
Chapter 3 The Norwegian Thrust
Old Skis in a Modernizing World
The Norwegian Case
Norwegian Skiing Spreads South
Sport for Health
Creating Nationalism: The Land of Eternal Snow
Chapter 4 Fridtjof Nansen
Across Greenland in 1888
Farthest North
Europe Catches Nansen Fever
Norwegians Abroad
Chapter 5 Creating the Skisport
Exhibitions
Manufacturing, Improving, and Distributing Equipment
Winter Stations: Comfort First
Chamonix?Mont Blanc
Wooing a Clientele, 1900?1914
The Mechanics of Tourism
Skisport Made Easy
Chapter 6 The English Play
The Elite and Their Clubs
Mountaineering and Ski Mountaineering
Inventing Downhill and Slalom
Chapter 7 The French Worry
The Health of the Nation
French Alpine Club in Charge
The Military?s Show
Chapter 8 The Germans and Austrians Organize
The Military Takes Up Skiing
Instruction, Civil and Military
Earliest Alpine Ski Technicians: Zdarsky and Bilgeri
Club Skiing
Children on Skis
Spreading the Word
Growth of Skiing
Skiing in Eastern Europe
Chapter 9 The Ladies Ski
Wealth, Health, and Mores
On Corsets and Trousers
Entertainment or Competition?
Chapter 10 The Great War
Preparing for War
The Reality of Combat
Chapter 11 Uneasy Peace?Les Ann¿es Folles
Concerns of the French
Swiss Efficiency
The New Woman on Skis
Chapter 12 Winter Olympic Games of Chamonix, St. Moritz, Lake Placid
Holmenkollen and Nordiska Spelen
Controlling the Skisport
Confronting Problems: Amateurs, Alpine Skiing, and Norwegians
Lake Placid 1932
Chapter 13 Europeans Abroad in the East
China: No Converts Here
Japan Follows Europe?s Lead
Rustic Ski Life in New Zealand
Australia: Above Worry Level
Recreating M¿rren in India
Chapter 14 Europeans Abroad in the Americas
U.S.A.
Gold Rush Skiers
Midwestern Immigrants: Beating the Record
New England College Men Catch On
Alpine Ski Fever
?Bend ze Kneez?
Mechanization for a New Clientele
The Lure of the West
Canada
Eastern Skiing Mechanizes
South America
Chapter 15 Skiing under Siege
Mussolini Infiltrates Sports
Anti-Semitism in Austria and Germany
The ?Crusade for the Ski? in France
Up-Ski Revolution
Nazi Politics and Nazi Olympics
Chapter 16 The Schneider Phenomenon
Inventing the Arlberg Technique
Schneider and Fanck: The Wonders of Skiing
Skimeister to the World
Political Disruptions on the Race Course
Anschluss
The American Connection
Chapter 17 The Russo-Finnish War
Before the War
Soviet Invasion
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliographic Note on Selected Archives
Index
The Culture and Sport of Skiing: From Antiquity to World War ll
by E. John B. Allen
University of Massachusetts Press, 2007 Paper: 978-1-55849-601-9 eISBN: 978-1-61376-060-4
A comprehensive history of skiing from its earliest origins to the outbreak of World War II, this book traces the transformation of what for centuries remained an exclusively utilitarian practice into the exhilarating modern sport we know today. E. John B. Allen places particular emphasis on the impact of culture on the development of skiing, from the influence of Norwegian nationalism to the role of the military in countries as far removed as Austria, India, and Japan. Although the focus is on Europe, Allen's analysis ranges all over the snow-covered world, from Algeria to China to Zakopane. He also discusses the participation of women and children in what for much of its history remained a male-dominated sport.
Of all the individuals who contributed to the modernization of skiing before World War II, Allen identifies three who were especially influential: Fridtjof Nansen of Norway, whose explorations on skis paradoxically inspired the idea of skiing as sport; Arnold Lunn of England, whose invention of downhill skiing and the slalom were foundations of the sport's globalization; and Hannes Schneider, whose teachings introduced both speed and safety into the sport.
Underscoring the extent to which ancient ways persisted despite modernization, the book ends with the Russo-Finnish War, a conflict in which the Finns, using equipment that would have been familiar a thousand years before, were able to maneuver in snow that had brought the mechanized Soviet army to a halt.
More than fifty images not only illustrate this rich history but provide further opportunity for analysis of its cultural significance.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
E. John B. Allen is professor emeritus of history at Plymouth State University, and author of From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport, 1840-1940.
REVIEWS
"An excellent comprehensive history of the modernization of skiing from its origins to WW II. . . . The book is superbly researched—using primary sources in several languages—and beautifully illustrated (more than 50 graphics provide additional evidence). . . .Essential."—Choice
"No one alive today can equal E. John B. Allen in his meticulous, comprehensive historical research about skiing. . . . an unprecedented, immeasurably valuable contribution to the historical record."—John Fry, author of The Story of Modern Skiing
"An exemplary study. If sports history were a slalom, John Allen would get the gold."—Allen Guttmann, author of Sports: The First Five Millennia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Preface 00
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Archeology and Myth 00
Bog Finds and Rock Art 00
Tales from the Sagas
Linguistics
Chapter 2 Skis for a Purpose
The Wooden-Board People of Asia
The Outlandish North, c. 500?1650
Defense and Competition, 1650?1826
Enlightened Europe Marvels at Skiing
Skiing in Isolation: Bloke
Chapter 3 The Norwegian Thrust
Old Skis in a Modernizing World
The Norwegian Case
Norwegian Skiing Spreads South
Sport for Health
Creating Nationalism: The Land of Eternal Snow
Chapter 4 Fridtjof Nansen
Across Greenland in 1888
Farthest North
Europe Catches Nansen Fever
Norwegians Abroad
Chapter 5 Creating the Skisport
Exhibitions
Manufacturing, Improving, and Distributing Equipment
Winter Stations: Comfort First
Chamonix?Mont Blanc
Wooing a Clientele, 1900?1914
The Mechanics of Tourism
Skisport Made Easy
Chapter 6 The English Play
The Elite and Their Clubs
Mountaineering and Ski Mountaineering
Inventing Downhill and Slalom
Chapter 7 The French Worry
The Health of the Nation
French Alpine Club in Charge
The Military?s Show
Chapter 8 The Germans and Austrians Organize
The Military Takes Up Skiing
Instruction, Civil and Military
Earliest Alpine Ski Technicians: Zdarsky and Bilgeri
Club Skiing
Children on Skis
Spreading the Word
Growth of Skiing
Skiing in Eastern Europe
Chapter 9 The Ladies Ski
Wealth, Health, and Mores
On Corsets and Trousers
Entertainment or Competition?
Chapter 10 The Great War
Preparing for War
The Reality of Combat
Chapter 11 Uneasy Peace?Les Ann¿es Folles
Concerns of the French
Swiss Efficiency
The New Woman on Skis
Chapter 12 Winter Olympic Games of Chamonix, St. Moritz, Lake Placid
Holmenkollen and Nordiska Spelen
Controlling the Skisport
Confronting Problems: Amateurs, Alpine Skiing, and Norwegians
Lake Placid 1932
Chapter 13 Europeans Abroad in the East
China: No Converts Here
Japan Follows Europe?s Lead
Rustic Ski Life in New Zealand
Australia: Above Worry Level
Recreating M¿rren in India
Chapter 14 Europeans Abroad in the Americas
U.S.A.
Gold Rush Skiers
Midwestern Immigrants: Beating the Record
New England College Men Catch On
Alpine Ski Fever
?Bend ze Kneez?
Mechanization for a New Clientele
The Lure of the West
Canada
Eastern Skiing Mechanizes
South America
Chapter 15 Skiing under Siege
Mussolini Infiltrates Sports
Anti-Semitism in Austria and Germany
The ?Crusade for the Ski? in France
Up-Ski Revolution
Nazi Politics and Nazi Olympics
Chapter 16 The Schneider Phenomenon
Inventing the Arlberg Technique
Schneider and Fanck: The Wonders of Skiing
Skimeister to the World
Political Disruptions on the Race Course
Anschluss
The American Connection
Chapter 17 The Russo-Finnish War
Before the War
Soviet Invasion
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliographic Note on Selected Archives
Index
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC