Poetry in motion.

Yep, that right there is Gold, you’d bet anything on it. A flawless performance like you just saw from your favorite athlete or team, well, it almost takes your breath away. This year, you’ll watch the best the Olympics has to offer – and athletes who, as you’ll see in “Total Olympics” by Jeremy Fuchs, might have some big (snow)shoes to fill.

We’ve all heard the story: the Olympics started in ancient Greece, blah blah blah, started again in Athens in 1896, yadda yadda. We know all that, says Fuchs. But there are a lot of stories you might not know about the Olympics, beginning with the Wenlock Olympian Games that were held in 1890 in West Midlands in England. Those Games, complete with a wheelbarrow race and a pig chase, seem to be the precursor of the Olympics we know.

So much has happened since then…

For example, in 1956, Hungarian athletes landing in Melbourne for the Summer Olympics were told that the Soviets had just invaded their country. They “competed admirably” and even won some gold but then they had to decide: defect, or go home? In answer, says Fuchs: “they called upon Sports Illustrated to help them.”

Because of wartime hardships, athletes to the 1948 Summer Games in London were asked to bring their own food. Kindly, most countries pooled their resources and shared.

Much has been written about the 1936 Berlin Olympics and Hitler’s anger at Jesse Owens’ wins. Owens, conversely, had reason to be angry when he came home: among other celebrations, he was feted at a high-end hotel in New York City but because he was Black, Owens had to enter the facility through the freight elevator.

Read here about protesters and those who got caught up in the protests. Learn about athletes whose medals were stripped from them (and sometimes, returned). Read about your favorite athletes, and many that have been largely forgotten. Find out about competitions you’ll never see and some you might, awful performances, tricky twins, Paralympics, and why 1980’s U.S.A. win wasn’t the first Miracle on Ice…

Let someone try to pry you from the Games this summer. Let them try, it won’t be easy. You’ll be too glued either to your TV screen, or “Total Olympics.”

Or maybe both, since author Jeremy Fuchs’ stories are great companions to the Games. Nothing is off-limits here, which is nice; Fuchs tells readers about doping and salacious behavior on Olympic Village rooftops before turning to the awful way some athletes were treated by the IOC, and that’s balanced by stories of triumph, dreams, and the impossible. With an average length of two or three pages, each article gives you enough to know and be surprised – but not so much that you miss a minute of the action.

Best of all is the browse-ability of this book, its great abundance of photographs, and the wide audience who’ll enjoy it: for older teens to adults to elders, it’s good reading. To enhance your Games-watching, “Total Olympics” is Gold.

“Total Olympics: Every Obscure, Hilarious, Dramatic and Inspiring Tale Worth Knowing” by Jeremy Fuchs, 322 pages, c. 2020, Workman $22.95.

• Terri Schlichenmeyer of The Bookworm Sez is a self-syndicated book review columnist. Schlichenmeyer’s reviews include adult and children books of every genre. You may contact her at bookwormsez@yahoo.com