Allen Guttmann 
From Ritual to Record 
The Nature of Modern Sports

Originally published in 1978,
From Ritual to Record was one of the first books to recognize the importance of sports as a lens on the fundamental structure of societies. In this reissue, Guttmann emphasizes the many ways that modern sports, dramatically different from the sports of previous eras, have profoundly shaped contemporary life.

Table of Content

Play, Games, Contests, Sports
From Ritual to Record
Capitalism, Protestantism, and Modern Sport
Why Baseball Was Our National Game
The Fascination of Football
Individualism Reconsidered
Conclusion
Afterword. From Ritual to Record: A Retrospective Critique

About the author

Allen Guttmann is professor of American studies at Amherst College. His many books include
The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games, Games and Empires: Modern Sports and Cultural Imperialism (Columbia), and a translation of Peter Kühnst’s
Sports: A Cultural History in the Mirror of Art. He lives in Leverett, Massachusetts.