"The Oxford handbook of sports history"provides a comprehensive and rigorous survey of the field of sports history, proving that sports are not only the opposite of war but have also been a significant part of a historical civilizing process. With contributions from thirty-seven distinguished scholars, this handbook traces modern sport's establishment and development, moving from ancient Greek and Roman combat sports and medieval blood sports to the impact of industrialization and urbanization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It charts the global diffusion of such sports as football, baseball, cricket, and surfing and explores contentious issues in today's society, including the practice of doping and the economic exploitation of the Olympic Games.