Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-Performance Sport

Fastest, Highest, Strongest presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:

* The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport

* The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach

* The changing meaning of "sport"

* The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance

* The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.

Fastest, Highest, Strongest is a profound critical examination of modern sport. Its straightforward style will appeal to under- and post-graduate students as well as scholars of sports ethics and history, policy makers and all those interested in the changing nature of sport.

Rob Beamish, Ian Ritchie