Silent Gesture: The Autobiography of Tommie Smith (Sporting)

If you read this book it will give you a more rounded, complete view of what happened at (and before and after) the Mexico City Olympics when Smith and Carlos raised their arms on the victory stand in Mexico City. OPHR (Olympic Project for Human Rights played a big role in getting South Africa and Rhodesia disinvited from the Olympics. It was a year of turmoil in the US. Dr. King was assassinated in April; Robert Kennedy was killed in June; there were riots at the Democratic National Convention in August.This book gives you an inside look at Tommie Smith's life growing up which may help the reader understand why he felt the need to make a statement at the Olympics.

I am a big reader. I enjoy biographies due to the nature of them bringing you into a era that you may have not lived or that you lived but you do not remember some of the very important details. This book was riveting. For an athlete, it shows you of some of the sacrifices that those before us made. Not only with their bodies, but with their minds. Our body really does not work at it's best, unless the mind is working well at the same time.

I consider after reading this book to be very inspiring, emotional. the truth of a man once my coach in Track and Field at Santa Monica College in 1979-1981 He made us: Southern California Conference Champion 1981. Something Santa Monica College has not done in 50 years. We made school history for Santa Monica College because of ourselves and what he taught us to believe in ourselves. I rate his book and my coach an A++. Coach Smith was more than a athlete. He was a educator, one on one mentor to me while at Santa Monica College. Coach Smith taught us athletes (Males and Females) about the history of being a responsible person in society, he also, made sure we understand how important it was to focus on our academics and achieving a college degree while in college this was first priority secondly was track and field and trust me when I say this: He taught each and every one us the the baby step in track and field and the college courses we enroll in with him . For those that do not know him. He treated all of us as a Student-Athlete. He was honest and patience but straight to the point man and God fearing. Without his motivation, inspiration, words of encouragement and mentoring me I would had not graduated from Santa Monica College in 1981 and transfer to a 4 years university(California State University of L.A.). After reading his book I read different experience he had while growing up: the cotton field,singing in church, racing his sister, I was able to learn more about who my coach was and is that I never knew other than while at Santa Monica College. To be honest with you he was like a father figure to me . For you viewers out there. Please buy and take your time reading this book I highly recommend because you will see who Coach Smith really is. Not just because he was an world class gold medalists, but is a person. He remind me of a gentle giant,humble,caring, patience, dedicated and trust-worthy. He treated each and everyone of us under the color of the rainbow with respect and teach with pride and confident. This is what we all learned from him "CONFIDENT" IF YOU FALL DOWN GET BACK UP DUST YOURSELF off and do it moving . HE'S A GREAT ROLE MODEL for all of us and you as well. I can say this in closing THANK YOU COACH. "GOD GOT A BLESSING WITH YOUR NAME ON IT Coach Smith". Please write more books for us to read.

I went to High School with Tommie. I was happy to get a copy of his book.

I feel that the previous reviewers each has an ax (albeit a different ax) to grind. I am simply a progressive who happens to follow the sport of track & field, and have since before 1968. I admire both Smith and Carlos, but I thought Smith's book (I have not read Carlos')was self-serving and, as one reviewer noted, compromised by regret. To those of us of that generation , to whom that silent gesture was meaningful indeed, whatever its exact motivation, this volume constitutes a terrible disappointment. I'll take the Tommie Smith of 1968 without resrvations, but who's THIS guy?

I enjoyed the history, but hated the ax-grinding and negative talk about other athletes.

It helps me know the facts on what happened. Book quality was great, shipment was fast and price was reasonable. Great doing business with you. Thanks.

With several long-winded sections on the kinetics of sprinting and slams against athletes - John Carlos, George Foreman, Bob Seagren, Lee Evans, teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals - and others - Dr. Harry Edwards, Jim Brown, the NAACP - it is no wonder why it took 40 years for Tommie Smith to get his autobiography published.In what is oftentimes a very tedious read, Smith and co-author David Steele ruin what is a powerful personal account of an athlete who truly wanted to use his talent for a greater good and the institutionalized racism in this country that he has confronted his entire life.Smith's recollections of the Olympic Project for Human Rights is particularly moving and he does an excellent job is dispelling the myths that has clouded the issue since the late 1960s. For the record, his Olympic gold medal was never seized by the International Olympic Committee.But his personal vendettas against so many people and institutions detracts mightily from his message. It may have been theraputic for Smith, but whining about the salaries of Bengal teammates and magnifying every perceived slight from friends/colleagues into high drama becomes juvenile and silly.I was very excited when I heard that Smith's autobiography was finally going to be published. But it proved to be a very disappointing read.

Although a very difficult subject it was very well written and easy to follow.Tommie will always win the arguement as he trys to do the right thing on injustices of human rights.Book Themes:Tommie, Carlos, Norman, Bud Winters, Sacrifice, Education, Education, Education.WOW

The Black Power Salute made a big impression on me as a teenager who was into sprinting back in the late 60s. Tommie Smith was a great athlete and John Carlos seemed a powerful character back then. This book highlighted the black cause back in the 60s, but as I am also interested in the sprinting, for me there was not enough about Tommie Smith as an athlete. The story leading up to 68 was a good one, and it was a great insight to see how Smith and Carlos were badly treated in the years following the silent gesture. It defined them, but Smith laboured the point in his book and seemed unable to break free from the stigma. They are now rightly revered for their stance, but I found Peter Norman's book to be more interesting.

great book iam so happy with itquick delivery

Just what I wanted