July 1936. Thousands of people cheered as the U.S. Olympic teams boarded the S.S. Manhattan, bound for Berlin. Among the athletes were the 14 players representing the first-ever U.S. Olympic basketball team. In Germany, Jewish people and political opponents of the Nazis were the targets of vicious mistreatment, but international visitors wouldn't see any signs of trouble in Berlin. Maraniss covers the sport's Olympic debut in Berlin and the eclectic mix of people, events and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible. -- adapted from jacket
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