Review of "Doping"

Happy Independence Day to those in the United States who are celebrating today.  It feels ironic to be posting a review about a sports book that is international and not US-centric today.  This book on doping and PED use in international competition is one of the better books I have read so far in 2022 - and sorry, there is only a very brief mention of baseball in it.  Here is my review of "Doping." 

Title/Author: “Doping: A Sporting History” by April Henning and Paul Dimeo

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  The use of various types of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in various sports is not a relative new phenomenon.  Methods of doing so have been around about has long as the modern Olympic games, which started in 1896.  This book by April Henning and Paul Dimeo takes a complete look at this issue from many different angles.

One of the most striking features of the book is that while it is a scholarly work in which they present theories and possible resolutions, the language and format is very easy to follow and a reader will notice that aside from the scientific names of some of the drugs, it is written in plain language.  That will help the non-scholarly reader to comprehend and absorb the points the authors are making.

The variety of sports is far-reaching and international.  While much of the international competition in which the authors describe are the Olympic Games (both Summer and Winter) there are other international competitions included as well.  This is especially true for two sports that internationally have been ripe with drug issues, track and field and cycling. There is an entire chapter devoted to Ben Johnson’s disqualification from the 1988 Olympics, for example. 

There is also extensive research and text on the use of PEDs in communist nations during the Cold War era.  Most notably, that of East Germany, whose athletes would regularly earn more medals than the United States despite having a significantly smaller population. The stories of their athletes requiring the use of these drugs or else they could not compete were compelling.

Although their work on the use of PEDs was very good, the criticism and suggested solutions of the enforcing agencies, current the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made the book one that was hard to put down.  Just about any critical idea one can think of for these enforcers was included.  The determination of what was a PED and the science behind these decisions was questioned at times. This included things like banning cold medicines that were taken for illness but resulted in an athlete’s disqualification because it contained trace amounts of a banned substance. The lack of communication of what these banned substances would be and what products would contain them was criticized by the authors, as were the punishments as individual athletes would suffer from draconian measures. These included  bans from competition or awards taken away while larger organizations and nations would either receive light warnings or even nothing at all. The authors then conclude the book on their suggestions on how to right this matter, striking a balance between fair enforcement and keeping the competition fair for all.

From the first Olympic games to the 2016 scandal that plagued the team from Russian, this book is a wonderful and complete look at the use of various drugs and other scientific advancements to improve the performance of various athletes.  No matter one’s sports interest or interest in this topic, it is a book that is well worth the time to read.  

I wish to thank Reaktion Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Links:  Amazon.com: Doping: A Sporting History eBook : Henning, April, Dimeo, Paul: Kindle Store