An investigative journalist looks at America's complex relationship with steroids and how it has become the country's most dangerous and pervasive drug addiction, examining incidence of steroid use throughout the world of sports, from the bodybuilders of the 1970s, to the baseball scandals of today, and profiling the godfather of the steroid movement, Dan Duchaine. 75,000 first printing.
Sports fans or not, readers will be fascinated by this revealing examination of the pressures leading to the widespread use of steroids in sport and the negative, unintended consequences of their ban. From Baron Pierre de Coubertin's original objectives in establishing the modern Olympic Games to the increasingly widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs during the Cold War to the 1998 drug scandal during the Tour de France and beyond, Steroids: A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs puts the social construction of steroids as a banned substance under the microscope and interprets the implications of that particular conception of steroid use in sport. Clearly written and highly accessible for all readers, this book addresses a pressing issue in professional and high-performance sport—the use of steroids—by placing it within the historical context of the ongoing desire to achieve the pinnacle of human sport. Topics examined in detail include the three major crises of Ben Johnson's positive test in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the creation of the World Anti-Doping Association, and the House Committee on Government Oversight's probe into steroid use. The author provides a critical examination of the current ban on steroids, and boldly advocates a common-sense solution to the complex problem of steroid use in sport: the adoption of harm-reduction strategies and policies rather than outright proscription.
A thorough, balanced examination of the controversies on the therapeutic and non-therapeutic use of steroids that covers both legal medical therapy and illegal performance enhancement. The discussions regarding the ethical, medical, and social controversies surrounding steroid use are as heated as the drugs themselves are powerful. Steroids comprehensively addresses the separate debates over steroid use in therapeutic medical treatments, sports performance enhancement, and cosmetic lifestyle choices. The contents provide balanced coverage of the complex positive and negative implications involved with using these "ingredients of youth" to evade the common ailments of old age and to overcome some of the limitations of natural biology. This book will be invaluable to students of not only health and exercise sciences, sports and sport-related fields, and medical science, but also those researching social and ethical questions involved with the use of steroids in related fields. For example, the book may be used by sociology students investigating social aspects of sports, health policy, and public role models; psychology students focusing on the role of self-image and mental health; and political science students researching public health policy.
Examines the history of performance-enhancing drugs in the National Football League, focusing on high-profile athletes who have been busted or otherwise implicated in scandal.
Edited by Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir, and featuring contributions from experts on everything from breakfast cereal and movie gunfights to First Ladies and bald guys, The Final Four of Everything celebrates everything that's great, surprising, or silly in America, using the foolproof method of bracketology to determine what we love or hate-and why. As certain to make you laugh as it will start friendly arguments, The Final Four of Everything is the perfect book for know-it-alls, know-a-littles, and anyone with an opinion on celebrity mugshots, literary heroes, sports nicknames, or bacon. Bracketology is a unique way of organizing information that dates back to the rise of the knockout (or single elimination) tournament, perhaps in medieval times. Its origins are not precisely known, but there was genius in the first bracket design that hasn't changed much over the years. You, of course, may be familiar with the bracket format via the NCAA basketball tournament pairings each March. If you've ever watched ESPN or participated in a March Madness office pool, you know what a bracket looks like. The Final Four of Everything takes the idea one step further, and applies the knockout format to every category BUT basketball. In areas where taste, judgment, and hard-earned wisdom really matter, we've set out to determine, truly, the Final Four of Everything.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has estimated that half a million American teenagers use steroids--325,000 boys and 175,000 girls. In this absorbing volume, readers get the facts about performance-enhancing drugs and their physical and mental effects. The early use of Dianabol in weightlifting and the spread of steroids in athletics, and players who have been affected by steroids, including Lyle Alzado, Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, and Jose Canseco, are covered. Other important topics include how steroid testing works, black market steroids and unsanitary manufacturing conditions, and depression and severe mood swings during withdrawal.
You may have heard of famous sports stars being caught doping—using drugs to hit harder, cycle faster, or run faster. But you may not know why these drugs are so dangerous. From scary changes in your body and behavior, to problems with the law, performance-enhancing drugs bring with them serious consequences. Learn about the ways steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs damage and change your body. Find out how these drugs can ruin your life and keep you from participating in the activities you love. Discover the downside of doping!
