Faust's Gold : Inside The East German Doping Machine

Rating:
Summary: Waste of time
Review: Simply put, this is a dreadful book. Boring and pedantic. Even if you're interested in the subject, this particular book is not worth reading. The "Publisher's Weekly" review was on the money - it's disappointing and repetitive.

Rating:
Summary: Faust's Gold
Review: Steven ungerleider has done an extrordinary job of researching a period of time during which drug abuse and cheating in international sport was unbelieved by sport officials, scientist and doctors through out the world (except those in East Germany and Russia). A small country of 17 million people conned the world into believing that there social-economic system could create superior athletes. Many of us, including the author suspected that drugs had to be part of their success. Olympic medals still hang in the halls and are tainted by this episode in sport history. Those that don't seem to appreciate, the problem of drug abuse, and don't lend support for the Olympic effort to rid this scurge on athleticism, will live to see history repeat itself. the shame is the fact that thousand of young developing athletes, emulating and looking up to those athletes will not be able to resist the temptation of drug use, if we continue to allow whatever it takes to win. And, medical consequences in the future will result. Thus far drug abuse abounds at all levels of sport. This book should be read and lauded as a reminder not to let drug abuse continue.
Rober O. Voy, M.D
Author - Drugs, Sport, and Politics (Leisure Press 1991)

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better.
Review: The drug usage or brutal training methods that GDR sport system
applied are well reported in the media. Even from 1970s, some
atheletes who escaped to western countries revealed something.
After the collapse of Berlin Wall, more have been disclosed.
If all the previous reports in magazines and newspapers are
accumulated and surveyed, you will find how narrow this book
covers. It only focuses on a trial and those swimmers involved.
From other sources, I also know something more startling for
drug use, like swimmers are forced to take 11 shots in the butt
before they are allowed to go to the USA for a competition.
Some reports said that East European countries took
uninformed children for trials of the drugs in their summer
sport camps. I guess it also happened in GDR.
Some brutal methods beyond drugs are also taken, like applying
electric current for the muscle strength, or pumping air into
swimmer's rectum to increase the float. The author fails to
investigate these things and did not describe the whole
picture inside the GDR sport machine.

Rating:
Summary: Great subject, good book which could have been better.
Review: The subject is fascinating, and the author's research is impressive, as he has followed the trials in Germany closely. However, his organization, and narrative skills are poor, and his lack of detailed knowledge about Olympic swimming and competitive swimming training hurts his book. For example, while he accepts uncritically statements that no one could train the way that the victims he describes does without steroid use. I'm not sure that is true, and the details he provided are flawed enough that I don't think he does either. More background, and better context would have made a better book. Its too bad--this is quite a good book, but with a better editor and a co-author with more information about Olympic swimming, it could have been a great book. The occaisional suggestion that Germans are looking for excuses by claiming everyone does it, deserves more attention. While defensive, and the abuses are not universal, an author with more background could have identified specific examples of Americans and non-Germans whose performances are highly suspect, or proven to be false. Of course, the criminality of dosing children with steroids when they could not possibly have consented is outrageous when compared to voluntary participation by individuals over the age of consent--whatever that is for illegal drug use. However, the author also accepted uncritically the statements of regret by the victims--a more probing questioning might have found individuals whose competitive zeal would have or did compel them into using the steroids willingly--which is a more complicated tale of whether a teenager hoping for Olympic Glory, fame and fortune could have been willing participants, even if misguided and later regretful. Once again, I cannot tell if he asked those questions or considered those issues, although they would have improved the book if he had.

Rating:
Summary: Great subject, good book which could have been better.
Review: The subject is fascinating, and the author's research is impressive, as he has followed the trials in Germany closely. However, his organization, and narrative skills are poor, and his lack of detailed knowledge about Olympic swimming and competitive swimming training hurts his book. For example, while he accepts uncritically statements that no one could train the way that the victims he describes does without steroid use. I'm not sure that is true, and the details he provided are flawed enough that I don't think he does either. More background, and better context would have made a better book. Its too bad--this is quite a good book, but with a better editor and a co-author with more information about Olympic swimming, it could have been a great book. The occaisional suggestion that Germans are looking for excuses by claiming everyone does it, deserves more attention. While defensive, and the abuses are not universal, an author with more background could have identified specific examples of Americans and non-Germans whose performances are highly suspect, or proven to be false. Of course, the criminality of dosing children with steroids when they could not possibly have consented is outrageous when compared to voluntary participation by individuals over the age of consent--whatever that is for illegal drug use. However, the author also accepted uncritically the statements of regret by the victims--a more probing questioning might have found individuals whose competitive zeal would have or did compel them into using the steroids willingly--which is a more complicated tale of whether a teenager hoping for Olympic Glory, fame and fortune could have been willing participants, even if misguided and later regretful. Once again, I cannot tell if he asked those questions or considered those issues, although they would have improved the book if he had.