This is a succinct and comprehensive account of the contemporary sociology of sport. It starts by tracing the key 'moments' in the transition from pre-modern to modern sport, giving detailed accounts of the athletic competition in the ancient games at Olympia; the genesis of modern track-and-field athletics in nineteenth-century England; and the reconstruction by de Coubertin and unfolding of the Olympic movement through the twentieth century. <p>The second section analyses features of sport in detail:<ul><li>The links between exercise, sport and health, including a look at growing rates of obesity and of the role of drug use in society and sport</li><li>The hyper-commodification of football in the 1990s<li>Representations of sport in the media</li><li>Sports iconography, with sociological portraits of Muhammad Ali and David Beckham</li><li>The re-emergence of violence in sport</li></ul>The third section critically analyses the various theoretical approaches adopted by sociologists, and presents a distinctive new theoretical framework for understanding the changing role of sport in society in the era of global disorganized capitalism. <p>This is key reading for students and researchers in sociology of sport and leisure, sport science and health.