ABSTRACT
The twentieth century witnessed century witnessed the broad diffusion of modern forms of sport throughout the immensity of the Americas, from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska. An import from Europe, particularly from Great Britain, modern sports had taken root in much of the western hemisphere by the 1890s. Modern sport has not only served to link the Americas into a global and transnational culture but has also provided spaces for the growth of vibrant national, regional, and local cultures. The essays in this book on sport in the Americas, grounded in the 'cultural turn' that has concentrated contemporary studies of sport on the interpretive power of culture in human experience, provides new insights into the history of modern societies. The essays analyze the mysterious plasticity of modern sport and offer novel insights into simultaneously singular and manifold patterns of culture that sport animates.
