The Olympics thrill the world with spectacle and drama. They also carry a cultural and social significance that goes beyond the stadium, athletes, and fans. The  Games are arenas in which individual and team athletic achievement intersect with the politics of national identity in a global context.

The Olympics at the Millennium offers groundbreaking essays that explore the cultural politics of the Games. The contributors investigate such topics as the emergence of women athletes as cultural commodities, the orchestrated spectacles of the opening and closing ceremonies, and the alternative sport culture offered via the Gay Games. Unforgettable events and decisions are discussed: Native American athlete Jim Thorpe winning—and losing—his two gold medals in 1912. Why America was one of the few countries to actually send Jewish athletes to the “Nazi Olympics.” The disqualification of champion Ewa Klobukowska from competing as a woman, due to chromosomal testing in 1967.

With the 2000 Sydney Games imminent, several essays address concerns with which every host country must contend, such as the threat of terrorism. Highlighting the difficult issues of racism and nationalism, another article explores the efforts of this country’s aboriginal people to define a role for themselves in the 2000 Games, as they struggle with ongoing discrimination. And with the world watching, Sydney faces profound pressure to implement a successful Olympics, as a matter of national pride.

Early in the nineteenth century, an army colonel stood before a crowd at the Salem County Courthouse and ate buckets of tomatoes to prove that they were not poisonous. Ever since, the red vegetable of summer has played a starring role in New Jersey’s history.  Although today visitors to the state are more likely to see smoke-spewing factories than acres of farmland or grazing cattle, the state’s legacy of agriculture and farming continues, and extends far beyond the popular Jersey tomato.

In Tending the Garden State, Charles Harrison tells the story of the state’s rich agricultural history from the time when Leni-Lenape Indians scratched the earth with primitive tools up through today.  He recalls New Jersey’s rural past, traces the evolution of farming over the course of the twentieth century, and explains innovative approaches to protecting the industry.

Drawing on interviews with farmers, as well as researchers, professional planners, designers, and architects, Harrison discovers that despite the discouraging spread of suburban sprawl, the Garden State’s farming legacy is not as endangered as it may seem.  Many residents care deeply about preserving New Jersey’s agricultural industry and are making great strides to keep the tradition alive for future generations. Some of these protective measures include new laws that encourage the conservation of land and research devoted to helping farmers make the most of their limited acreage.  Innovative techniques such as high-tunnel farming, together with the growth of some very profitable farm specializations, such as turf grass, aquaculture, horticulture, and wine making, will enable farmers to remain active and successful in the state’s oldest industry.

Anyone interested in New Jersey’s history or, more broadly, in the history of American agriculture, will be delighted by Harrison’s engaging and readable account of farming in the Garden State.