Dear all,
The first episode of the twenty-third series of the successful idrottsforum.org saga is behind us, and below you can see the results. Not much else happened on the site, but, importantly, we did manage five book reviews as set out in last week‘s newsletter. We also spent some time preparing for the publication today of a new peer review article in Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, about the legendary female open-water swimmer Sally Bauer of Sweden. During the week there will also appear three, hopefully four, more book reviews, and whatever else comes along in the form av new journals, calls for paper, and so on.
The first episode of the twenty-third series of the successful idrottsforum.org saga is behind us, and below you can see the results. Not much else happened on the site, but, importantly, we did manage five book reviews as set out in last week‘s newsletter. We also spent some time preparing for the publication today of a new peer review article in Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, about the legendary female open-water swimmer Sally Bauer of Sweden. During the week there will also appear three, hopefully four, more book reviews, and whatever else comes along in the form av new journals, calls for paper, and so on.Last week the following items were published on idrottsforum.org (see below; language and publication dates, YYMMDD, in brackets). Click on the red headings to go to content. Utilize the Google Translate service to turn Scandinavian language pages into (some sort of) English.
And remember, if you’re not already hooked up to one of the social media outlets that we utilize, for now they are Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn and X, you’re missing quite a lot of information from idrottsforum.org that never appears on the website. So, if that is the case, check out, by clicking on the names, our Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn and X accounts.
Have a great week,
Kjell Eriksson
Editor
Book Reviews
A valuable and wide-ranging contribution to the field of sport and cultural studies
Presenting case studies from around the world, including from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Mariann Vaczi & Alan Bairner’s edited collection Indigenous, Traditional, and Folk Sports: Contesting Modernities draws on multidisciplinary work from sociology, anthropology, history, cultural studies, and political science. Our knowledgeable reviewer Helge Chr. Pedersen finds theoretical ambiguities and inconsistencies, but still concludes that the book is a valuable and wide-ranging contribution to the field of sport and cultural studies. (Review in English, published 250901.)
A practical guide for professionals promoting physical activity
Now in its second edition, Applied Exercise Psychology edited by Selen Razon and Michael L. Sachs (Routledge) emphasizes the application of evidence-based knowledge drawn from the fields of exercise psychology, health psychology, clinical and counseling psychology, and exercise physiology for physical activity behavior change. Our reviewer is Peter Carlman, and he would have liked a clearer structure of this extensive tome, 34 chapters over 540 pages, but still concludes by underlining its usefulness for promoting physical activity for all. (Review in English, published 250902.)
Bodybuilding, billiards and other Ethiopian pastimes
Katrin Bromber’s «Sports and Modernity in Late Imperial Ethiopia» (James Curry) studies the history of modern sports in Ethiopia during the imperial rule of the twentieth century. Drawing on written and oral sources in Amharic, Tigrinya, English, French, German and Italian, Bromber provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sports in modern educational institutions, volunteer organizations and urbanization processes. Erkki Vettenniemi has some points of criticism but states plainly that Bromber’s book is groundbreaking and a solid contribution th the field. (Review in English, published 250903.)
Revving Up the Future: Unveiling F1’s Role in Shaping Global Media Dynamics
Taking the global sport of Formula 1 (F1) motor racing as a sustained case study, Raymond Boyle & Richard Haynes’ Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry: Sport and the Media in the Platform Age examines how the relationship between the sport and the media has evolved in this new digital environment. In his review, Hans Erik Næss confesses that the book delights his academic sensibilities like a child in a candy store. Overall, he concludes, Boyle & Haynes’ book is a valuable contribution to the study of motorsport and the media.. (Review in English, published 250904.)
Mirror, Microcosm, and Playing Field: A Century of American Society Through High School Sports
Michael A. Messner’s The High School: Sports, Spirit, and Citizens, 1903-2024 (Rutgers University Press), here reviewed by Alexis Sossa, emerges as a richly textured and deeply insightful sociological exploration of American high school life, deftly using sports as a lens to dissect the complex interplay of evolving gender dynamics, enduring social disparities, and the multi-faceted construction of community identity. Crucially, the book makes excellent use of plentiful photographs from the Salinas High School’s El Gabilan yearbooks. (Review in English, published 250905.)
News items (calls for papers, vacancies, etc.)
Call for Chapter Proposals | Handbook of Human Resource Management in the Sport Industry, to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing | Call ends September 30, 2025 (250903)
