Something in the air : American passion and defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics / Richard Hoffer.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-250) and index.

Roads to glory : dogs on ice, a third-string end, and Robin Hood -- 1968 : tanks on the streets, dead on a balcony, and Audie Murphy -- Speed city : pineapple upside-down cake, "tutti frutti", and Jack Daniels -- Countdown to Mexico : lymphocytes, zip guns, and ROTC -- Boycott : Hells Angels, a petrified pig, and more Ralph Henry Barbour -- A desperate innovation : rolls, straddles, and an airborne seizure -- The trials : spondylolsthesis, brush spikes, and a brutal stomping -- Denver : the anarchists' convention, a vote for Nixon, a cold chill -- Mexico City : thin air, fresh paint, and shots in the night -- Opening ceremonies : flag dipping, a family feud, and 6,300 pigeons -- And they're off : a grisly tableau, pinochle, and a guided missile launch -- Protest : licorice hammers, tommie jets, and black gloves -- Harder and higher : the little stinker, beauty and the beast, and Hollywood agents -- Aftershocks : pimped-out socks, a mutation performance, and sparks under his feet -- Monday : a grunion hunt, a crying tigerbelle, and a jig for joy -- Week two : a cuddlesome junior, a ragtag bunch, and a blonde in a beehive -- Pappy's boys : rateros, various sarges, and a lucky picture of a pretty girl -- Going home : boy scouts, psychedelic mileage, and a black bra.

Chronicles the political and racial tension that was felt by those who witnessed and participated in the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City, which became a forum for protest by some athletes including Tommie Smith and John Carlos.