In their riveting new book, PLAYED: The Games of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, authors Glenn Allen and Richard Kaufman transform 25 years of meticulous research into a gripping narrative of politics, sports, espionage, and courage. Through vivid storytelling, they breathe new life into the complex figures who stood at the heart of one of history’s most controversial sporting events.

The authors pose a provocative question: “Would the Holocaust have occurred if the U.S. had boycotted the 1936 Berlin Olympics?” While it’s a question without a definitive answer, it sparks deep reflection and invites readers to ask, What if?

PLAYED takes readers on an intense, fictionalized journey inspired by true stories and real people from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Set against the backdrop of escalating global tensions from 1931 to 1936, it unveils the madness that gripped not only Germany and the United States but much of the world.

At the center of the U.S. controversy is Avery Brundage, the president of the American Olympic Committee. Despite the rising tide of Nazi anti-Semitism, Brundage fiercely advocates for U.S. participation in the 1936 Games. His motivations are clear: securing his spot on the International Olympic Committee hinges on getting the Americans to Berlin, and he refuses to let his ambitions be derailed by the moral outcry over Nazi policies.

Once the decision to attend is made, readers are guided by AP Sports Editor Alan J. Gould, a friend of the athletes and their tireless champion. As Gould covers the “games” being played on and off the field, readers witness Brundage’s troubling alignment with Nazi officials, the unbreakable spirit of American athletes, and the relentless pressure placed on German competitors. These compelling narratives reveal acts of bravery and tragedy that transcend sport.

Along this journey, readers encounter some of the most iconic figures of the era: Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Joseph Goebbels, Leni Riefenstahl, Eva Braun, and the infamous dictator who promised to “make Germany great again”—Adolf Hitler.

“We can’t rewrite history,” the authors remind us, “just as we can’t change the outcome of a sporting event. But we must study it. Only through understanding our past can we hope to navigate a better future.”

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