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Alexander, Lori

A Sporting Chance: How Ludwig Guttmann Created the Paralympic Games

128 pp. | Houghton | April, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-328-58079-5 $17.99
(1) 4-6 Illustrated by Allan Drummond. Before Dr. Ludwig Guttmann (1899–1980), there was no treatment for a broken spine; paraplegics were deemed incurable and usually died in a matter of weeks. With clarity and immediacy, ­Alexander tells a riveting story. She ­follows Guttmann, a German Jewish ­neurologist, as he flees Nazi Germany; finds a new home in Oxford, England, where, denied a medical position, he does extensive research on the human nervous system; and finally, near the end of WWII, is assigned to a spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he begins implementing a radical new plan of treatment for soldiers with spinal injuries. He gets them out of full-body casts, then sitting up, then out of bed, then doing strengthening exercises, and then--most radical of all--playing competitive team sports. From here, Alexander describes how Guttmann's annual competition, the Stoke Mandeville Games, first held in 1948 with only sixteen participants, grew into the international Paralympic Games, "the third-largest sporting event in the world." Throughout, Alexander conveys the force of Guttmann's commanding personality as well as his fierce drive and determination not just to heal his patients but to change public perception of disabilities and disabled people. A mix of period photographs, charts, and lively and engaging pen-and-watercolor-wash illustrations by Drummond adds even more interest and appeal. Alexander concludes her account, powerfully, with brief biographies of accomplished disabled athletes competing today in sports ranging from sled hockey to wheelchair basketball to cycling. Appended with a timeline, an extensive biography, source notes, and an index (unseen).
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

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