The first Olympic Games were held in ancient Greece more than 2,500 years ago. In 1896, the Olympics were reborn. Held in Athens, Greece, the first modern Olympics attracted hundreds of athletes. They were eager to compete against the world’s best. Since the first modern Olympics, there have been more than twenty Olympic Games held across the world, from Amsterdam to Australia. Everywhere around the world, young athletes dream of one day competing at the Olympics. Open the pages of Modern Olympics to find out why. Read about: Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics, and why he thought the Olympics should be brought back; How the modern Olympics compare to the ancient Olympics; The differences between the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, and the Paralympics; Great Olympians, from athletes of the past such as Jesse Owens to more recent heroes such as Mary Lou Retton; The cost of staging the Olympics and how cities compete to host the event; Scandals and tragedies that have troubled the Olympics over the years; Statistics and facts of the Olympics from Athens 1896 to Athens 2004. - from Amzon