From ancient Egyptian archery and medieval Japanese football to contemporary American baseball, sports have been shaped by - and in turn have helped shape - the culture of which it is part. This work traces this evolution across continents, cultures, and historical epochs to construct a single comprehensive narrative of the world's sports.

From ancient Egyptian archery and medieval Japanese football to contemporary American baseball, every sport has been shaped by--and in turn has helped shape--the culture of which it is part, Yet as Allen Guttmann shows in this far-ranging study, for all their differences sports have followed a similar historical trajectory from traditional to modern forms. In Sports: The First Five Millennia, Guttmann traces this evolution across continents, cultures, and historical epochs to construct a single comprehensive narrative of the world's sports.