James Riordan, 75, (in Feb.) British novelist, Russian expert, soccer player, folklorist, columnist

[Lenona]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/feb/21/jim-riordan
(includes photo; underneath, it says: "Jim Riordan was the only
westerner to play in the Soviet football league.")

By Brian Oliver
# guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 February 2012 08.00 EST

First paragraphs:

Jim Riordan, who has died aged 75, described himself as "a working-
class oik from Portsmouth" yet he became the academic world's foremost
authority on sport in the Soviet Union, as well as a respected voice
in Russian studies and a translator and children's author. His most
important work was perhaps the groundbreaking Sport in Soviet Society
(1977). Riordan lived in Moscow for many years during the cold war,
and his status as a respected, if sometimes troublesome, visiting
communist from the west helped him to gain access to many important
players, coaches and administrators who helped to build the Soviet
system.

The Soviets had ignored the Olympics for 40 years because they were
run by "capitalists and aristocrats", but when they adopted a
resolution in 1949 to "help Soviet athletes win world supremacy",
sport changed globally. The communist countries, with the Soviet Union
at the forefront, dominated the Olympics for decades, and in Seoul in
1988, the year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Soviets won
nearly a quarter of the gold medals at the summer Games.

The means by which the Soviets had brought about this sporting
revolution was summed up by Riordan in a 1993 article for Olympika,
the International Journal of Olympic Studies. The west saw sport as
open, non-political, self-financing, and conducted with a sense of
fair play. For the communists, it was political-ideological, financed
by the state, and their win-at-all-costs attitude led to drug abuse
and exploitation of children.

While many in the west might have suspected as much, nobody had
previously written about it in depth, and with authority. Few would
have known that, as Riordan pointed out, vast numbers of ordinary
Soviet citizens believed that the Soviet sport system represented all
that was bad in the regime's policies: hypocrisy and sham,
paramilitary coercion, grossly and immorally distorted priorities, and
the abuse of children.

Riordan was born in Portsmouth and attended Southern grammar school
for boys..........

(snip)

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=800&bih=408&q=%22james+riordan%22+books&gbv=2&oq=%22james+riordan%22+books&aq=f&aqi=g-S1&aql=&gs_l=img.3..0i24.1396.1396.0.2052.1.1.0.0.0.0.11.11.1.1.0...0.0.BdQITzIXxos
(book covers and photos)

Six of his books were illustrated by Victor Ambrus.

http://inside-left.blogspot.com/2012/02/obituary-jim-riordan-1936-2012.html
(tribute)

Excerpt:

On his return to Britain, he enjoyed hugely successful careers as an
academic and as the author of more than a hundred works of fiction for
children. Eventually retiring and coming home to Portsmouth, Jim wrote
a column for the local paper, The News. His eloquent weekly rants
against privatisation, war or poverty were the only thing worth
reading in the rag.

http://www.helena-pielichaty.com/blog/2012/02/james-riordan-1936-2012/
(another tribute with a few photos)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Riordan
(includes partial bibliography and long interview for soccer fans)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9129562/Jim-Riordan.html
(obit)

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/popular-columnist-jim-riordan-dies-1-3521628
(obit)

WRITINGS:
FOR CHILDREN

* (With Eileen H. Colwell) Little Grey Neck, illustrated by
Caroline Sharpe, Kestrel, 1975, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1976.
* (Reteller) Beauty and the Beast, illustrated by Annabel Large,
Macdonald Educational (London, England), 1979.
* (Reteller) Sleeping Beauty, illustrated by Carol Tarrant,
Macdonald Educational (London, England), 1979.

* The Three Magic Gifts, Kaye & Ward (London, England), 1980,
illustrated by Errol le Cain, Oxford University Press (New York, NY),
1980.
* The Secret Castle, illustrated by Peter Dennis, Silver Burdett
(Morristown, NJ), 1980.
* Flight into Danger, illustrated by Gary Rees, Silver Burdett
(Morristown, NJ), 1980.
* Changing Shapes, Macmillan (London, England), 1982.
* The Little Humpback Horse, illustrated by Andrew Skilleter,
Hamlyn (London, England), 1983.
* (Reteller) Peter and the Wolf, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus,
Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1986.
* (Reteller) The Wild Swans, illustrated by Helen Stratton,
Hutchinson (London, England), 1987.
* (Reteller) Pinocchio, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, Oxford
University Press (New York, NY), 1988.
* Babes in the Wood, illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, Hutchinson
(London, England), 1988, Barron's Educational (Hauppage, NY), 1989.

* (Reteller) The Snowmaiden, illustrated by Stephen Lambert,
Hutchinson (London, England), 1990.
* (Reteller) Thumbelina, illustrated by Wayne Anderson, Putnam
(New York, NY), 1990.
* (Reteller) Gulliver's Travels, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus,
Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1992.
* (Compiler) A Book of Narnians: The Lion, the Witch, and the
Others (based on the work of C. S. Lewis), illustrated by Pauline
Baynes, Collins (London, England), 1994, HarperCollins (New York, NY),
1995.
* My G-r-r-r-reat Uncle Tiger, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe,
Peachtree (Atlanta, GA), 1995.
* (Reteller) The Barnyard Band: A Story from the Brothers Grimm,
illustrated by Charles Fuge, Macmillan (London, England), 1996.
* Grace the Pirate, illustrated by Steve Hutton, Oxford University
Press (New York, NY), 1996.
* The Twelve Labors of Hercules, illustrated by Christina Balit,
Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 1997.
* Sweet Clarinet (novel), Oxford University Press (New York, NY),
1998, new edition, 2004.
* Little Bunny Bobkin, illustrated by Tim Warnes, Little Tiger,
1998.
* (Reteller) King Arthur,, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, Oxford
University Press (New York, NY), 1998.
* (Adaptor) The Coming of Night: A Yoruba Tale from West Africa,
illustrated by Jenny Stow, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 1999.

* The Story of Martin Luther King (biography), illustrated by Rob
McCaig, Smart Apple Media (North Mankato, MN), 2001.
* The Story of Nelson Mandela (biography), illustrated by Neil
Reed, Smart Apple Media (North Mankato, MN), 2001.
* When the Guns Fall Silent (young adult novel), Oxford University
Press (London, England), 2001.
* War Song (sequel to When the Guns Fall Silent), Oxford
University Press (London, England), 2002.
* Match of Death, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.
* Boxcar Molly: A Story from the Great Depression ( "Survivors"
series), Barron's Educational (Hauppage, NY), 2002.
* The Enemy: A Story from World War II ( "Survivors" series),
Barron's Educational (Hauppage, NY), 2002.
* (Reteller) Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, illustrated by
Victor G. Ambrus, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.
* Jason and the Golden Fleece, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft,
Frances Lincoln (London, England), 2003.
* The Cello, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 2003.
* The Gift, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 2004.
* The Prisoner, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 2004.
* The Little Puppet Boy, A. & C. Black (London, England), 2007.
* Rebel Cargo, Frances Lincoln Children's Books (London, England),
2007.
* The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, illustrated by Shelley
Fowles, Frances Lincoln Children's Books (London, England), 2008.

COLLECTIONS FOR CHILDREN

* (Adapter and translator) The Mistress of the Copper Mountain:
Tales from the Urals, Muller, 1974.
* Tales from Central Russia: Russian Tales, Volume I, illustrated
by Krystyna Turska, Kestrel (New York, NY), 1976.
* Tales from Tartary: Russian Tales, Volume II, illustrated by
Anthony Colbert, Kestrel (New York, NY), 1978.

* A World of Fairy Tales, Hamlyn (London, England), 1981.
* A World of Folktales, Hamlyn (London, England), 1981.
* Tales of King Arthur, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, Rand-
McNally (Chicago, IL), 1982.
* Tales from the Arabian Nights, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus,
Hamlyn (London, England), 1983, Rand-McNally (Chicago, IL), 1995.
* The Boy Who Turned into a Goat, illustrated by I. Ripley,
Macmillan (London, England), 1983.
* Petrushka and Other Tales from the Ballet, Stodder & Houghton
(London, England), 1984.
* Stories of the Ballet, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, foreword
by Rudolf Nureyev, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1984,
published as Favorite Stories of the Ballet, Rand-McNally (Chicago,
IL), 1984.
* (Translator) The Twelve Months: Fairy Tales by Soviet Writers,
illustrated by Fyodor Lemkul, Raduga (Moscow, USSR), 1984.
* The Woman in the Moon, and Other Tales of Forgotten Heroines,
illustrated by Angela Barrett, Hutchinson (London, England), 1984,
Dial (New York, NY), 1985.
* A World of Myths and Legends, Hamlyn (London, England), 1985.

* (Translator) Yefim Drutëtìs and Alexei Gessler, collectors,
Russian Gypsy Tales, Canongate (Edinburgh, Scotland), 1986, Interlink
Books (New York, NY), 1992.
* (Reteller) Korean Folk-Tales, Oxford University Press, 1994 (New
York, NY).
* (With Brenda Ralph Lewis) An Illustrated Treasury of Myths and
Legends, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus, Hamlyn (London, England),
1987, Peter Bedrick Books (New York, NY), 1991.
* (Collector and translator) The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon:
Siberian Folk Tales, Canongate (Edinburgh, Scotland), 1991.
* (Editor) A Treasury of Irish Stories, illustrated by Ian
Newsham, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1995.
* Stories from the Sea, illustrated by Amanda Hall, Abbeville
Press (New York, NY), 1996.
* (Editor) The Songs My Paddle Sings: Native American Legends,
illustrated by Michael Foreman, Trafalgar (New York, NY), 1996.
* (Editor) Young Oxford Book of Football Stories, Oxford
University Press (Oxford, England), 1999.

* (Editor) Young Oxford Book of Sports Stories, Oxford University
Press, 2000.
* (Editor) Young Oxford Book of War Stories, Oxford University
Press, 2000.
* Russian Folk-Tales, illustrated by Andrew Breakspeare, Oxford
University Press (New York, NY), 2000.
* The Storytelling Star: Tales of the Sun, Moon, and Stars,
illustrated by Amanda Hall, Trafalgar Square (New York, NY), 2000.

NONFICTION

* Sport in Soviet Society: Development of Sport and Physical
Education in Russia and the USSR, Cambridge University Press (New
York, NY), 1977.
* (Editor) Sport under Communism: The USSR, Czechoslovakia, the
G.D.R., China, Cuba, C. Hurst (London, England), 1978, revised second
edition, 1981.

* Soviet Sport: Background to the Olympics, Washington Mews Books
(New York, NY) 1980.
* (Adapter) George Morey, Soviet Union: The Land and Its People,
MacDonald Educational (London, England), 1986, Silver Burdett Press
(Morristown, NJ), 1987.
* Eastern Europe: The Lands and Their Peoples, Silver Burdett
Press (Morristown, NJ), 1987.
* (Editor) Soviet Education: The Gifted and the Handicapped,
Routledge (London, England), 1988.
* (Editor) Soviet Youth Culture, Indiana University Press
(Bloomington, IN), 1989.

* Sport, Politics, and Communism, Manchester University Press (New
York, NY), 1991.
* (Editor and translator, with Susan Bridger) Dear Comrade Editor:
Readers' Letters to the Soviet Press under Perestroika, Indiana
University Press (Bloomington, IN), 1992.
* (Editor) Soviet Social Reality in the Mirror of Glasnost, St.
Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.
* (With Victor Peppard) Playing Politics: Soviet Sport Diplomacy
to 1992, JAI Press (Greenwich, CT), 1993.
* (Editor, with Igor S. Kon) Sex and Russian Society, Indiana
University Press (Bloomington, IN), 1993, revised as The Sexual
Revolution in Russia: From the Age of the Czars to Today, Free Press
(New York, NY), 1995.
* Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Silver
Burdett Press (Morristown, NJ), 1993.
* (Editor, with Christopher Williams and Igor Ilynsky) Young
People in Post-Communist Russia and Eastern Europe, Dartmouth College/
University Press of New England (Hanover, NH), 1995.
* (Editor, with Petar-Emil Mitev) Europe, the Young, the Balkans
(conference proceedings), International Centre for Minority Studies
and Intercultural Relations (Sofia, Bulgaria), 1996.
* (Editor, with Arnd Krüger) The Story of Worker Sport, Human
Kinetics (Champaign, IL), 1996.
* (Editor, translator, and contributor) Olga Litvinenko,
collector, Memories of the Dispossessed: Descendants of Kulak Families
Tell Their Stories, Bramcote Press (Nottingham, England), 1998.
* (Editor, with Pierre Arnaud) Sport and International Politics:
The Impact of Fascism and Communism on Sport, E. & F. Spon (New York,
NY), 1998.
* Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Silver
Burdett Press (Morristown, NJ), 1999.
* (Editor, with Robin Jones) Sport and Physical Education in
China, Routledge (New York, NY), 1999.
* (Editor, with Arnd Krüger) The International Politics of Sport
in the Twentieth Century, Routledge (New York, NY), 1999.

* (Editor, with Arnd Kruˋger) European Cultures in Sport:
Examining the Nations and Regions, Intellect (Portland, OR), 2003.
* (Compiler, with Arnd Kruˋger and Thierry Terret) Histoire du
sport en Europe, L'armattan (Paris, France), 2004.
* Escape from War, Kingfisher (Boston, MA), 2005.
* (With Bill Myers) The Enemy Closes In Escape from War,
Zonderkidz (Grand Rapids, MI), 2008.
* (With Bill Myers) On the Run, Zonderkidz (Grand Rapids, MI),
2008.


Lenona.