http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692497013/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, USA, September 6, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new novel, written by first time novelist Mark A. Flagel, explores and exposes, through historical fiction, one of the biggest doping scandals in Olympic history. Price of Gold – subtitled Two Women, Two Champions, Two Worlds -- is more than just a story about the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the use of steroids by the East German women swimmers leading to their unprecedented domination of the highly touted American team. It lays bare the secret exploitation and poisoning of athletes that was directed by the highest levels of the East German government before the implosion of the Iron Curtain; it reveals the sacrifices made and the suffering endured by Olympic athletes and their families both in the United States and East Germany; it brings life to the world of Olympic level women’s swimming; and as we approach the 40th anniversary of the scandal surrounding the women’s swimming events of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, it dramatizes the complexity of the issues through the emotional transformations of two great women champions, one cheated out of her life’s dream, the other subjected to a lifetime of physical and mental abuse.

Price of Gold reveals, through slow emotional evolution and explosive courtroom drama, that things are not always as they seem, and that the heroic women who actually experienced various aspects of this tragedy paid a very high price in their quest for gold.

Early reviews indicate Price of Gold is a must read for anyone moved by the underlying subject matter. According to ‘avidreader’: “This was a story that absolutely needed to be told and Flagel tells it well. He paints a fascinating picture of the lives that were ruined by the horrific performance enhancing drugs used on East German athletes during the 1976 Olympics. I enjoyed hearing the American point of view through the Ivy Johnson character but when Hannah Eberhardt was introduced I was emotionally hooked and could not put it down. It all culminates 22 years later in the courtrooms of a unified Germany and I cheered when the bad guys finally had to answer for their atrocious behavior and Hannah and Ivy reconciled their entwined past. This is historical fiction at its best!” ‘Ron’ adds: “A compelling story told with extreme care, compassion and clarity. Blending fact and fiction, the book raises important substantive issues about doping in the Olympics in the context of a moving story about the innocent, less innocent and guilty parties involved. The issues are presented thoughtfully and with the complexity and nuance they deserve. The deeply moving personal dramas are told with compassion. Indeed, I could not help shedding a tear right along with the tears of the athletes.”

Price of Gold is available in paperback ($14.99) or on Kindle ($8.99), at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692497013/ref=cm_sw_su_dp. Learn more about the author at www.markflagel.com

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