Patriot Hearts: Inside the Olympics That Changed a Country

When John Furlong and his family emigrated from Ireland in 1974, the customs officer greeted them with "Welcome to Canada. Make us better," an imperative that has defined Furlong's life ever since. A passionate athlete with a track record of community service, he was roped into acting as spokesperson for Vancouver's incipient Olympic bid movement back in 1996, and then spent the next fourteen years living and breathing the Olympics. Furlong and his organizing team, including some 25,000 volunteers, orchestrated a remarkable Winter Games. Patriot Hearts is the story of how they did it.