Nadia și Securitatea

by Stejarel Olaru

În 1976, la Jocurile Olimpice de la Montreal, Nadia a devenit simbolul perfecțiunii în gimnastică. Din admirație, despre ea s-au scris scenarii de filme artistice și documentare, biografii, romane și chiar cărți pentru copii. Dar despre Nadia, devenită parte a avuției naționale a României socialiste, se mai scria în penumbră, iar „admiratorii” săi, care adunau material documentar pentru un roman straniu, în parte de groază, în parte politic, erau cei din lumea sa: antrenorii, oficialii federali, medicii, asistentele, coechipierii… Cu toții îi urmăreau orice mișcare, orice vorbă și orice gând și împletiseră, la cererea poliției politice de atunci, înfricoșătoarea Securitate, o plasă nevăzută din care marea sportivă a reușit să scape abia în toamna lui 1989. Acum, după zeci de ani, studiind aceste dosare până nu de mult secrete, Stejărel Olaru a construit o carte de istorie, însă una ca un roman, în parte de groază, în parte politic.

Cartea lui Stejărel Olaru nu este doar o biografie tradițională. Contextul și împrejurările în care Nadia Comăneci a crescut și s-a format, familia, gimnastele din generația sa, antrenorii, și mai ales puzderia de informatori, securiști și decidenți politici, care au țesut o încâlcită plasă de relații în jurul ei menită să o țină captivă în mod irevocabil, toate acestea sunt scoase la iveală de autor. În drumul spre glorie, Nadia a trecut prin stări diferite. Când însingurată și aproape de abandon, când disperată și supusă, adesea neînțeleasă și folosită, dar mereu perseverentă, ambițioasă, visând cu îndârjire să atingă perfecțiunea. Și a atins-o. – AURORA LIICEANU

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Sports, Romania, Biography, Politics, Biography Memoir

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Stejarel Olaru is a Romanian historian, writer, researcher, and former radio and TV broadcaster. He was National Security Advisor for the Romanian Prime Minister (2006-2008), a Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013-2014) and General Director of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania (2005-2010). He has published several books on the modern history of Romania and the history of the Romanian intelligence services.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi-ar plăcea să se vorbească mult mai mult despre această carte. Se citește ușor și nu se pierde în detalii,ar fi putut ușor să se piardă în detalii și să devină grea,dar se observă ușor direcția către publicul larg. Mi-a plăcut cum a fost structurată și la fel de mult am apreciat abordarea autorului(obiectivă cât de mult posibil). Piesa de rezistență o reprezintă,după părerea mea,coperta și cu siguranță nu cred că cineva ar putea fi dezamăgit după ce o citește.

[Ms. Smartarse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Published in English as Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police: A Cold War Escape

Few institutions were as affected by the secret police (a.k.a the Securitate) as the Romanian Gymnastics Federation during the communist era. As a small country from Europe's communist block, Romania didn't really have any other achievements to flaunt, so the regime was understandaly set on clinging to its best export. And if that meant allowing a teenaged girl to be subjected to constant abuse... well some may have considered it a high honor. The self-sacrificing kind.

That said, this book is not so much about Nadia's specific abuse, but rather the secret police's tacit endorsement of certain behaviours, as long as someone could make a case for them being necessary for the "greater good". Oh, and if you're familiar with the Heavy Medals podcast, this book stands as even more proof that NO ONE liked the Karolyis.



I've avoided this book for the longest time, for one because its entire marketing strategy felt creepy; and for another because I didn't really need yet another story about government surveillance/spies from the communist regime. Anyone who's ever had access to mainstream Romanian media in the mid-2010s has had more than enough of the topic.

Basically, the PR campaign presented this book as a sort of unauthorised biography of a living person. I hesitate to go as far as to call it libellous, since Dr. Olaru does go to great lengths to provide reliable sources for his citation. Still, I can't imagine Nadia being too happy about her image in this book.

I did greatly appreciate the number of myths being dispelled in here, including the whole Géza Pozsár love (the artistic coordinator). As romantic as his whistle-blowing may seem in US documentaries, this book makes it clear that the man was a "tattle tale" at best, mainly looking after his own interests.

Score: 2/5 starts

To be fair, unless you plan on writing your dissertation on the subject, I wouldn't recommend reading this. While very thoroughly researched, it nevertheless makes for an extremely dry reading material.

If you're just a gym-nerd curious about how the Romanian authorities could tolerate the Karolyis, just listen to Gymcastic's Interview with the author:

Project K: Interview with Nadia & The Secret Police Author Dr. Stejarel Olaru

Project K Episode 2: Interview with Nadia & The Secret Police Author Dr. Stejarel Olaru Part 2

[Dorin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carte „citită” în format audio. Cele 14 ore și jumătate mi s-au părut interminabile.

Nu am nici o legătură emoțională cu Nadia Comăneci și cu reușitele ei. Nici măcar cu primul zece, într-o perioadă foarte politizată din istoria gimnasticii. Meritul e că a fost prima, nu unica. Nu mă definesc succesele Nadiei și nici nu mă simt mai român sau mai mândru datorită lor. Sunt și prea tânăr și prea indiferent pentru simboluri pe care nu le-am trăit. Nici Nadia, ca persoană, nu mă interesează în mod special. Am început să ascult această carte (pe care o aveam pe radar de mai mult timp) dintr-un motiv simplu: coperta, care mi-a plăcut mult. Tânăra Nadia de pe copertă are un zâmbet aproape la fel de misterios ca al Mona Lisei: este ea oare fericită? supărată? obosită de interminabilele sesiuni foto? plictisită? Coperta are și un design reușit.

Cartea, în sine, e mai puțin despre Nadia decât sugerează titlul sau coperta. E încă și mai puțin despre Nadia și Securitatea (dacă de aici cititorul înțelege o legătură directă în care destinul fiecărei sau măcar primei părți e marcat de cealaltă parte). Capitolele de început (nu și primul – prologul) sunt biografia lui Béla Károlyi. Aflăm de unde a venit, pentru ce, unde a lucrat, cum a apărut școala de gimnastică de la Onești, cum au fost selectate gimnastele, cine și cum a descoperit-o pe Nadia – merit pe care și l-au asumat mai mulți. Urmează capitole despre competiții, medalii și iar Béla Károlyi, ce-a făcut, care îi era stilul de antrenamente, cu cine s-a certat etc. Pe aici pare o carte care mai bine s-ar fi intitulat Béla Károlyi și Securitatea. De multe ori, Nadia pare a fi un personaj secundar, chiar un pretext pentru a scrie despre antrenor. Printre multiplele pagini despre Károlyi sigur că se scrie, cumva, și biografia Nadiei, în principal a anilor ’70, de activitate.

Securitatea din titlu este, de fapt, un fel de sursă a documentării. Autorul nu a vorbit cu Nadia sau cu Károlyi, ci s-a documentat din arhive, din presa vremii, din alte biografii sau autobiografii, chiar și din filme. Unde nu știe, presupune. Sunt foarte multe „poate”, „probabil”, „dacă ar fi... atunci s-ar povesti” etc. O carte despre oameni care mai sunt în viață fără contribuția acestora nu înseamnă prea mult pentru mine.

Despre Nadia nu am prea multe de zis după „lectură”. Dacă cineva ar presupune lucruri înfiorătoare din alăturarea numelui unui om cu cel al Securității, nu cred că e cazul aici. Nadia a realizat foarte multe dpdv sportiv, iar datorită acestui lucru a fost o privilegiată a sistemului (după standardele locale și alte vremii).

2/5. O notă îngăduitoare.

[Paul Ispas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deși are niște mici carențe pe partea de storytelling, Stejărel Olaru este impecabil în ceea ce privește documentarea. Cartea asta arată cu dovezi destul de concrete faptul că Nadia a fost un fenomen de care mai toată lumea din jurul ei a profitat, un copil pe care nimeni nu l-a ghidat în viață ci doar către perfecțiune în sala de gimnastică. Bătută, mințită, furată, pedepsită de oamenii din jurul ei, urmărită de securitate toată viața, ea a ales în continuare să fie o doamnă în public și parte veritabilă a definiției de fair-play. Iubită de întreaga lume vestică, invidiată de concurență, Nadia a inspirat, dar lupta ei reală nu a fost între paralelele inegale sau pe bârnă, ci cu cei care nu o iubeau, doar o exploatau.
Recomand cartea asta tuturor celor care preamăresc rezultatele în sport ale comunismului, și-i întreb sincer dacă prețul a meritat.

[Mai H.]

Non-fiction November TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic

[Valentina Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

O lectură palpitantă pentru toți împătimiții gimnasticii, o istorie a începuturilor marilor performanțe ale României în gimnastica artistică feminină mondială, dar în același timp o lectură dureroasă despre prețul plătit de niște copii, sub „atenta supraveghere” (și complicitate) a unui sistem totalitar, în conturarea profilului de campioană a României și a prestigiului școlii românești de gimnastică. Cartea „Nadia și Securitatea” este o carte de istorie care tratează efectele regimului comunist în sport, în acest caz, gimnastica, studiind îndeaproape rolul cunoscutei Securități în monitorizarea Nadiei Comăneci.

De o tristețe covârșitoare găsesc și pasajele care prezintă comportamentul avid și suspicios al oamenilor acelor vremuri, produs indubitabil al regimului comunist, cel puțin într-o oarecare măsură.

Recomand cartea tuturor celor pasionați de gimnastică sau interesați de fenomenul NADIA, dar și celor care vor să privească mai atent spre realitatea dinainte de 1989, realitate extrem de tristă chiar și pentru „privilegiații sistemului”.

[Nev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book. Using Romanian secret police files, and other government documents, this book tells the behind the scenes story of Nadia Comăneci, Béla and Marta Károlyi, abusive training practices, and the government’s oppressive control and surveillance. Due to secret informants, bugged houses, and phones being wiretapped there was evidence all the way back in the 70s of how Béla Károlyi lied about discovering Nadia and the abusive way he trained her and other gymnasts. It’s sad to read about Nadia being so young and fighting so hard to get away from Béla.

While the content of the book is captivating, the actual writing held me back from being able to love this. I don’t know if it’s because the translation is trying to stay closer to how it was written in Romanian instead of structuring it for English, but so many of the sentences were incredibly clunky and did not flow well at all. I was constantly having to reread sections because the way they were written was so confusing. I did read an early copy of the book, so maybe there will still be some editing from the ARC to the final published version. But it’s not like it was just random sentences here and there that were off, it was all throughout the book.

I still think that if you’re a massive gymnastics fan and are interested in a look into what happened with Nadia and the Károlyis in Romania then I’d recommend checking the book out. While you might have to struggle through some confusing writing, the information that you get is really fascinating.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

... Nadia’s plan to escape was simple, and she put it into effect without the help of any intelligence service, be it Romanian or foreign. (Kindle location 5237)

I put this quote at the top because the publisher of the English-language translation, in its advertising for this book, implies absurdly that the book will contain revelations of intelligence-service meddling:

[The book] reflects on burning questions surrounding the heart-stopping, border-hopping defection to the United States that she successfully undertook in November 1989. Was the defection organised by CIA agents? Was it arranged on the orders of President George Bush himself? Or was Nadia aided and abetted by some of the very Securitate officers who were meant to be watching the communist world's most lauded sporting icon?

These accusations are very briefly addressed at the end of the book, including but not exclusively in the quote above. Most of the book is about Comaneci’s struggle with, and abuse by, her trainer during her time as a world-famous athlete.

Since the word “abuse”, in our time, is usually associated with sexual abuse, especially when the subject is male trainers and female athletes, I want to make clear that there is absolutely no evidence of sexual abuse presented in this book as far as I could tell. (I must admit I skimmed a bit at times.) The abuse made explicit in this book is mostly in the form of verbal insults, and there is also the starving of Comaneci and her cohort to keep them at performance-level weight.

Here at Goodreads, there are many positive reviews, written in Romanian, of the original text. I lived in Romania a long time ago, during the twilight of the Ceaucescu family’s grip on power, that is, part of the period covered in this book. I have retained (barely) enough of the language that I learned to determine that at least one native speaker of Romanian, here on Goodreads, felt that the book, in the original, was well-written, and another felt it was rigorously documented. I can’t comment on the former, but the English translation is, to be charitable, not very readable. However, concerning “rigorously documented”, there is no argument: yes, it is. The author clearly spent a lot of time combing the archives.

This book, it seems to me, was written by a Romanian to make sure that a small slice of a long difficult period is not forgotten or twisted to suit someone’s particular ends. If written history can ever be healing, this book might help Romanians accurately remember their past and come to grips with it. This is a worthy goal. However, for the non-Romanian, the long, drawn-out, detailed descriptions of Comaneci’s deprivations, given to the secret police by the legion of people close to her who informed on her every activity with apparent enthusiasm, will be of limited interest.

I don’t know if there would be any way to make this book compelling to most non-Romanians without rewriting it from beginning to end.

However, if you are a native-English-speaking historian (or student historian) of Eastern Europe, this book may be useful, as people, even if they are great scholars, usually cannot possibly master all of the diverse and often difficult languages of Eastern Europe. Romanian, especially, as a non-Slavic language, sometimes is the odd man out.

I was given, free of charge, an advance electronic review copy of this book by Bloomsbury Publishing via Netgalley. However, the book was virtually unreadable as distributed in this form. There was no evidence that a human being who takes any pride in their work looked at the electronic file before sending it into the world. The words “Proof not for distribution or sale” appeared, sometimes in whole or sometimes in part, sometimes in recognizable order and sometimes as individual words in various fonts, seemingly at random on every page throughout the text. Sentences often ended abruptly, sometimes in mid-word, with no indication of how much text was missing.

This, as you probably can tell, annoyed me while reading. However, I think I understand why “Proof not for distribution or sale” needed to appear on every page. One charming and admirable characteristic of Eastern Europeans (including Romanians) was that (at least when I lived there) they still cherished the power of the written word, and took books more seriously, than in my native culture of the US. The upshot of this was a vigorous, efficient, and ubiquitous market in pirated books, both in local language and in translation. I believe, by making advance copies difficult to read, the publisher was protecting his content for as long as possible. Certainly understandable, but once a nice clean copy of this book in English translation is published, you may shortly afterward be able to buy a cut-rate knock-off at your local Bucharest street kiosk.

[Nona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce bine documentată este cartea asta! Ar fi trebuit să mă aștept la așa ceva, dar tot m-a surprins cu minuțiozitatea cu care prezintă toate fațetele „relației” tumultuoase dintre Nadia Comăneci și statul român, dar și cu cei care i-au devenit antrenori pentru o perioadă, Bela și Marta Károlyi.

Cartea lui Stejărel Olaru nu a fost ce mă așteptam, în sensul că nu este o biografie a fostei gimnaste, cât mai curând o analiză a modului în care regimul comunist a monitorizat și controlat viața personală și publică a sportivei prin infiltrarea în toate straturile vieții ei, inclusiv după retragerea din activitate. Cartea se bazează pe documente de arhivă, mai ales din dosarele fostei Securități. Deși Nadia a fost o vedetă mondială după performanțele sale extraordinare de la Jocurile Olimpice din 1976, în spatele scenei, regimul de la București o considera un simbol important al propagandei și a intervenit adesea în deciziile sale personale și profesionale.

În ciuda titlului, cartea pare totuși mai mult despre Bela Károlyi și regimul de teroare, de stat în stat, pe care l-a impus la Onești. Este o analiză dură a vieții și carierei fostului antrenor, un om portretizat ca un monstru narcisist căruia îi păsa mai mult de gloria personală decât de gimnastele pe care le antrena. Nu am de ce să contest această imagine, sunt nenumărate dovezi că ce scrie în carte e real, inclusiv din mărturii de după fuga din România și perioada în care a antrenat echipa de gimnastică a SUA. De altfel, fosta Securitate și-a făcut treaba minuțios și există mărturii nenumărate, înregistrate în diverse forme, despre fiecare mișcare și fiecare declarație, publică sau privată, a lui Károlyi.

Cartea m-a îndurerat, tratamentul „aplicat” Nadiei și colegelor ei de echipă a fost crunt. Cei care spun că nu există performanță fără bătaie și înfometare ar trebui să-și facă un control la căpuț. Să lași sportivii fără mâncare, să-i supui la regimuri stricte de deshidarare (mi s-a făcut pielea de găină când am citit cum gimnastele beau apă din bazinul toaletei sau apa de la duș pentru că nu erau lăsate să bea apă!), să-i înjuri și să-i bați cu pumnul în cap nu sunt metode sănătoase de a face performanță. Omul a fost un monstru imatur emoțional și manipulator, care a încercat să dea vina pentru comportamentul său pe un copil(!) care a fost izolat de familie și de tot ce putea să însemne o copilărie cât de cât normală.

Probabil că mi-ar fi plăcut să citesc mai multe despre Nadia ca om și sportiv și mai puține despre Károlyi, totuși activitatea extinsă de monitorizare a regimului comunist este un subiect pe care ar trebui să-l cunoască fiecare om din țara asta. E important să înțelegem până unde s-a mers cu recrutarea informatorilor și cu modalitățile de infiltrare în viața populației. Nadia era un „bun național”, considerată mai puțin om și mai mult proprietatea statului comunist, și, deși se spune că era „o privilegiată a regimului”, viața ei în România nu a fost liberă. Dimpotrivă.

O recomand tuturor celor care cred că performanța nu se face decât cu biciul, tuturor tinerilor care habar n-au cum erau lucrurile înainte de decembrie 1989, dar și tuturor „nostalgicilor” care au serioasă nevoie de trezire la realitate.

[Ianis Ilinescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Din primul moment, în care vezi cartea te lovește acel sentiment, cum că în fața ta se află ceva special. Deja te îndrăgostești de micută fată, care a avut perfomanțe sportive extraordinare, dovadă stau medaliile, dar care totuși este tristă. Iar o lumină roșie îi acoperă jumătate din față, totul încadrat sau înconjurat de o dungă roșie.
Cartea spune povestea micuței fete din Onești (fostul oraș Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej), care a luat primul 10 la gimanstică din lume. Spune povestea abuzurilor, prin care a trecut această fată, care nu a mai putut suporta și a plecat, înainte de o lună ca regimul comunist din România să se prăbușească.
Urmărită la fiecare pas din 1976 până în 1989 și supusă unor abuzuri imense din partea antrenorului Bela Karolyi, Nadia Elena Comăneci nu a fost o privilegiată a sistemui, de fapt nimeni nu a fost un privilegiat al sistemului, în afară desigur de familia Ceaușescu.

[Nadia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up since it was about my namesake. I was fortunate enough to be named after the lovely gymnast. So the subject and information of any secret police involvement was surprising to me. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this book. The distribution information was on every other page. No joke. Why?? It was annoying and what it did was delete sentences and words so the information didn't make much sense. I wanted to quit so many times!!! So, I will review this book that I've finished to help others NOT to read it.

The gist of the story. The secret police didn't protect their gymnasts. Bela would beat his gymnasts with no punishment from anyone. He was a cruel and abusive coach. And to deprive his pupils/students of food and water!! There were many pages on her weight. (I wish I was 123 pounds now). And the time they took to shame her for weighing 123 pounds?! He would later defect with his wife which frankly the other gymnasts were thrilled about since he was so abusive. Though, we ended up with him for our womans gymnasts team. Once Nadia stopped gymnastics the ruler/ government didn't let her travel internationally. Why? Who knows. Again so much missing information that I just gave up caring. Oh and the ending, it was abrupt. No mention of the wonderful life she has now. Which she does, thank goodness. She's doing great now. She lives in United States and has a beautiful family. That should have been discussed in the book!! Arghhh.

Overall, save yourself and don't bother reading this dull and horrible book. I'm giving 2 stars since I did finish this book

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

[Dragos-Teodor Zaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anii comunismului nu au însemnat doar frica de Securitate, ci și o întreagă mentalitate care s a infiltrat în comportamente, relații și chiar felul în care se formau campioni. Părinți, antrenori, oficiali, toți încercau să stoarcă avantaje, favoruri sau beneficii materiale din orice situație l, chiar și atunci când “ocazia” era o copilă de 12 ani. Această atmosferă spune multe despre cum a rezistat regimul atâta timp și, poate, de ce s a sfârșit exact în felul în care s a sfârșit.
Povestea Nadiei scoate la lumină nu doar presiunea fizică și psihică a pregătirii, ci și mecanismul social care cerea sacrificii enorme în schimbul succesului. Întrebarea rămâne: ar fi fost ea la fel de mare într-un alt stat, fără controlul sufocant al sistemului? Sau tocmai acea presiune a creat campioana absolută? Și, mai important, merită să obții glorie cu un preț care marchează o viața întreagă?
Comparând cu Simone Biles, care a ajuns la performanțe incredibile fără aceleași constrângeri, înțelegem că nu doar comunismul și munca până la epuizare creează perfecțiunea. Opera este o oglindă a României comuniste și o explicație a întârzierii cronice față de Occident, nu doar prin regimul in sine, ci prin mentalitățile adânc înrădăcinate pe care acesta le-a cultivat și exploatat!

[squirtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have found a new appreciation for Nadia ty for coming to my ted talk

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a pain to read this book and not because of the subject. I know that it's an not proof copy but it's hardly readable. The paragraphs are cut of suddenly, sentences not finished and the language..... it looks like the book was translated by one of the google translators. One star for trying.

[Luiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foarte frumoasă carte, nu regret achiziția! Foarte bine scrisă, parcă ai citi o poveste. Cartea nu lasă impresia unei biografii înțesate cu o mulțime de detalii ininteligibile, din contră.

[Deangelis4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for a gymnastics fan, mostly because EVERYTHING that every US gymnastics fan thinks they know about Bela Karolyi is false. Even those of us that knew he was abusive, and not entirely telling the truth, will be shocked by the patholigical lie we have been told since 1984, when the Nadia film sold us his fairy tale about discovering Nadia and being so integral to her success. This lie probably helped him to train Mary Lou Retton and then Kim Zmeskal and then Kerri Strug, and then Dominique Moceanu, and then have the Karolyis run the entire US Gymnastics Team. But it was always built on lies. And in getting full reign over US gymnasts, wreaking havoc on the US system, influencing other coaches to abuse, gaslight, and starve their gymnasts.

He didn't just beat and starve his gymnasts. He had them train when they were severely ill and injured, while hiding them from doctors, and stealing their cash winnings, even Nadia's. And he didn't discover Nadia doing cartwheels in a playground and recruit her, or lovingly train her when she was 6. She had other coaches for years! And he let the movie portray Teodora, and her parents as jealous jerks, when that was him. He reminds me of a certain petty, gaslighting, attention-seeking, fake-news-spreading president. But still, read this book, as it has actual transcripts and recordings. In other words, all the receipts!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte document despre controlul pe care securitatea l-a avut asupra vieții Nadiei, despre traiul într-o colivie de aur, încuiată cu lacăt. M-am bucurat să am acces la citate din dosare ale securității, la declarații ale informatorilor care țeseau o pânză de paianjen în jurul grupului de la Onești, ulterior Deva, unde parcă toată lumea urmărea pe toată lumea. Cartea e încă o dovadă a durității vieții din cantonament de pe vremea aceea, cuplul de anternori e demitizat și luptele de culise par mai aprige decât întrecerea de pe podiumul de concurs, unde uneori se știa rezultatul înainte ca gimnastele să urce pe aparate.

[Alina Neag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prima lectura din 2022.
Am oferit lecturii 4 puncte in mare parte pentru că m-a scos dintr-un reading slump de 4 luni. O carte interesantă, dar care mi-a provocat frustrări datorita nedreptăților cunoscute de Securitate, dar la care aceasta a decis să închidă ochii datorita onoarei pe care o aduceau României, dar nu și gimnastelor noastre. In general nu agreez cărțile care nu au o succesiune cronologică a evenimentelor, însă necesitatea de a sări de la un an la altul a fost justificată prin diferitele teme abordate în fiecare capitol.

[Beth Medvedev]

I loved this book. Although nothing surprised me given all that has previously come out about the Karolyis time in Romania, there were many things I didn't know. Bela has always been a liar and opportunist, but I was unaware just how much he and Marta loathed Nadia. There's so much information here thanks to the wire tapping, informants, and other surveillance. Communist Romania was truly a nightmare.

[Stela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesant, dar departe de cartea lui Ioan Chirila, care se abatea atât de fermecător de la realitate.

[Sergiu S. Dobre · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte excelenta, foarte bine documentata! O lectura extrem de interesanta pe care o recomand cu caldura! Felicitari autorului!

[Irina Nicoloiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi-a placut cartea pentru rigurozitatea documentarii si pentru ca prin intermediul ei am putut s-o cunosc putin pe Nadia dar si contextul sportiv si politic din perioada respectiva. Lectura nu mi-a fost insa intotdeauna usoara si placuta din pricina unui volum ridicat de detalii cateodata, si a unui fir cronologic cu reveniri si salturi pe alocuri.

[Ștefania Ioana Chiorean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fost o carte interesanta mai ales ca e prima citita de mine atat pe tema Nadiei sau tema securitatii din vremurile acelea. Au fost explicate structurile informatorilor, a diferitelor organizatii locale sau nationale, cum era viata atunci.

Ce m-a marcat cel mai mult a fost atitudinea oamenilor - plecand in strainatate la competitii, antrenorii mergeau cu liste de cumparaturi, apoi din banii castigati de fete isi luau cota lor. Cea mai grea parte a fost sa citesc despre dispretul lor fata de semeni. Rar am citit despre o prietenie, despre ajutorare etc.

Pare o carte trista, putin greoaie dar care te tine pana la final sa vezi parcursul Nadiei. Desi sti finalul mai bine ca inceputul, am citit cu placere despre fiecare etapa.

[Vincenzo Pastore · Rating 5 out of 5]

La storia della ginnasta che stupì il mondo e della Securitate che la tormentò e rese la sua vita complicata. La sera tra il 27 e il 28 novembre 1989 scappa con sei compagni verso l'Ungheria dal quale poi si sposterà negli Stati Uniti. La vita di Nadia Comaneci raccontata con le fonti e le testimonianze di chi l'ha conosciuta, ammirata e inseguita

[Theresa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The achievements of Nadia, her trainers, her choreographer, and the entire Olympic team belonged to them, but not in their entirety: It was deemed that it was the Communist state that had created the conditions and the means whereby they were able to stand out, and their merits therefore ultimately had to be shared with the country’s leader, Nicolae Ceausescu.’

I have a well-established interest in reading about life from inside the Communist Bloc as it was known throughout the Cold War (1947 – 1991). It’s an interest that has grown from my sociology studies and seemingly has never dwindled away. It’s a way of life that is hard to reconcile against western democratic ideals and the more I read about the various countries and the lives of their citizens and the manner in which their secret police squads exerted limitless control, the more fascinated by it all I become.

‘The web of agents that the Securitate painstakingly wove in Onesti combined with a network established in Bucharest within the Romanian Federation of Gymnastics and the National Council for Physical Education and Sport. For this reason, by late 1976, the Securitate was no longer able to be caught on the wrong foot. Intelligence officers knew everything about relationships between those in charge of gymnastics as they evolved in real time, they could anticipate events and intervene promptly to further the interests of the regime.’

This book is well written and highly accessible given the heavy political themes running through it. At times, it was a little repetitive, particularly regarding the coaches, Béla and Marta Károlyi. It didn’t follow a true linear format, so we seemed to rehash a lot about these coaches over and over, even after Nadia had moved on from them. The book stays away from Nadia’s personal life for the most part, focusing on her gymnastics career and the trajectory it followed, or rather, how it was manipulated and directed by the State. There are times when a little more of the personal would have been appreciated, but overall, I understood the reasoning behind the author’s focus and direction. This is not a biography, but rather, a closely detailed account of the politics of her career and the way in which she was policed throughout.

‘Did Nadia Comaneci enjoy a life of privilege during the Communist regime, as Iulian Vlad, the head of the Securitate, later claimed? In reports compiled by the secret police after her defection, there are paragraphs pointing out that she had led a pleasant, comfortable life, that she owned a villa with seven rooms and annexes at no. 23, Strada Rozmarin and her own Dacia 1300 motorcar.
The truth was that Nadia was not financially well off. Eery month she had to pay instalments on repairs carried out on the house in Strada Rozmarin, and often she found herself in the situation of having to sell personal items in order to make ends meet. In winter, she slept in the kitchen because the house was poorly heated. Whenever she was able, she was generous towards her friends, and she was courteous to strangers. The Communist regime has exploited her both financially and politically, subjecting her to a complicated life full of restrictions in return. What privileges and honours she did receive were deserved, although they fell far short of her genius as a gymnast and the sacrifices she had made.’

When you read a book like this, it can be confronting to realise the duplicity of humanity, the way in which people can bought and put to use. The spying and informing was just shocking. There was no one who could be fully trusted. But even that raises the question of what fear and coercion these people, those who were informing, were placed under in order to comply. It cannot be assumed that they were simply all bad people, or entirely self-serving. The book explores this explicitly within the context of the sport and the gymnastics universe that existed within Romania at the time.

While fascinating and absorbing, this was also a sobering read, not just for what happened to Nadia, but for the other gymnasts as well, and the professionals that surrounded them. What a life. Anyone with an interest in communism, gymnastics, or both, will appreciate this book. Recommended reading.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro sobre un personaje fascinante excelentemente documentado, a veces incluso con demasiados datos y paréntesis, pero que a su vez refleja el exhaustivo trabajo que ha hecho el autor.

[Jean Brazil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly translated. Very biased. Gave up on this one.

[Peter Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police (or Nadia Comăneci - the Romanian ă there pretty much breaking the typography in my e-reader) is an odd book. It is translated from a Romanian original, and it is a pretty dry and detailed take on the gymnast's Romanian life as seen through the constant surveillance of the state. It feels like an academic piece more than a mass-market biography, and there are lines it won't cross with regard to her personal life which seems a little odd considering part of the point of the book is to show how intrusive the surveillance was.

With the exception of the prologue, which takes us through Comăneci's defection across the border in 1989, it places a forensic eye on the chronological narrative of Comăneci's life. So parents move to the small town, Nadia is an outdoorsy, physical kid who gets involved in this newly developed gymnastics centre, and soon gets discovered. Gymnastics is on the State's radar as a way to push the Romanian way of life, Romanian is a surveillance state, and as well as agents paid to follow Comăneci everywhere at home and around the world, everyone is possibly an informant, and the research has identified a number of these. It wasn't just Comăneci being watched, her family, her team-mates and her coaches are too, and the first half of the book probably spends a little too much time talking about the internal politics between the Romanian gymnastic coaches, and probably not enough of the state tolerated physical and verbal abuse the gymnasts got (there are stories around food here which are tragic). The book doesn't want to be seen to editorialise, and I think as a Romanian original it is still in awe of Comăneci, so doesn't know (much like the state and indeed Comăneci herself) how to deal with her talent being brought out by terrible treatment. It also doesn't have room to talk about some of the more philosophical issues at the heart of the rise of Comăneci, who was pretty much the first gymnast brought through her local centre - a mixture of natural talent, abusive training and state support. How much of one of the greatest sportspeople of all time is coincidence?

I found Nadia Comăneci and the Secret Police fascinating, even if it is far too long, detailed and doesn't always deliver on its promise. There is a lot of narrative here, often dryly told from a sense of global sports history (the battle between Romanian and Russian judges in particular), and some times we have a deep dive into her moving to Bucharest, but then the 1980 Olympics feels skimmed over. Without talking to Comăneci directly for the book, it is hard to sometimes square the microscopic detail from he security services with her version of the truth, and certainly no real discussion on the morality of how it was harvested, and how it is being used again. They won't dive into the files on her personal life, but even using the files they do, there is still a degree of an invasion of privacy to note how useful these techniques were to try to build a picture of the life in Communist Romania of one of the most famous people in the world.

[June Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Publication April 6,2023

In 1976, with her dazzling gymnastics performance at the Olympics, Nadia Comaneci won the hearts of the world. Little known beforehand, she emerged an idol to many, an inspiration to others, such as a young Michelle Obama, who begged to take gymnastics classes, while others simply wanted the fame and fortune that surely followed. Right?

Well, that was what most thought. The reality, as this book reveals in occasionally excruciating detail, was far from ideal. In fact, Nadia was living a nightmare, surrounded by manipulative coaches and spies, spies everywhere, taking photos and notes, and both physically and mentally abused.

This book made me sad and angry. I found myself having to take frequent breaks from reading as it detailed life under the microscope of autocratic rule. Toss in harsh training, abuse at the hands of trainers Bela and Marta Karolyi, and being largely separated from family and friends, with no freedom to simply disappear for awhile, and you have her life. Decisions were made for her, not always for her own good.

I cringed as I read of not just physical abuse but how Nadia and teammates training with her were kept on near starvation diets, belittled, overworked, and forced to compete despite illness or injury. I couldn't help flashing to thoughts of American gymnastic star Simone Biles and her decision to skip several event competitions in a recent Olympics. Nadia never had that option. Her life wasn't her own. She was a hero, true, but quite frankly, used as a tool of the state. She was pretty much under surveillance 24/7.

Based on information found in formerly secret files, the author has done a superb job ferreting out information on not just Nadia, Bela and Marta Karolyi, but some of the behind-the-scenes going on with scoring and such. Much of the focus is on Bela Karolyi, however. I should note that neither Bela nor Marta Karolyi responded when asked by the author for comment. I'm not going to detail the long list of facts here -- the research was in depth and there is a wealth of information here on not just Nadia's situation but life in autocratic states. It isn't an easy read but is well worth the effort. If you're like me, you'll find yourself both drawn to and repulsed by what is revealed. Like many, I, too, watched Nadia shine in 1976. If only I had known....

Thank you #NetGalley and #BloomsburyAcademic for giving us the hard, unsettling truth.

[anolinde · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

So disappointed in this book. The premise was really intriguing, and I was looking forward to reading the surveillance notes about Nadia and the Karolyis, but the writing was such a slog (not clear if this was the author's fault or the translator's), the editing was sloppy (I found several mistakes by the second chapter), and then there was this gem of a sentence:

Nadia astounded the world with her almost flawless execution on the parallel bars and beam, performing a torrent of handsprings on the bar and 720-degree corkscrew leaps on floor.

Let me break it down for all the non-gymnasts here. First, women don't do the parallel bars (that's a men's event); we do the uneven bars. Second, you can't do handsprings on a skinny wooden bar. That's not even a thing. Third, what are "720-degree corkscrew leaps"? Not a skill in the Code of Points as far as I'm aware. I even looked up a video of Nadia's floor routine and couldn't find a single leap fitting that description.

This is BASIC fact-checking, people. And frankly should have been the easiest part of the book to fact-check. So how am I supposed to trust anything the author is saying about these archive documents I don't have access to? I can't. I even peeped at the conclusion and this dude is talking about the "uneven parallel bars." What in the actual fuck? Not only is that not an event, period, but also even if the translator knew literally nothing about gymnastics, simply speaking ENGLISH should have raised a flag that maybe "uneven parallel" wasn't the right term.

One star, unconscionable that this made it to publication.

Update, 7/17/23: According to a Reddit gymnastics forum, the passage with the "parallel bars" and "corkscrew" turns was very different in the French edition:

Nadia a ainsi stupéfié le public avec sa routine quasi irréprochable aux barres asymétriques et à la poutre, multipliant également les flip-flap à la poutre et les doubles saltos au sol.

Which, in English, is roughly:

Nadia thus amazed the public with near-perfect routines on the asymmetric bars and on the beam, with numerous handsprings on the beam and double [back] somersaults on the floor

This is far more accurate. Another user confirmed that the original Romanian matches the French translation, which means that the mistakes in this particular passage were due to the English translator and not the fault of the author. Still should have been fucking fact-checked, though.