“THIS helps with the younger generation (so they know) it didn’t all start last year.”

Those were the sentiments expressed by Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Mike Fennell as he welcomed the launch of the book The Power and the Glory at The Spanish Court Hotel Tuesday evening.

The book chronicles Jamaica’s participation in track and field athletics since their first outing at the 1930 Central American and Caribbean Games.

It was co-written by track commentator Hubert Lawrence and Michael A Grant with photographs by Jamaica Observer Photo Editor Bryan Cummings.

The three had earlier collaborated on the Champs 100 book.

“This one is easy to read because it has so many photographs in it. This really captured the whole thing so anybody can really look through it and be fascinated,” Fennell added.

Said Lawrence: “We were talking about The Power and the Glory before the Champs 100 book. It blossomed and thank God we’re here.

“(We) have tried to tell the faithful story of Jamaica and world athletics. We’ve tried to explain why. We’ve tried to put it in perspective. There is something special about the Jamaican athlete we’ve tried to capture.”

This work of non-fiction comes at an important point in the Jamaican athletic story — 50 years after the country’s political Independence from Great Britain and three weeks before its top athletes participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

Among the images captured by Cummings, who has been to the last three Olympics, are of the winning women’s 4x100m relay team in Athens 2004 and the Usain Bolt’s 200m world record run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“There is an interest now in Jamaican sport, and in particular Jamaican track and field, and we’re optimistic that it will go very well,” said Lawrence.

The Power and the Glory will be available at Puma outlets worldwide, Amazon.com and bookshops islandwide.