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Courts of Babylon: Tales of Greed and Glory in The Harsh New World of Professional Tennis
An expose+a7 of professional tennis and the celebrity cult surrounding it provides an insider's look--including overzealous parents, pampered athletes, sex, politics, commercialism, constant travel, and world-weariness--at those who have it all too fast and too young. 15,000 first printing.
- GenresSportsNonfiction
480 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 1995
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April 9, 2017
As many of you know, I like tennis.
Where I live, spring has finally sprung, and this means tennis season is back on. I usually try to read a tennis themed book in the run up to the European season, and today it just felt right to chill my tennis-tired bones after two days of matches (who doesn't go over-board on the first chance of playing outdoors?!) with an attempt to finish off some current reads. One of those was Peter Bodo's The Courts of Babylon, first published in 1995.
I usually like to start of my reviews with a quote, but in this case I simply could not find any meaningful, witty, or interesting quote that was not offensive in any way.
Which brings me to the issue I have with this book: While there are some interesting tidbits about tennis in the 1980s, much of the book is made up of yellow press gossip, and Bodo's own - VERY frustrating - notions on not only the the game and politics of tennis in the 80s, but also included his own judgement of the private lives of players, which was incredibly biased. And when I say biased, I do mean full of patronising, imperialist, sexist, and bigoted comments.
Here are a few examples:
Let's start with an innocent generalisation:
"Professional tennis players are rarely well-rounded individuals. Many of them are result-oriented, rule-addled, lavishly compensated victims of a totalitarian way of life."
Not to mention the constant assumptions about people's motivations or state of mind:
A few years ago Steffi Graf bought a lavish duplex in a new, fashionable building near Union Square in Manhattan. This was a remarkable choice for a thoroughly German girl going on twenty-three whose only other personal residence was a room upstairs in the enormous house she built for her family in her native Bruehl, Germany—a room that her agent Phil De Picciotto once described as “a really, really neat room.”
And don't get me started on what the hell he might supposed would be more "appropriate" for a "thoroughly German girl"...
But while we are at it, let's look at more national stereotyping:
This was not the only fashion error promulgated by Adidas, the German company that once produced tasteful, bold, and above all sporty clothes for characters as different as Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase. At about the same time that what-you-see-is-what-you-get Stef, Citizen Stef, was dressed like a walking Rorschach test, Adidas had leggy, petloving, family-centric Steffi Graf wearing shirts that came directly from the Salvador Dali school of design. One of those shirts appeared to be made from strands of genetic material, suggesting that maybe the Germans were up to their old tricks again, trying to revive some Uberfrau theme from their dark past.
This is the point where I would like to call the author a few names, but there is more (oh, so much more...)
Australians, whose only conscious national dogma is informality, like to call their nation “Oz.” Being a literal bunch, the Aussies don’t appreciate how accurate—and funny—that characterization is. But the problem with Oz—or other fantasy lands such as Disney World—is that spending too much time there becomes, well, boring. You might be oblivious to that fundamental fact of life if you live there, but it is brought home dramatically when you visit. Spend enough time in Oz, and you can feel the boredom creeping into your days with tidal consistency. That’s when you realize that there are disadvantages to developing as Australia did, in natural isolation from the peppery cross-influence enjoyed by the other, contiguous continents. On the surface, Australian people seem a lot like Americans. They inhabit a vast, underpopulated nation rich in natural resources and they have a rich store of frontier myths and sprawling suburbs. The Australians exterminated aborigines, the continent’s indigenous people, with a relish that even American settlers were hard put to match. Besides, while walking around in some quaint European city, you could easily mistake an Aussie for a Yank at fifty yards. They share an affinity for ghastly T-shirts, short pants, white socks pulled up to the knee, and running shoes that allow you to see if not hear them coming from a mile away. Australians surf. They drink beer. They barbecue. They drink beer. They like their own elementary version of football (Aussie rules). And they like to live in one-story, ranch-style houses with big garages and little windows that look out on identical setups where other people barbecue and drink beer.
Still with me?
There was a point during this part of the book where I still thought that maybe Bodo just wanted be cheeky-charming. It obviously didn't work.
Where I completely lost it with Bode, tho, was when he honed in on Women's tennis, the WTA, Billie Jean King's sexuality, oh and Martina Navratilova's too, you know, because the public portrayal of their personal lives is so erosive to the sport, whereas male players are mere eccentircs.
Let me make this clear: I don't object to the mention of elements of the personal lives of players, but the chapters didn't contain anything worthwhile - absolutely NOTHING - about tennis.
I should have thrown in the towel on this book when Bodo commented as follows on King's match against Bobby Riggs as follows:
"On that day, Billie Jean probably got 80 percent of the American population momentarily interested in something that was marginally about tennis. And that is a heck of an achievement.
But the important question is: Was that Battle of the Sexes a significant event in the growth of tennis and society’s march toward equality and female empowerment, or was it a chimerical happening that evaporated not long after the last ball was struck?"
The above are just a few of the passages that I had a problem with. There were many, many more, that I don't want to bore you with.
Overall, Bodo makes a lot of statements and assumptions, but few of them seem to be discussing issues from any perspectives other than his own bias. And trying to save his insults with a paragraph or two about how great certain players are does nothing to rehabilitate his self-congratulatory, dumbass comments, because the statement that they are or were great players does not require Bodo's validation - their respective titles and match records evidence this already.
Where I live, spring has finally sprung, and this means tennis season is back on. I usually try to read a tennis themed book in the run up to the European season, and today it just felt right to chill my tennis-tired bones after two days of matches (who doesn't go over-board on the first chance of playing outdoors?!) with an attempt to finish off some current reads. One of those was Peter Bodo's The Courts of Babylon, first published in 1995.
I usually like to start of my reviews with a quote, but in this case I simply could not find any meaningful, witty, or interesting quote that was not offensive in any way.
Which brings me to the issue I have with this book: While there are some interesting tidbits about tennis in the 1980s, much of the book is made up of yellow press gossip, and Bodo's own - VERY frustrating - notions on not only the the game and politics of tennis in the 80s, but also included his own judgement of the private lives of players, which was incredibly biased. And when I say biased, I do mean full of patronising, imperialist, sexist, and bigoted comments.
Here are a few examples:
Let's start with an innocent generalisation:
"Professional tennis players are rarely well-rounded individuals. Many of them are result-oriented, rule-addled, lavishly compensated victims of a totalitarian way of life."
Not to mention the constant assumptions about people's motivations or state of mind:
A few years ago Steffi Graf bought a lavish duplex in a new, fashionable building near Union Square in Manhattan. This was a remarkable choice for a thoroughly German girl going on twenty-three whose only other personal residence was a room upstairs in the enormous house she built for her family in her native Bruehl, Germany—a room that her agent Phil De Picciotto once described as “a really, really neat room.”
And don't get me started on what the hell he might supposed would be more "appropriate" for a "thoroughly German girl"...
But while we are at it, let's look at more national stereotyping:
This was not the only fashion error promulgated by Adidas, the German company that once produced tasteful, bold, and above all sporty clothes for characters as different as Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase. At about the same time that what-you-see-is-what-you-get Stef, Citizen Stef, was dressed like a walking Rorschach test, Adidas had leggy, petloving, family-centric Steffi Graf wearing shirts that came directly from the Salvador Dali school of design. One of those shirts appeared to be made from strands of genetic material, suggesting that maybe the Germans were up to their old tricks again, trying to revive some Uberfrau theme from their dark past.
This is the point where I would like to call the author a few names, but there is more (oh, so much more...)
Australians, whose only conscious national dogma is informality, like to call their nation “Oz.” Being a literal bunch, the Aussies don’t appreciate how accurate—and funny—that characterization is. But the problem with Oz—or other fantasy lands such as Disney World—is that spending too much time there becomes, well, boring. You might be oblivious to that fundamental fact of life if you live there, but it is brought home dramatically when you visit. Spend enough time in Oz, and you can feel the boredom creeping into your days with tidal consistency. That’s when you realize that there are disadvantages to developing as Australia did, in natural isolation from the peppery cross-influence enjoyed by the other, contiguous continents. On the surface, Australian people seem a lot like Americans. They inhabit a vast, underpopulated nation rich in natural resources and they have a rich store of frontier myths and sprawling suburbs. The Australians exterminated aborigines, the continent’s indigenous people, with a relish that even American settlers were hard put to match. Besides, while walking around in some quaint European city, you could easily mistake an Aussie for a Yank at fifty yards. They share an affinity for ghastly T-shirts, short pants, white socks pulled up to the knee, and running shoes that allow you to see if not hear them coming from a mile away. Australians surf. They drink beer. They barbecue. They drink beer. They like their own elementary version of football (Aussie rules). And they like to live in one-story, ranch-style houses with big garages and little windows that look out on identical setups where other people barbecue and drink beer.
Still with me?
There was a point during this part of the book where I still thought that maybe Bodo just wanted be cheeky-charming. It obviously didn't work.
Where I completely lost it with Bode, tho, was when he honed in on Women's tennis, the WTA, Billie Jean King's sexuality, oh and Martina Navratilova's too, you know, because the public portrayal of their personal lives is so erosive to the sport, whereas male players are mere eccentircs.
Let me make this clear: I don't object to the mention of elements of the personal lives of players, but the chapters didn't contain anything worthwhile - absolutely NOTHING - about tennis.
I should have thrown in the towel on this book when Bodo commented as follows on King's match against Bobby Riggs as follows:
"On that day, Billie Jean probably got 80 percent of the American population momentarily interested in something that was marginally about tennis. And that is a heck of an achievement.
But the important question is: Was that Battle of the Sexes a significant event in the growth of tennis and society’s march toward equality and female empowerment, or was it a chimerical happening that evaporated not long after the last ball was struck?"
The above are just a few of the passages that I had a problem with. There were many, many more, that I don't want to bore you with.
Overall, Bodo makes a lot of statements and assumptions, but few of them seem to be discussing issues from any perspectives other than his own bias. And trying to save his insults with a paragraph or two about how great certain players are does nothing to rehabilitate his self-congratulatory, dumbass comments, because the statement that they are or were great players does not require Bodo's validation - their respective titles and match records evidence this already.
January 23, 2012
More like a 2.5. This book had its good points. In general Bodo is a good writer. And I liked the chapter on Boris Becker. And it was interesting to see behind the scenes of an era when I was either following tennis but too young/naive to be aware of what was going on behind the curtain, or not following tennis. But it is a little dated. (Forex, it's hard to talk about minorities on the tour, esp. the women's tour, without mentioning the Williams sisters. But Bodo couldn't really do that because it was mostly in the future — Venus (the older sister) was just starting to play when this was written.)
And when he talked about the women's tour, well, it was very unpleasant. The idea that it was an unhealthy environment for young players because of the pressures of money and the tension, well, probably not unfounded. But there was a distinct subtext — hell, subtext is probably being a little too kind — that "there's a conspiracy on the women's tour to make young girls into warped lesbians, who are warped." (Also, there was the implication that it's okay for dudes to be gay, as long as they were discreet about it. But lesbians? Noooooooo. I can believe that Bodo didn't mean to go there but he kind of did.)
Bodo does know his tennis history. The US Open and its site still kind of deserve all the criticisms he throws at it. And competitive depth on the women's tour is still kind of an issue, though I like to think it's improving just now.
The chapter on Lendl was interesting, since he's coaching Andy Murray right now. Also, I had no idea that Lendl had some involvement with the Hartford Whalers and that he gave advice to Czech hockey players who were thinking of coming to the States to play in the NHL. That was cool to read.
This has an index but it doesn't have a bibliography. There are partial in-text citations for many things but ... meh. I'm persnickety that way; bibliographies are important. >.>
And when he talked about the women's tour, well, it was very unpleasant. The idea that it was an unhealthy environment for young players because of the pressures of money and the tension, well, probably not unfounded. But there was a distinct subtext — hell, subtext is probably being a little too kind — that "there's a conspiracy on the women's tour to make young girls into warped lesbians, who are warped." (Also, there was the implication that it's okay for dudes to be gay, as long as they were discreet about it. But lesbians? Noooooooo. I can believe that Bodo didn't mean to go there but he kind of did.)
Bodo does know his tennis history. The US Open and its site still kind of deserve all the criticisms he throws at it. And competitive depth on the women's tour is still kind of an issue, though I like to think it's improving just now.
The chapter on Lendl was interesting, since he's coaching Andy Murray right now. Also, I had no idea that Lendl had some involvement with the Hartford Whalers and that he gave advice to Czech hockey players who were thinking of coming to the States to play in the NHL. That was cool to read.
This has an index but it doesn't have a bibliography. There are partial in-text citations for many things but ... meh. I'm persnickety that way; bibliographies are important. >.>
September 22, 2015
The good content here is great (lots of interesting background information on players I wasn't previously familiar with; plenty of lol-worthy quotations from my beloved John McEnroe), but as a whole: kind of a mess. This probably would have been better served as an essay collection situating notable players within broader contexts of the sport/their respective social circles and cultures rather than as a weak attempt to structure a cohesive whole about the state of tennis. Some of the attempts at sociopolitical analysis (esp about gender) would have been better off neglected as well.
Also, it's just weird to read a 20-year-old book about tennis, given how much has changed in the sport in my lifetime -- especially in the women's sport and the major deterioration of US men's tennis. Not a lot of the predictions encoded here have proven true. It's also awkward to read something written about the stabbing of Monica Seles so shortly after the incident as a person who, you know, knows how that whole thing played out/became entrenched over the course of the last two decades.
Also, it's just weird to read a 20-year-old book about tennis, given how much has changed in the sport in my lifetime -- especially in the women's sport and the major deterioration of US men's tennis. Not a lot of the predictions encoded here have proven true. It's also awkward to read something written about the stabbing of Monica Seles so shortly after the incident as a person who, you know, knows how that whole thing played out/became entrenched over the course of the last two decades.
September 16, 2024
I wanted to love this book more thinking it a trip back through the greats and great moments of tennis. The author seemed to want a bit too much. It sometimes reads like an encyclopedia and become more animated with sections on players he knew well. There is subjectivity that creeps in at times (like Monica Seles stabbing, Capriatti’s disappearance) and hints of drug use and other improprieties. While you’ll feel the familiar pride of seeing Ashe and Williams lead the way in racial boundary moving. The women who tirelessly worked for equality on the women’s circuit - King, Shriver, Austin, and many others including some major corporations. We walked through the halls at the Grand Slams - Australian (which was once the domineering country with Laver, Court, Goolagong, and more, Wimbledon - the most traditional of the slams played on grass, the clay courts of the French Open which required an entirely different style of play, and the scrappy but prestigious U.S.Open in New York on hard-courts. We meet the bad boys of the 70’s and 80’s circuits - McEnroe, Connors, Borg, Nastase, Llendl.and all their rivalries especially between McEnroe and Bjorg and the greatest women’s rivalry of all time - Evert and Navratilova. The author drifts into some anti-tennis academy rants at the end blaming them for some of the problems such as the rebellious Agassi. All the greats are here until say, Pete Sampras, the Williams sisters, Andy Murray and more. It certainly needs an update…and perhaps a re-write.
July 8, 2022
The pleasure of revisiting tennis figures and stories of my youth is well outweighed by creaky humor and cretinous focus on “lesbianism”; more like 1.5
August 22, 2014
My only experience with Peter Bodo's writings is from some of his articles for "tennis.com". And I will be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed with his skills as a writer or as an analyst. I was a bit baffled by it considering his name is popular and synonymous with tennis journalism. I assumed, like with Nirmal Shekar of the Hindu/Sportsstar,that perhaps his best was behind him ?
Therefore, it is with some surprise and relief that I report that "Courts of babylon" is very interesting. The book deals with the tennis era from the 70s (from the dawn of the modern pro tour) till 1994. Incidentally, this was about the time I became a tennis nut and attempted to read everything I could about the game (I saw my first match in 1990 and saw a few Grand Slam matches on and off in 1992 and 1993) But living where I did (Coimbatore, India), the only books I could get hold of where the official Wimbledon books and biographies. ( One of these was of a young Boris Becker (Was it written by Ion Tiriac ?)The other was of Arthur Ashe. Anyway,I ramble. )
Dealing with a wide range of topics (though sadly in a haphazard order. For instance, the first chapters deals with the golden generation of Australian players beginning with the Lavers and ending with Pat Cash,an analysis of what made them tick as a nation and their subsequent decline. It then jumps in the second chapter, without much reason, to Ivan Lendl and then makes a quick detour to "perks of the tennis community) Peter Bodo races through, very entertainingly, some of the major personalities and legends of game (including Borg, Mc.Enroe, Connors, Evert, Navratilova, Becker, Evert, Billie Jean King while other greats who have been forgotten such as Mats Wilander, Evonne Gollagong, Cash (his volleys, according to P.B. are belong in the top three of all time - the other two being Edberg and McEnroe) are also dealt with), some of the major issues which plagued the game in those two decades (and in some cases, still plague the game) - age limits, prize money, the unique problems within the women's tour, sportsmanship, Davis Cup,scheduling dictated by TV etc).
P.B isn't perfectly unbiased in these analysis. For instance, he is clearly a big fan of Chris Evert (raving about her self control and dignity and "feminism" on and off the court) while he is more than a little uncharitable with the likes of Billie Jean King. (In the case of Billie Jean King and Navratilova, more than a few pages are devoted to their sordid personal lives. Though to be fair, this is also the case with Evert and most of the others) At other times, he rants repeatedly about how at one time the women's tour was controlled by the lesbian mafia (I don't remember if he calls them that but he does refer to them with similar terms) claiming of rumors of attempts to force (overtly and covertly) straight players into lesbianism. (the example of Andrea Jaeger is given here)
There are some fun passages on Wimbledon and the weird bureaucracy and rules which were prevalent there and the chapter on Borg is full of quirky observations about the player and his increasingly weird entourage. (two ballerinas, a secretary, a 79 yr old self described master of martial arts and shiatsu massage, who is referred to by Borg as "the professor") There is also a nice and appreciative chapter on Boom boom Boris. (Of course this was before later events in his life - his eventual divorce, cupboard sex, tax evasion etc)
It would have been fun to see an updated version of this book though. What, for instance, does he think about the sportsmanship and friendliness shown on the men's and women's tour now ? The bonhomie and grace shown by the likes of Nadal and Djokovic easily belongs to the amateur era). (he does touch upon this when he talks about the decent, well behaved American generation of the early 90s - Sampras, Courier, Agassi, Chang, Todd Martin etc). What does he think of "feminism" on the tour now ? How about a chapter on the Spaniards ?
All said, this is a must read for fans of the game.
Therefore, it is with some surprise and relief that I report that "Courts of babylon" is very interesting. The book deals with the tennis era from the 70s (from the dawn of the modern pro tour) till 1994. Incidentally, this was about the time I became a tennis nut and attempted to read everything I could about the game (I saw my first match in 1990 and saw a few Grand Slam matches on and off in 1992 and 1993) But living where I did (Coimbatore, India), the only books I could get hold of where the official Wimbledon books and biographies. ( One of these was of a young Boris Becker (Was it written by Ion Tiriac ?)The other was of Arthur Ashe. Anyway,I ramble. )
Dealing with a wide range of topics (though sadly in a haphazard order. For instance, the first chapters deals with the golden generation of Australian players beginning with the Lavers and ending with Pat Cash,an analysis of what made them tick as a nation and their subsequent decline. It then jumps in the second chapter, without much reason, to Ivan Lendl and then makes a quick detour to "perks of the tennis community) Peter Bodo races through, very entertainingly, some of the major personalities and legends of game (including Borg, Mc.Enroe, Connors, Evert, Navratilova, Becker, Evert, Billie Jean King while other greats who have been forgotten such as Mats Wilander, Evonne Gollagong, Cash (his volleys, according to P.B. are belong in the top three of all time - the other two being Edberg and McEnroe) are also dealt with), some of the major issues which plagued the game in those two decades (and in some cases, still plague the game) - age limits, prize money, the unique problems within the women's tour, sportsmanship, Davis Cup,scheduling dictated by TV etc).
P.B isn't perfectly unbiased in these analysis. For instance, he is clearly a big fan of Chris Evert (raving about her self control and dignity and "feminism" on and off the court) while he is more than a little uncharitable with the likes of Billie Jean King. (In the case of Billie Jean King and Navratilova, more than a few pages are devoted to their sordid personal lives. Though to be fair, this is also the case with Evert and most of the others) At other times, he rants repeatedly about how at one time the women's tour was controlled by the lesbian mafia (I don't remember if he calls them that but he does refer to them with similar terms) claiming of rumors of attempts to force (overtly and covertly) straight players into lesbianism. (the example of Andrea Jaeger is given here)
There are some fun passages on Wimbledon and the weird bureaucracy and rules which were prevalent there and the chapter on Borg is full of quirky observations about the player and his increasingly weird entourage. (two ballerinas, a secretary, a 79 yr old self described master of martial arts and shiatsu massage, who is referred to by Borg as "the professor") There is also a nice and appreciative chapter on Boom boom Boris. (Of course this was before later events in his life - his eventual divorce, cupboard sex, tax evasion etc)
It would have been fun to see an updated version of this book though. What, for instance, does he think about the sportsmanship and friendliness shown on the men's and women's tour now ? The bonhomie and grace shown by the likes of Nadal and Djokovic easily belongs to the amateur era). (he does touch upon this when he talks about the decent, well behaved American generation of the early 90s - Sampras, Courier, Agassi, Chang, Todd Martin etc). What does he think of "feminism" on the tour now ? How about a chapter on the Spaniards ?
All said, this is a must read for fans of the game.
June 24, 2013
This was the culmination of my June "tennis" month (which somehow bled into July). Of all the tennis-related books for the month, this was my favourite. One reason is that I love Peter Bodo's writing--all the years of devouring his articles for Tennis Magazine, I guess. Another reason is that as a "baby boomer" like Peter, my interest in all things tennis started a couple of years after the 1968 start of the Open Era, so reading this book was like taking a walk down memory lane; recalling names I had forgotten and then re-living the memories of watching them play, either in person or in televised tournaments as well as remembering the feats (and sometimes, fits) of those more well-known players of the Golden Age. I was especially pleased that Mr. Bodo chose to devote a chapter to Evonne Goolagong, my all-time favourite player on the Women's Circuit. Hers wasn't a power game, but she manifested beauty, grace, and natural athleticism on the court that gave me the same joy as watching the finest prima ballerina on a lighted stage. She was (and is) a down-to-earth, lovely person off court as well; never influenced by her fame and wealth. I agree with Peter that the only other person who could be her equal as far as a good role model on and off court during that period of time is the late Arthur Ashe, also a person of great dignity, grace, and ethical excellence.
It's all there, both the good and the not-so-good (sometimes downright bad) history of the world of tennis from 1968 until the book was published in 1995; a time of transition when tennis went from being a gentlemanly game to being big business, from being on the court to promote the good of the game and having a certain camaraderie with your "mates", to being a carnival-like atmosphere with shows of bad sportsmanship, outrageous behaviour, and bad fashion sense . One of the sadder moments was reading the details of the scandal that ultimately brought the professional career of the great Guillermo Vilas to a premature end. He became a scapegoat--described in the book, so I won't go into detail. He was well-liked, a graceful and qualified player who, unlike his coach Ion Tiriac, never caused problems on or off the court. Vilas was gracious and never had the "bad boy" reputation of other contemporary players. I met him personally and had the enjoyment of watching him play several years in a row at a Volvo tournament in the early to mid-seventies.
If you are a tennis fanatic and/or baby boomer, or would just enjoy learning some interesting facts about sports history, this would be a good start. If you are too young to have been around at the time, this may seem somewhat dated, but it is a pretty accurate telling of the tennis scene during that period.
One startling inaccuracy that I came across at the end of the book was mention of Mr. Bodo's mention of attending a memorial service in NYC for Arthur Ashe in the winter of 1992, followed by a funeral in his hometown of Richmond, VA. a few days later. This must be a lapse of memory, as Mr. Ashe's date of death was February 6, 1993
It's all there, both the good and the not-so-good (sometimes downright bad) history of the world of tennis from 1968 until the book was published in 1995; a time of transition when tennis went from being a gentlemanly game to being big business, from being on the court to promote the good of the game and having a certain camaraderie with your "mates", to being a carnival-like atmosphere with shows of bad sportsmanship, outrageous behaviour, and bad fashion sense . One of the sadder moments was reading the details of the scandal that ultimately brought the professional career of the great Guillermo Vilas to a premature end. He became a scapegoat--described in the book, so I won't go into detail. He was well-liked, a graceful and qualified player who, unlike his coach Ion Tiriac, never caused problems on or off the court. Vilas was gracious and never had the "bad boy" reputation of other contemporary players. I met him personally and had the enjoyment of watching him play several years in a row at a Volvo tournament in the early to mid-seventies.
If you are a tennis fanatic and/or baby boomer, or would just enjoy learning some interesting facts about sports history, this would be a good start. If you are too young to have been around at the time, this may seem somewhat dated, but it is a pretty accurate telling of the tennis scene during that period.
One startling inaccuracy that I came across at the end of the book was mention of Mr. Bodo's mention of attending a memorial service in NYC for Arthur Ashe in the winter of 1992, followed by a funeral in his hometown of Richmond, VA. a few days later. This must be a lapse of memory, as Mr. Ashe's date of death was February 6, 1993
January 16, 2016
I love tennis. I love playing it, watching it, talking about it and reading about it. I also love Pete Bodo's articles on Tennis.com, and so I was slightly disappointed not to enjoy this book as much I thought I would. Large parts of it were really interesting, and in retrospect these were the "gossipy" parts - fascinating insights into the lives and characters of players like John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati. But I found myself skimming through the long passages and chapters on the politics and structure of the game. I was initially surprised by this, as I would normally find the "inside" story interesting, but I think the problem was that this book is too out of date now for much of that to be very relevant. I feel bad for only giving three stars based on that, as it's hardly Bodo's fault that I read his book twenty years after he wrote it, and it certainly won't put me off reading more of his books.
July 29, 2012
The author had some pretty obvious prejudices, which made for an annoying read. Some parts were interesting but early on he set the tone and I couldn't shake the feeling that I just didn't like the guy. made it hard to be on board with a lot of his facts as they were mostly thinly-veiled personal opinions.
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February 13, 2016
Always interesting to read an insider's view of pro tennis. This was written in the mid 90s and a lot has changed since then. Nevertheless, this one holds up well.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews