Barty: Power and Glory

by Ron Reed

This is a book is a biography about Australian tennis player Ashleigh Barty. It explains how she won her first grand slam and became world no. 1 for the first time.

202 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Susan Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Power and Glory Barty was compiled by Ron Reed with contributions from Linda Pearce and Chris McLeod. Ron Reed is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected sportswriters and felt Ashleigh Barty’s rise from relative obscurity to the number 1 player in the world in a few short years, after taking an extended break, needed to be recorded and celebrated. The other two writers are also experienced journalists.

Unfortunately, having three writers contribute means there’s quite a lot of overlap creating repetition. Nevertheless, it’s good that Reed has taken the time to compile the information from many sources and brought it together in book form for posterity. Barty’s story is remarkable in two ways – her success on the tennis court and her attitude. All three contributors write about both. The book finishes towards the end of 2019, which as it turned out, was a good place to finish as Ash missed most of 2020 due to the coronavirus.

Ash Barty seems to have had no input into this biography, instead, the information has been collected from interviews at the end of her matches throughout her career and also from interviews with her coaches, friends and family. If someone has followed Ash’s career closely, they will find very little that is new in the book.

Overall a good read, but more beneficial for those who are less familiar with Ash’s career.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good background read for this incredible female player!

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done Ash, and as we now know, more big wins were to come after this was written.

[Jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers in saying that there is quite a bit of overlap between the different authors, plus the fact Ash doesn't really have an input in the writing - it's a lot of quoting from writers that know her well. Her story is well told, just that it flows a little disjointed, and repetitively at times when you read the same thing told again. Then there are the many misspelt player surnames - I almost felt like I was going to get every combination of misspelling. It could well be that they don't come up in spell-check but if you're going to publish something - do it right.

[Made._.Moiselle · Rating 2 out of 5]

You write a book about a tennis player, surely it's not that hard to get the names (or country of origin) of her opponents right??
The last part is also a bit repetitive, you might as well read Ash's Wikipedia page.

[Dylan Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lazy editing, unnecessary comments about other players and incorrect spelling of athletes as easy as Serena Williams. If you want to learn about Ash Barty in a way she deserves, make sure to check out her autobiography "My Dream Time" which is a much more valuable use of your time.