Arthur Ashe - (Greenwood Biographies) by Richard Steins (Hardcover)

About the Book

Profiles the life story of the great African American tennis playerwho helped break down the racial barriers of tennis and went on to become one of the great champions of the game.

Book Synopsis

Born in the segregated South in 1943, Ashe overcame racial prejudices and segregation to break into the world of tennis, which had traditionally been dominated by whites. He rose to the top of the sport, winning three Grand Slam trophies and playing on the Davis Cup team. His tennis career came to an abrupt end when he suffered a heart attack while in his thirties. Ashe began a post-tennis career that included speaking out on social issues that mattered most to him, including educational excellence for African American athletes, the injustice of the apartheid system in South Africa, and better health care for all Americans. After contracting the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion, he began to speak out on the subject of AIDS in order to help people understand the disease.

After a brilliant career on the tennis court, Ashe devoted the remainder of his life to fighting for social justice at home and abroad and to fighting the illnesses that had struck him while he was still a young man. Steins tells the inspiring story of Arthur Ashe, a great tennis champion whose skills on the court as well as his exceptional and honorable personal characteristics made him stand out among all players of his generation. A timeline and other appendices highlight Ashe's career and life.

Review Quotes

"Steins's biography of Ashe focuses on how the tennis player overcame segregation and racial prejudice to win three Grand Slam trophies and how he fought on behalf of blacks in apartheid South Africa and those suffering from AIDS after the heart problems that ended his tennis career and left him infected with the AIDS virus. In-depth time lines help students understand the significant contributions of the featured subjects....[v]aluable source for student reports." --MultiCultural Review

"Success is a journey, not an outcome. The doing is often more important than the outcome. Sharing Arthur Ashes words and the way he conducted his life is a better model for students than they see in many contemporary tennis pros, whose short tempers and bad manners are often highlighted in the media. Ashes protests against injustice and apartheid and his efforts to raise awareness of AIDS demonstrate his humanitarianism....[a] candidate for the reference shelf in addition to the biographies section. Be sure to provide access to this volume during Black History Month." --Gale Reference for Students

About the Author

Richard Steins is a freelance writer and editor who has written numerous books for young readers. Among his recent publications is Colin Powell: A Biography (Greenwood, 2003).