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A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Gr
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Located in: Fairfield, Ohio, United States
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Estimated between Sat, 11 May and Wed, 22 May to 43230
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eBay item number:386432790748
Item specifics
- Condition
- Brand New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
- ISBN-13
- 9780307393951
- Type
- Does not apply
- ISBN
- 9780307393951
- Book Title
- Terrible Splendor : Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played
- Item Length
- 8in
- Publisher
- Crown Publishing Group, T.H.E.
- Publication Year
- 2010
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 0.8in
- Genre
- Biography & Autobiography, Sports & Recreation, History
- Topic
- Tennis, Military / World War II, Sports
- Item Width
- 5.2in
- Item Weight
- 10.4 Oz
- Number of Pages
- 352 Pages
About this product
Product Information
Before Federer versus Nadal, before Borg versus McEnroe, the greatest tennis match ever played pitted the dominant Don Budge against the seductively handsome Baron Gottfried von Cramm. This deciding 1937 Davis Cup match, played on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon, was a battle of titans- the world's number one tennis player against the number two; America against Germany; democracy against fascism. For five superhuman sets, the duo's brilliant shotmaking kept the Centre Court crowd-and the world-spellbound. But the match's significance extended well beyond the immaculate grass courts of Wimbledon. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the brink of World War II, one man played for the pride of his country while the other played for his life. Budge, the humble hard-working American who would soon become the first man to win all four Grand Slam titles in the same year, vied to keep the Davis Cup out of the hands of the Nazi regime. On the other side of the net, the immensely popular and elegant von Cramm fought Budge point for point knowing that a loss might precipitate his descent into the living hell being constructed behind barbed wire back home. Born into an aristocratic family, von Cramm was admired for his devastating good looks as well as his unparalleled sportsmanship. But he harbored a dark secret, one that put him under increasing Gestapo surveillance. And his situation was made even more perilous by his refusal to join the Nazi Party or defend Hitler. Desperately relying on his athletic achievements and the global spotlight to keep him out of the Gestapo's clutches, his strategy was to keep traveling and keep winning. A Davis Cup victory would make him the toast of Germany. A loss might be catastrophic. Watching the mesmerizingly intense match from the stands was von Cramm's mentor and all-time tennis superstar Bill Tilden-a consummate showman whose double life would run in ironic counterpoint to that of his German pupil. Set at a time when sports and politics were inextricably linked, A Terrible Splendor gives readers a courtside seat on that fateful day, moving gracefully between the tennis match for the ages and the dramatic events leading Germany, Britain, and America into global war. A book like no other in its weaving of social significance and athletic spectacle, this soul-stirring account is ultimately a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Crown Publishing Group, T.H.E.
ISBN-10
030739395x
ISBN-13
9780307393951
eBay Product ID (ePID)
6038270322
Product Key Features
Book Title
Terrible Splendor : Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Tennis, Military / World War II, Sports
Publication Year
2010
Genre
Biography & Autobiography, Sports & Recreation, History
Number of Pages
352 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
8in
Item Height
0.8in
Item Width
5.2in
Item Weight
10.4 Oz
Additional Product Features
Lc Classification Number
Gv999.T47 2010
Reviews
"Rich and rewarding…makes a strong claim to greatest-ever status for Budge vs. Cramm in the Davis Cup…Fisher brings a sharp eye for details. He vividly sketches the anything-goes atmosphere of Weimar Berlin [and] turns up details that tennis fans will savor." -Wall Street Journal "Tennis has seen plenty of great matches…but none with the extra-athletic significance of the Budge-Cramm affair…as the match enters its final set, all the narrative pieces lock together andA Terrible Splendorbecomes as engrossing as the contest it portrays...Cramm's life is a movie development deal waiting to happen." -Washington Post "Richly detailed…the story moves from one nail-biting set to the next against a backdrop of improbably high personal and political stakes." -Boston Globe "Vivid…The compelling nature of the match, in tennis terms alone, would be enough to make this a gripping read…But tennis is almost the least interesting element of Fisher's account. For the historic match between the two players took place in London, with the world poised for brutal war and the players bringing all manger of psychological baggage on court with them….[Fisher] shows how sport can stand both outside the 'real world,' and yet remain subject to its dark whims." -Financial Times "Exciting…a thoroughly riveting account of an intense human endeavor…the astonishing, inspiring story of a sports hero who was not merely a heroic tennis player, but a genuinely heroic man." -The Commercial Dispatch "Marshall Jon Fisher has masterfully woven the story of Europe on the edge of war, a man pursued by the Gestapo, and America on the rise into the tale of the greatest tennis match of the century.A Terrible Splendoris tense, tragic, beautifully told, and immensely enjoyable." -Atul Gawande, National Book Award Finalist andNew York Timesbestseller author ofComplicationsandBetter "Forget Federer versus Nadal, and Borg versus McEnroe. Marshall Jon Fisher convincingly demonstrates that the greatest tennis match of all time was Gottried Von Cramm versus Don Budge in the 1937 Davis Cup semifinals. This is one of the best sports books you will ever read. But it's more than a sports book: as absorbing as the drama unfolding on Wimbledon's Centre Court is, it's surpassed by the drama of history swirling outside it. Fisher masterfully weaves biography, history, and sports--and sex and romance and the drums of war--into a thoroughly riveting narrative. Full of ironic twists and astonishing revelations,A Terrible Splendoris a literary triumph." -Scott Stossel, Deputy Editor,Atlantic Monthly "Marshall Jon Fisher has turned a tennis court masterpiece -- American Don Budge versus German Gottfried von Cramm to decide the 1937 Davis Cup -- into a literary masterpiece. Blending their lives with the darkening times, Fisher illuminates bygone cultures in the fascinating tale of a July afternoon in London." -Bud Collins, writer for theBoston Globeand commentator forESPNandTennis Channel "There could be no more disparate characters in any sport than Bib Bill Tilden, Don Budge and Baron Gottfried von Cramm. Marshall Jon Fisher has done a marvelous job of weaving the threads of these three lives together at a time when the world was coming apart and at the moment when Budge and von Cramm were playing in the most important - if not the best - tennis match ever. This is sports history at its finest and most tho
Copyright Date
2010
Dewey Decimal
796.342
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
22
Illustrated
Yes
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eBay item number:386432790748
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