American Tennis

It’s a New Jersey summer in 1967, and thirteen-year-old Ravi Ramanathan has the makings of a tennis prodigy. His surgeon father encourages his ambition, while his mother dreams of their only child following his father’s path. Surrounded by his parents’ love, Ravi chafes a bit at their daily routines and little traditions. Then one unexpected day, everything changes. Realizing how much he took for granted, Ravi must grow up overnight and find a new role in the life of his family.

An unforgettable, illuminating story of how men live and how they survive, from Abraham Verghese, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water, an Oprah's Book Club Pick. “Heartbreaking. . . . Indelible and haunting, [The Tennis Partner] is an...

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech in which he spoke to the nation with these words. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” I believe that a similar statement should have been made in the 60’s by the tennis community. “One day tennis players will be judged not by the color of their skin, but the quality of their tennis abilities.” In the summer of 1960, little did I know that I would play a ...

In The Four Sacred Gifts, visionary international business consultant Anita Sanchez, PhD, reveals the timely prophecy entrusted to her by a global collective of indigenous elders—four guiding gifts that “will allow you to set yourself free to live your most successful life…learn how to...

From her start playing paddle tennis on the streets of Harlem as a young teenager to her eleven Grand Slam tennis wins to her professional golf career, Althea Gibson became the most famous Black sportswoman of the mid-twentieth century. In her unprecedented athletic career, she was the first African American to win titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. In this first full-scale biography, Ashley Brown narrates the public career and private struggles of Althea Gibson (1927–2003).

A captivating chronicle of the pivotal decade in American sports, when the games invaded prime time, and sports moved from the margins to the mainstream of American culture. Every decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in THE BIG TIME, no decade in American sports history...

Betjeman's England is a place of patriotic poets and seaside coves, provincial cathedrals and eccentric dons. For 50 years, Betjeman celebrated the glories of Englishness and what it meant to be English. Against a tide of rapid change, he unearthed forgotten heroes, bygone haunts, and old-fashioned modes of thought. But as this original collection reveals, his appeal goes far beyond simple nostalgia. It lies in his passionate convictions, his humour and his humanity.

Serena Williams began playing tennis when she was just a child and is now an Olympic champion who's won more Grand Slam singles titles than anyone else. Throughout her life she's battled many things, from life-threatening illnesses and sports injuries, to sexism and racism in the tennis world. Now she's an icon in sport, fashion and activism, an inspiration to every young person who has dared to dream big. Extraordinary Lives is a bold, inclusive biography series shining a light on modern and historical figures.