Days Of Grace: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Arthur Ashe (Author), Arnold Rampersad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1993

The late tennis champion, social activist, and AIDS victim tells his remarkable, courageous story from his career as a black tennis player to his battle against AIDS. 150,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this inspirational, eloquent autobiographical memoir, tennis great Ashe, who died earlier this year, describes his battle against AIDS, which he contracted from a blood transfusion during open-heart surgery, and tells of his struggle against racism. Written with Rampersad, biographer of Langston Hughes, the first-person narrative negates the conventional image of Ashe as cold and aloof, giving us instead a complex, vulnerable, emotional man. The death of his mother when he was six left "an emptiness in my soul." Ashe writes of his dependence on his wife Jeanne and recalls growing up under segregation in Virginia, which motivated his activist opposition to South Africa's apartheid. Politically outspoken, Ashe defends the distribution of condoms in schools, attacks demagogues like Al Sharpton and criticizes "the decline of the African American community" and its "new order . . . based squarely on revenge, not justice, with morality discarded." The volume closes with a deeply moving letter to his six-year-old daughter Camera. Photos. 150,000 first printing; BOMC and QPB alternates.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-An introspective and poignant book that is well-worth reading. With the help of Langston Hughes's biographer, Ashe has written a very absorbing account of his life. He tells of his mother's death when he was six years old and the strong influence of his loving but demanding father that stood him in good stead when he entered the all-white world of tennis in the 1960s. He recounts his athletic career and the difficulties he experienced on the court with players such as John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. But the major portion of the book focuses on the 1980s, during which time he had two heart operations and contracted the AIDS virus via a blood transfusion. Although not a homosexual, Ashe became a sympathetic activist for the gay community. He was very vocal in his last years, speaking out against prejudice towards AIDS victims, racism, apartheid, and U.S. policy towards Haitians wishing to enter this country. This is the inspiring story of a premier athlete and a fine human being who cared passionately about his profession, his family, and the causes he embraced.
Pat Royal, Crossland High School, Camp Springs, MD
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (June 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679423966
• ISBN-13: 978-0679423966
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( A ) > Ashe, Arthur

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MAN OF DIGNITY AND GRACE, September 14, 2000

By 

Dorothy Weiss (ORLANDO, FLORIDA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Days of Grace (Mass Market Paperback)

I met this gentleman briefly. We were travelling on "Southern Airlines" between Atlanta and Birmingham. Both the man and the airline are gone. He was gracious, a man of dignity. As his memoir unfolds one can't help but be inspired by his example of courage, discipline and responsibility. Many knew him as a great tennis champion, but the book reveals the man, a father, a husband, a social activist, a religious spiritual being. It is a poignant testament to a beautiful being. He died of aids contracted through a blood transfusion. Most touching is his letter to his daughter, in which he says," Don't be angry with me if I am not there in person, alive and well, when you need me......... whereever I am when you feel sick at heart and weary of ife, or when you stumble and fall and don't know if you can get up again, think of me. I will be watching and smiling and cheering you on." This is a man who mastered his destiny. The book contains beautiful photos shared by his wife, a gifted photographer. The book is a remarkable legacy to his family and to all who recognize greatness. Excellent and enjoyable reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Beautiful, October 20, 2001

By 

Matthew Warren (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Days of Grace (Mass Market Paperback)

`Days of Grace' is possibly the most moving biography, if not book, I have ever read, by a man whose courage, determination and decency towards fellow man have left me in awe.

The book contains moments of humour, of deep sadness and of joy, and throughout there is a vein of truthfulness that is unparalleled in anything I have ever read. The experiences that Ashe had in his life were so many and so varied, from the highs of winning three Grand Slam's to falling ill to heart disease and AIDS. His relationships with his parents, his wife and daughter, tennis players including Connors and McEnroe, and with his peers in segregated Virginia are all explored thoughtfully and with careful reflection.

In short, Ashe's book offers an account of his life, his beliefs and his final thoughts on the world and his life. Ashe triumphed in sport to become wealthy and well known, but suffered from racial prejudice as a child and terrible diseases as an adult. Yet not once did wealth change his outlook or basic lifestyle nor did he give up in the face of racism or death. Instead Ashe took another path, the noble path - he showed deep respect and understanding towards his fellow man, he used his wealth and his disease to help thousands of others and he never lost site of the moral lessons he had learned as child.

`Days of Grace' is a remarkable book from Arthur Ashe, an extraordinary man.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very Powerful, February 6, 2000

By 

A customer "mistermaxxx" (usa) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Days of Grace (Mass Market Paperback)

Arthur Ashe was a class act period.the same can be said of his wife as well.the Brother was very Intelligent and well-spoken and a great tennis player by the way.the thing that really stood out in this book to me was the fact when he said that he could deal with AIDS better than Racism.after reading that part in the book you have to wonder has this country come far at all? MR.Ashe was a well off Man and he was still dealing with Racists views and what not.this is a Man of Strength&Courage.he stood for something.he always gave a 100% in everything he did.this book is very uplifting.