Martina: The Lives and Times of Martina Navratilova [Hardcover]

Adrianne Blue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1995

227pages. in8. cartonné jaquette.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Navratilova is the most successful, well known, and controversial female athlete since Babe Didrickson Zaharias. She racked up nine Wimbledon singles titles and four U.S. open titles, yet in the endorsement market, which can be more lucrative for athletes than winnings, she was virtually shut out. Why? She is a lesbian and spoke openly and with pride about her life. Navratilova overcame many labels during her career. When she came to the States from her native Czechoslovakia, she was labeled a defector. When rumors about her sexuality surfaced, she was then known as a bisexual defector. As a young player, she won minor titles but never a grand slam event, so she was also pegged as a loser. She overcame them all, and Blue, who lives in London and is a correspondent for the Sunday Times, chronicles her extraordinary growth as both a player and a person. This is not an authorized biography, but Blue points out that Navratilova made no attempt to restrict her access to family, friends, or tennis associates. The result is a fascinating profile of an extraordinary athlete. Wes Lukowsky

Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559723009
• ISBN-13: 978-1559723008
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,320,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Tennis Player Of All Time, September 16, 2005

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Martina: The Lives and Times of Martina Navratilova (Hardcover)

Here both the glorious victories and the struggles of Martina Navratilova are told sparing no detail. Author Adrianne Blue rightly praises her subject for all the tough challenges she has had to overcome and lets us see for ourselves how remarkable this true champion is. I have always admired Navratilova as a player and used to try to imitate her style in the return of serve (but I lacked the sheer power to make it work). I once met her and she was every bit as gracious as a teenager could ever want someone she admired to be. With all that in mind, it's easy to see why I was drawn to this book and why I found the stories of the oncourt victories and offcourt challenges met and overcome to be so inspirational. Martina, when weighed strictly in light of her career on the courts should be an A-list athletic celebrity, but as this book tells, she has had to fight against a number of prejudices just to merit a modicum of popular acclaim. Even Martina's very prowess at times seem to work against her and crowds sometimes booed her victories over bubbly Chris Evert, then the most popular female athlete in the US. I found this book to be both a criticism of the unlevel playing field that still exists in America today and also a celebration of tennis' all-time greatest champion, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to find out more about Martina Navratilova, professional sports, or the undercurrents of exclusion that make it clear winning is not all there is to pop culture acceptance.

3.0 out of 5 stars Title not reflective of content, November 17, 2010

By 

laura - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Martina: The Lives and Times of Martina Navratilova (Hardcover)

The book had interesting tid-bits about Martina's emotional struggle to win in tennis and some details about her personal life. The reader is taken chronologically through her life from her defection to the US, to her rise on the circuit, and then her slow decline into history. The book was average, a little dry and boring at times. The author did a poor job at capturing and projecting Martina's greatness as a woman first and foremost and also as a tennis player.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Knew....., February 27, 2006

By 

Dottie Randazzo "Reader of Everything" (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martina: The Lives and Times of Martina Navratilova (Hardcover)

This is a must read. It is a real interesting story. Well written and amazing. I really enjoyed it.