Customer Reviews

A Necessary Spectacle: Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, and the Tennis Match That Leveled the Game

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I loved this book! I'm not a huge tennis fan so as I began reading, I was shocked at how quickly this story pulled me in and kept me fascinated. It's about so much more than tennis. The personalities and motivations of Billie Jean and Bobby were so thoroughly explored that as this spectacle of a match was becoming imminent, I could feel the pressure and the tension that must have been felt not only by them, but by many women and men in the 1970s as gender lines were being tested. This book did a great job of framing the importance of that one event, as circus-like as it was. Billie Jean and Bobby brought discussions of gender roles into people's living rooms that day and the consequences have paved the way for women and for the athletes we cheer on today. "A Necessary Spectacle" gave me new insight. Excellent!

The subtitle of this book 'the Tennis Match that Leveled the Game' isn't quite strong enough. This single match, called the 'Battle of the Sexes' was far, far more than a tennis match, and the aftereffect was far, far more than levelling the tennis game.

For a tennis standpoint, before The Match womens tennis was not a serious sport. The women played, but almost by themselves. The money, the sponsors, television, the fame wasn't there. After it was all there.

From a legal standpoint, The Match put power behind Title IX that required equal funding in schools for men and womens atheletic programs. From the overall women's rights viewpoint The Match was in 1973, so was Row v. Wade.

Ms. Roberts is a sports columnist. This training gives her a newspaper like writing style that is very well suited to the subject she is covering here. The book reads almost like a novel, an excellent novel but also conveys the impact of The Match that changed women's sports forever.

The story is far more thatn just a tale of a well-publicized tennis match. The author went far beyond the game and dealt with the significance of such a "spectacle" in the greater good of asserting credibility to women's sports, which later resulted in Title 9 and enhancing women in professional sports. The story also dealt with the personal battles and struggles of the star players. It is a well-written book that captures the deep attention of the reader and holds it throughout the story. It is an interesting and compelling story even for those who may not be avid sports fans.

Serena has the courage here to take on Bobby Riggs. Frankly, it was about time, people.

It's journalism like this that makes you thankful for the freedom of the press. Serena pulls out all the stops and wields her pen like a mighty mighty sword that skewers Bobby Riggs and masculines like him.

What I like about this book is that we have a journalist of unquestionable character writing facts. Never imposing her will or agenda on the topic, Serena writes with an aplomb for herself. Serena Roberts would never make a claim or supposition or read a situation 100% wrong (except for the Duke Lacrosse Case, give her a break folks, she's human!).

So, while a lot of people like to point out that Ms. Roberts may have her own agenda and jump to conclusions that turn out to be 100% inaccurate, that doesn't make her a bad journalist. The bad journalists are the ones who never take a chance and risk a little something by inserting their opinions and judgments into the story.

Integrity can be regained, people. Selena takes her first step back with this grand tome.

I'VE FOLLOWED BJK'S CAREER SINCE SHE WON HER 1ST WIMBLEDON TITLE IN 1961! THIS BOOK GIVES YOU A VERY CANDID LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF THIS GREAT TENNIS LEGEND, THE STUGGLES SHE FOUGHT BOTH PERSONAL & PUBLIC.
INTERSTING DETAILS ON THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES WITH BOBBY RIGGS AND HIS LIFE.
AN EASY ENJOYABLE READ FOR ANYONE, BUT ESP. FOR TENNIS FANS FROM THE 60'S70'S ON!

Some interesting archaeology about the now nearly forgotten King-Riggs tennis match. Roberts, of the NYT, brings to life how important this thing seemed at the time, even though it all looks decidedly quaint today. Where the author goes off is when she tries to relate this to the federal Title 9 law on equality for women in sports. It's a bit forced, even if valid. Perhaps it's the book's herky-jerky structure that is just not nuanced enough to make this work. She also includes some interesting background about the Williams sisters, the relevance being that they later reaped what Billie Jean King sowed, financially. Maybe so. In the end, Riggs comes off more sympathetic than pathetic, and King is a bit too deified. Still, this is some high quality social history about an episode whose effects still have an echo.

she changed the world that nite. read this to know how.