I was vaguely familiar with Arthus Ashe after reading, Kaffir Boy, and Open. I was primarily familiar with him in regards to being a fantastic tennis player, and being the first black tennis player to win wimbleton. I was unprepared for the fascinating view into his life. He speaks little of his tennis achievements and accomplishments, little time reviewing his rise to glory, or the accompanying praise. He spends much of the book talking about the conflict of racism that has such a huge impact on blacks and other people of color. His outlook on life is really interesting. He addresses growing up in segregated Richmond, politely going to the white people's tennis courts which were much better cared for, and asking for permission to play on those courts, or permission granted to play in white's only clubs and tournaments, and being politely denied due to laws that existed that insisted that it wasn't possible. And yet, he ponders that he never became involved as an advocate for blacks rights during the civil rights movement. His first involvement came as an advocate to terminate apartheid in South Africa, many years after the civil rights fight. After he became an advocate, he continued for the rest of his life. He speaks of his morality a lot. He advocated fidelity in marriage, maintaining that he stayed true to his wife the entire 15-20 year so of their marriage, which he acknowledged is not often the case in his profile sports stars. His reasoning he states, is that he considers having an affair as an act of violence against oneself and ones best interests. He is a huge advocate of families, his logic and reasoning taking in the affect that slavery had on families as one of the most devastating factors of the most devastating practice. He talks extensively on many different levels about the role of family. Most interesting to me is the way he found peace and satisfaction in his life when he was diagnosed with AIDS, transmitted by a blood transfusion, at a time when AIDS was considered so reprehensible a disease. I enjoyed that his autobiography talked about what he believed and why based on his life, and that he didn't relive his glory days. It was as if it was his last great effort at trying to educate and inspire people to live a better life. The last chapter, his last letter to his daughter, who was six when he died, is very thoughtful and admirable.I really enjoyed reading about his important life.
Of all the athletes with personal narratives worth being told, Arthur Ashe's has got to be among the most compelling - his life struck me as full of mind-boggling contradictions. He achieved success in a notoriously white, upper-crust sport despite having been unable to play on many of the courts where he grew up, in heavily segregated Virginia. A Wimbledon champion, he had his first heart attack at the age of 36. He participated prominently in the anti-apartheid movement while harboring a sense of guilt for having been a passive participant, at best, in the civil rights movement in his own country. His was one of the earliest celebrity AIDS activists, yet might never have assumed this role had he not been effectively "outted" for his own condition by the USA Today.Ashe's personal narrative is fascinating, and his comments on contemporary issues of politics, race, gender, and particularly the intersection of those topics as relating to athletics, are sharp and well-constructed. With all that said, much of Days of Grace felt like a brain dump to me. It isn't that these discourses are bad - far from it. But the emotional 'oomph' behind the narrative of a man writing to a family he knew that he'd soon leave behind gets lost in many of the pages.All that said, a solid book where the great character of the author is always evident.
What do You think about Days Of Grace: A Memoir (1993)?
I loved this book. While i disagreed with some of Arthurs views, the work he did before and after being diagnosed with AIDS is astounding. To be sentenced to death with not long to live and to want to dedicate that time to others he felt less fortunate (or as unfurtunate) as himself is nothing short of inspiring. He covers a bit of tennis in the book but if anything this shows that Arthur was much more than a grand slam champion, the person he was off the court was so much more inspiring than anything he could have done on one. A true old fashioned gentleman, and an inspiration, epsecially in times like these
—Nigel Carroll
This well written memoir leaves many people that aren't even tennis fans becoming fans of this great and mighty man. It seems that Arthur Ashe is not a good tennis player, spokesman, icon, protester of apartheid, announcer, and person with aids, but he is also a prestigious writer. This book is about Arthur Ashe, and his journey to find a cure, and the countdown to his death. Arthur told USA today following his test after that he knew the whole world knew he had AIDS, "No matter what I do, or where or when I do it, I feel the eyes of others on me, judging me". His life drastically changed, and so did his family. He did not back down though he wanted to have a reputation for helping the world because for him his reputation means the most. When talking about what meant the most to him he said, “If one’s reputation is a possession, then of all my possessions, my reputation means most to me”. His whole book is based on trying to get his reputation to the best it can be by helping the community, and being the best player and person he can be.He not only talks about tennis, and AIDS but he also takes about apartheid. Growing up in the south he saw, and felt segregation. When he grew up he wanted to try, and stop segregation in not only america, but in other countries like South Africa. He wanted to take an activists role because he felt that sports players weren't being activists in society. He said that he didn't want to, "clownish roles of tennis players and other athletes". He wanted to help the world, and he did.I recommend this book to people who like sports, specifically tennis.
—Case Videler
4.5 would be my actual rating ( I would have given it a 5 star rating if it hadn't seemed overly long). This is far more than a "tennis" book. Although we learn many interesting things from Mr. Ashe's illustrious tennis career, the book is much, much more. Arthur Ashe was an intelligent, deep-thinking, insightful man raised to be a good person in all situations, to show dignity and grace under fire, and was instilled with a love of God and family; he courageously stood up for his beliefs and had no fear of expressing them even when they were unpopular. He covers his thoughts on being a moral person, setting a good example for people of all races, discusses his political views, interest in education, love of humanity as a whole, and many other subjects. While I don't agree with all his views, I definitely believe that Arthur Ashe was a "class act" and his thoughts are well worth reading. He was very frank when imparting information (which at the time was not as well-known as it is 20 years later)about the life-styles of those who are at highest risk of contracting the disease. The letter included to his daughter, Camera was touching
—Deborah
