From Publishers Weekly
Next in the I Remember... series is I Remember Arthur Ashe, a collection of firsthand accounts by friends, colleagues, coaches, journalists and others acquainted with Ashe in any number of ways. Edited by sportswriter Mike Towle, the book addresses not only the rarefied world of the tennis champion, but also the interplay between celebrity and race politics. Ashe, raised in a Southern, middle-class family and winner at Wimbledon and the U.S. and Australian Open tournaments, used his fame to spread awareness of apartheid and AIDS. The people who knew him lovingly chronicle his inspiring life. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Arthur Ashe grew up in segregated Richmond, Virginia. By the age of six he demonstrated a natural gift for tennis, a sport historically dominated by whites. Ashe later attended UCLA on a tennis scholarship, winning the 1965 NCAA individual championship and leading the Bruins to the team title. Two years earlier, in 1963, he had broken down a social barrier as the first of his race selected to represent the United States in Davis Cup play. In 1968 he won the U.S. Open. Just one year later, Ashe joined with several other tennis pros to form the Association of Tennis Professionals, an organization that remains one of the most influential sports bodies in the world." "Denied a visa to play in the South African Open in 1969, he called for the boycott of South Africa by the tennis tour and in Davis Cup play, a moment that raised the world's awareness of the evils of apartheid. Throughout his tennis career, Ashe excelled as a tennis player, winning the 1970 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1975." "Ashe retired from tennis in 1980, by which time he had already undergone the first of two heart surgeries. During the second surgery, in 1983, he was given a blood transfusion contaminated by the AIDS virus, a condition that ultimately took his life on February 6, 1993." "Here dozens of peers, friends, family, and others close to him offer their favorite memories of a great man and champion whose legacy still lives."--BOOK JACKET.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly