Scan barcode
A review by delaney572e4
All in: An Autobiography by Billie Jean King
3.0
Content warnings: eating disorders, homophobia, rape and sexual assault, parental abuse
First of all, let me get a few things out of the way. One: Billie Jean King is an exceptional woman. In tennis and in activism, she is astonishing. Second: I think as a historical record, this book is really important. Having her life documented, in her own words and in such a thorough way, is necessary and is a gift to historians. However, the extent that this book makes for entertaining reading is less so.
It’s not that I wasn’t entertained, necessarily. There were plenty of interesting pieces of the book. But I wouldn’t say that it flowed well. Her life story is constantly interjected by her personal stances on civil rights issues. And while both of those parts are good individually, they don’t necessarily mesh well in this book, holding one another back. Plus, in many ways, the book is just plain dense.
If you are interested in a broad understanding of how social and civil rights issues have progressed over the last 70 years, you do get a lot of it. It is kind of hard to remember just how far we have come in one person’s lifetime. And she does a good job of paying appropriate lip service to all the other activists who have come before and after her, and recognizing what privileges she did have.
Overall, interesting, I would recommend it if you are interested in the history of tennis or activism. But I would also recommend the audiobook on 2x speed.
First of all, let me get a few things out of the way. One: Billie Jean King is an exceptional woman. In tennis and in activism, she is astonishing. Second: I think as a historical record, this book is really important. Having her life documented, in her own words and in such a thorough way, is necessary and is a gift to historians. However, the extent that this book makes for entertaining reading is less so.
It’s not that I wasn’t entertained, necessarily. There were plenty of interesting pieces of the book. But I wouldn’t say that it flowed well. Her life story is constantly interjected by her personal stances on civil rights issues. And while both of those parts are good individually, they don’t necessarily mesh well in this book, holding one another back. Plus, in many ways, the book is just plain dense.
If you are interested in a broad understanding of how social and civil rights issues have progressed over the last 70 years, you do get a lot of it. It is kind of hard to remember just how far we have come in one person’s lifetime. And she does a good job of paying appropriate lip service to all the other activists who have come before and after her, and recognizing what privileges she did have.
Overall, interesting, I would recommend it if you are interested in the history of tennis or activism. But I would also recommend the audiobook on 2x speed.