A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Mat...
Before Federer versus Nadal, before Borg versus McEnroe, the greatest tennis match ever played pitted the dominant Don Budge against the seductivel...
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reviews
Feb 07, 2011
Jui
rated it: 
I wish I could give this book all 5 stars, because the story is great. This book has everything that even a lot of good fictions don't have. I mean if you want to make of any book into a movie, this would be it. An idiom comes to my mind that describes my feeling about this book is that the "Truth (real life) is stranger (more fascinating)than fiction".
There is no sport today where one can say that winning a game is question of death and life, but in 1937 Davis Cup that More...
There is no sport today where one can say that winning a game is question of death and life, but in 1937 Davis Cup that More...
Dec 07, 2010
Goatville9
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 27, 2009
Ivan
rated it:
As I write this review, having only just finished the book, I must confess to a decidedly mixed reaction. The story of the 1937 Davis Cup match between American Don Budge and the German aristocrat Baron Gottfried von Cramm is certainly a compelling one. Indeed, the reportage of the actual championship match between Budge and von Cramm is gripping entertainment, replete with colorful quotations and a fine sense of pacing. However, the author too often falls into the biographer’s trap of regurg
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May 22, 2009
Maureen
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May 31 -- Star Tribune One was a German aristocrat, the epitome of elegance and sportsmanship. The other was a homely American raised on public tennis courts. Between them stood the net at Center Court in Wimbledon and a web of international tension.
“A Terrible Splendor” recounts the 1937 Davis Cup match between the German, Baron Gottfried von Cramm, and the American, Don Budge, set against the gravitational pull of World War II.
Again, an international sporting event would be a pro More...
“A Terrible Splendor” recounts the 1937 Davis Cup match between the German, Baron Gottfried von Cramm, and the American, Don Budge, set against the gravitational pull of World War II.
Again, an international sporting event would be a pro More...
Feb 07, 2012
Trish
rated it:
Very good. I like to absorb my history through the lens of a particular event or people of the time, (a la Seabiscuit) and this book does a great job of it. A bit of a slog through the really tennis-technique-heavy parts, but I was rewarded with a lot more appreciation of game strategy and skill. Much more interesting was the political backdrop of two closeted gay men, one German playing for Germany against his will, one American coaching for Germany in defiance of America in the definitive 1
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Jul 27, 2011
R.B.
rated it: 
This is a fascinating read that blends history, sport, and inspiration. The events in the book are focused primarily in Europe, pre-WWII; but the span of the book reaches from the beginning of tennis to modern day. If the names Bill Tilden, Don Budge, and Gottfried Von Cramm don't mean anything to you, they will when you finish this book.
Marshall Jon Fisher's writing style is lyrical, almost hypnotic at times, and he tells this true story in such a heart-filled way that I was truly s More...
Marshall Jon Fisher's writing style is lyrical, almost hypnotic at times, and he tells this true story in such a heart-filled way that I was truly s More...
May 04, 2011
Gloria
rated it:
(Gift to Matt, who then read it and highly recommended it to me.)
Really enjoyed this book, in that it placed this amazing match in the context of world politics, as well as social mores. I am giving it four stars because of two things, equally divided between the reader and the writer: 1) I glazed over with the amount of details on the actual games, which is completely my shortcoming (still can't figure out accurately the tennis terminology after all these years), and 2) there was so m More...
Really enjoyed this book, in that it placed this amazing match in the context of world politics, as well as social mores. I am giving it four stars because of two things, equally divided between the reader and the writer: 1) I glazed over with the amount of details on the actual games, which is completely my shortcoming (still can't figure out accurately the tennis terminology after all these years), and 2) there was so m More...
Sep 10, 2010
Snail in Danger (Sid)
rated it:
Maybe a little overenthusiastic in the bestowing of stars. Many books try to combine sports and mainstream history/zeitgeist and fail because they make things too simplistic or jingoistic. (War As They Knew It springs to mind as an example.)
This book doesn't fall into that category. I enjoyed it very much. Recommended for all tennis fans and sports history fans. (There's nothing risqué here, but if your mind is too tiny to handle the fact that yes, gay people play sports too, th More...
This book doesn't fall into that category. I enjoyed it very much. Recommended for all tennis fans and sports history fans. (There's nothing risqué here, but if your mind is too tiny to handle the fact that yes, gay people play sports too, th More...
Aug 07, 2010
Eleanor
rated it:
This book has wonderful reviews - and while I found it well researched, I didn't think it was as good as it could have been. The bouncing around (no pun intended) between tennis match, politics, movie stars, personal quips and homosexuality information of the 30's was to jagged for me. I think it could have been better put together and therefore more compelling. Each of the subjects at hand could have been made into a separate book and a separate fantastic book at that --- or somehow melded
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Aug 18, 2011
Yalan
rated it:
An absorbing read on the whole; the author's description of the Davis Cup match that is centric to the book is particularly gripping. However, Fisher does tend to meander into tangents that aren't strictly relevant to the main narrative, which is also slightly repetitive as the book goes on. That all said, this is a very, very well-researched book that quite successfully links together the lives of 3 of tennis' greatest players, Nazi Germany, the onslaught of the Second World War, and what was t
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Jul 24, 2011
Taking the 1937 Davis Cup as a centerpiece, Fisher expands out to the careers of American bumpkin Don Budge and German aristocrat Gottfried von Cramm and the political gray areas of Europe's Long Weekend, especially since von Cramm was married to a von with a Jewish grandmother and also conducting an affair with a gay Jewish actor. If he ever stopped winning, a large file was going to land on Himmer's desk....and finally did.
Sep 06, 2011
Mary
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A great book to read during the U.S.Open. Covering the early greats in tennis, Tilden, von Cramm and Budge, the author focuses on the 1937 Davis cup match at Wimbleton between Budge, the American, and Gottfried von Cramm, the German. There is a whole lot more than tennis is this book since it deals with the international tensions before World War II. This is a very interesting read.
Feb 17, 2011
Britt
rated it:
sidelining the war/wwII history! That was fun. But the book did not really move for me, and it jumped around from each player's life. I got lost on some occasions, maybe that was just my inability to keep up.
I still really liked the epic stage that Fisher set for us, he compelled us to care for each character. Each of them was an underdog in some way.
I still really liked the epic stage that Fisher set for us, he compelled us to care for each character. Each of them was an underdog in some way.
Nov 22, 2009
Jon
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I enjoyed the history , in particular, although I agree with some of the comments that it wasn't particularly well-written. Perhaps the blame could be placed on the editing, though, because I felt it was longer than it needed to be and wandered too much. That said, I really enjoyed reading about the early days of tennis, the Davis Cup, and of course the backstory on Berlin and the buildup to WW2.
Oct 16, 2009
Anna
rated it: 
I'm afraid that my review is less about the writing and more about my attention span. This was a fascinating glimpse of history, but my patience for the details only lasted for about a third of the book. I did find it a bit disjointed, perhaps the writing wasn't up to par after all.
May 16, 2009
If you like tennis, this is a great way to learn more about sports, sex and politics in Europe between the World Wars. It's compulsively readable, and the writer is decent enough to acknowledge his debt to John McPhee's Levels of the Game.
Jan 28, 2011
Larry
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Interesting for a while, but it got very repetitive and tedious. I didn't make it to the end as there really was no question how it turned out for all the people in this non-fiction tale.
Oct 05, 2009
Bob
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Very interesting story of early tennis greats Don Budge (American) and Baron Gottfried von Cramm of Germany, as well as Bill Tilden and some others. WW2, and prejudice against homosexuality play a big part in the story (both Tilden and von Cramm were gay).
It's a shame these players and their big matches are largely forgotten now. With all the talk of Federer being the greatest of all time, players like Tilden and Budge (and possibly even von Cramm) definitely need to be included in those c More...
It's a shame these players and their big matches are largely forgotten now. With all the talk of Federer being the greatest of all time, players like Tilden and Budge (and possibly even von Cramm) definitely need to be included in those c More...
Sep 26, 2010
Karena
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This is a very thoroughly researched history of tennis during the 1920s through to the 50s, and not just about the one match promoted on the cover. I've learned so much about Budge and Cramm and Tilden that I feel I know their personalities as well as I do Nadal's and Federer's (and I watch them a lot). Very nicely written. The only drawback was how much it jumped around; if you put it down for a few days and pick it up again you might get confused...but it's worth pushing through. It is also a
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Dec 10, 2009
Brooke
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This was a LOT of tennis. I think the author did a good job narrating the match and demonstrating that tennis is indeed a psychological sport. That said, I could have learned that in 30 pages, not 150. I did like reading about the background of Big Bill Tilden, Don Budge and Gottfried von Cramm. I liked learning more about the time period these men existed in. However, 3/4 of the way through the book I found the emulation of the sports stars in contrast to the Third Reich imminent atrocitie
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May 24, 2011
Sbuckley
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Was reading this when Dad passed away on 4/11/11. Good book but hard to focus during this period. Didn't actually finished, need to go back and complete at some point.
Jun 04, 2009
Steve
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A good tennis history (that appears nicely researched) and three-player biography, made compelling by the realities of Nazi Germany (which never cease to amaze), and the evolution of amateur and professional athletics.
Jul 25, 2009
Tim
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Wonderful read about a German tennis great of whom I'd never heard as well as Bill Tilden and Don Budge whom I had.
Jul 06, 2009
This book weaves tennis and history beautifully. For anyone who loves WWII history, this book is a fascinating read.
May 12, 2011
Matthew
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honest look at a hush hush (aren't they all?) aspect of tennis history
Aug 17, 2010
Leslie
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Gave this to Rich for father's day; he hasn't read it yet. Story about Davis Cup match between American and German on eve of WW2. Bios of all the notable players of the time. The German was "playing for his life"--can't say more without spoiling.
Aug 05, 2010
Nick
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I'm not at all a tennis fan, so I skimmed some of the more technical passages about the matches, but the stories about the three principals in the book -- Gottfried von Cramm, Don Budge and Bill Tilden -- were fascinating. Very gripping tales, told against the backdrop of Nazi Germany and the emerging tennis culture.
Aug 17, 2010
Eddie
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Budge vs Cramm's 5 set match against the backdrop of Nazism. Von Cramm was a closeted gay man in a counry where such an admission was tantamount to a death sentence. Well written with lots of info about the early years of professional tennis. I will not say who wins the match between the two top players in the world.
