A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played

Fisher, Marshall Don. "A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, A World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played", Crown Publishing, 2009, What A Story! Amos Lassen In July 1937 tennis seemed so completely civilized when Don Budge, the son of a California truck driver played against his friend Baron Gottfried von Cramm, a German aristocrat. The swastika flew with the Union Jack over the tennis court and Nazis had tea with the queen of England. Von Cramm had been coached by the legendary Bill Tilden and the three men's stories collide here. Von Cramm had a secret--he was gay and his Jewish lover had fled from Germany. He had been investigated for homosexual activities and was barred from several matches, He refused to become a Nazi and he confided in Tilden who was also gay that he was playing for his life. This is an amazing story and quite readable.

Sports and nationalism often clash, and did so memorably when Adolf Hitler was in power. The story of how the four gold medals won by non-Aryan Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics embarrassed the Fuhrer has often been told. Of somewhat lesser renown is the 1936 heavyweight fight between Max Schmeling and Joe Louis, of which a German radio announcer said, "It is every German's obligation to stay up tonight. Max will fight overseas with a Negro for the hegemony of the white race!" I am no sports fan, but I knew of these instances. I had not heard of another significant sports battle of the time, a tennis match in 1937 between American Don Budge and German Gottfried von Cramm. It is the subject of an exciting book, _A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played_ (Crown) by Marshall Jon Fisher. I still am not a sports fan, much less a tennis fan, but this isn't really a sports story; it is a thoroughly riveting account of intense human endeavor. There may be "three extraordinary men" in the subtitle and in the book, but Cramm is the one the book is really about. The others are Don Budge and Bill Tilden. Budge wasn't extraordinary except in his capacity to play tennis. Tilden was extraordinary in that in the 1920s, and also that he was a flamboyant but closeted homosexual whose exploits were constantly bothering the American tennis bureaucracy. Tilden is part of this story because he was keeping his hand in the game by helping to coach Cramm and his German team. But this is Cramm's story, or rather the story of Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt von Cramm, born at his family's manor near Hanover in 1909. Cramm was a gentleman, with a refined, thoughtful, but powerful game. He was the soul of honor, refusing to take points the officials mistakenly called for him. He was handsome; one observer said, "Every year that von Cramm steps onto the Centre Court at Wimbledon, a few hundred young women sit a little straighter and forget about their escorts." Cramm was, however, a homosexual. His homosexuality was not much of a problem in Weimar Berlin in the early 1920s, but after that the Nazis were putting homosexuals into concentration camps. He detested the Third Reich, refusing to talk it up when he was on tour. The match to decide the 1937 Davis Cup at Wimbledon is one of the many tennis tournaments described here. Fisher has woven parts of the match into the larger narrative of the book, and though the actual play isn't as important as the larger story he has to tell, the battle between Cramm and Budge sounds as if it was a game no one in the stands would ever forget. Journalist Alistair Cooke was there, and wrote, "The two white figures began to set the rhythms of something that looked more like ballet than a game where you hit a ball. People stopped asking other people to sit down. The umpire gave up stopping the game to beg for silence during rallies." James T

I am half way through "A Terrible Splendor" and plan to creep along until the very end. If I waited to the last page to share with readers how much I am enjoying this book, that time might never come. This is because "A Terrible Splendor" is one of those book I don't want to finish. I love historical facts and every fews pages offers me some tantalizing tidbit. Fisher's development of von Cramm, Tilden, and Budge is brilliant and I have come to really know them -- and feel for them. So, I want to hang out with them for a while. The story is not all fun and games and this knowing has me turning pages with mixed feelings. I want to learn more about the lives of these interesting people, and to follow the excitement of the great match, but I do not yet know its cost. The backdrop of Nazi Germany makes for a compelling story line and the way Fisher weaves it all together makes for a riveting read. I highly recommend this terribly splendid book.

I enjoyed reading this book - fast paced, tightly written, just enough side line drama to keep it interesting and great character development.

This book is simply magnificent - writing at its best. In this exquisite account of purportedly the most important tennis match ever, Marshall Jon Fisher has succeeded in creating a tale that both informs and entertains. The tennis match itself is fascinating, but by putting it in historical perspective, Fisher has provided a backdrop that illuminates the lives behind the tennis players. This book provides a terrifying and realistic history of the world in the 1930's and 1940's and peoples it with both historic and lesser known figures, all of whom played a part in the world of tennis. His conclusion that provides a finale to each of the characters is as important to the book as the tale of the tennis match itself. I am grateful to have had an opportunity to learn more about the history of tennis and the biographies of some of tennis' most important figures through such an eloquent medium. If you are interested in history, tennis, movie stars, or brilliant writing, READ THIS BOOK!