Before Federer versus Nadal, before Borg versus McEnroe, the
greatest tennis match ever played pitted the dominant Don Budge
against the seductively handsome Baron Gottfried von Cramm. This
deciding 1937 Davis Cup match, played on the hallowed grounds of
Wimbledon, was a battle of titans: the world's number one tennis
player against the number two; America against Germany; democracy
against fascism. For five superhuman sets, the duo's brilliant
shotmaking kept the Centre Court crowd-and the world-spellbound.
But the match's significance extended well beyond the immaculate
grass courts of Wimbledon. Against the backdrop of the Great
Depression and the brink of World War II, one man played for the
pride of his country while the other played for his life. Budge,
the humble hard-working American who would soon become the first
man to win all four Grand Slam titles in the same year, vied to
keep the Davis Cup out of the hands of the Nazi regime. On the
other side of the net, the immensely popular and elegant von Cramm
fought Budge point for point knowing that a loss might precipitate
his descent into the living hell being constructed behind barbed
wire back home.
Born into an aristocratic family, von Cramm was admired for his
devastating good looks as well as his unparalleled sportsmanship.
But he harbored a dark secret, one that put him under increasing
Gestapo surveillance. And his situation was made even more perilous
by his refusal to join the Nazi Party or defend Hitler. Desperately
relying on his athletic achievements and the global spotlight to
keep him out of the Gestapo's clutches, his strategy was to keep
traveling and keep winning. A Davis Cup victory would make him the
toast of Germany. A loss might be catastrophic.
Watching the mesmerizingly intense match from the stands was von
Cramm's mentor and all-time tennis superstar Bill Tilden-a
consummate showman whose double life would run in ironic
counterpoint to that of his German pupil.
Set at a time when sports and politics were inextricably linked, "A
Terrible Splendor" gives readers a courtside seat on that fateful
day, moving gracefully between the tennis match for the ages and
the dramatic events leading Germany, Britain, and America into
global war. A book like no other in its weaving of social
significance and athletic spectacle, this soul-stirring account is
ultimately a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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