"GO FOR IT! BILLIE JEAN KING"

KING, Billie Jean. We Have Come a Long Way. The Story of Women's Tennis. New York: Regina Ryan / McGraw-Hill, 1988. Large quarto (8-3/4 by 11-1/2 inches), original blue paper boards, original dust jacket. $150.

First edition of Billie Jean King's well-documented history of over a century of women's tennis, boldly inscribed by her in the year of publication, "April 6, 1989, To M— Thank you for your support. Good Luck in life and Go for It! Billie Jean King," with over 200 illustrations, including 16 pages in color.

"King won a dozen Grand Slam singles titles, including six Wimbledon championships and four U.S. crowns. She was ranked No.1 in the world five years… yet of all her victories, the one that is remembered most" is her win against Bobby Riggs in 1973. "For all the kidding, that showdown carried huge symbolic meaning. Most civil rights causes are thwarted through fear, but ridicule has always been the weapon of choice against feminism. King made sure the match itself was a rout, and not a laughing matter" (ESPN) In that "single tennis match, King was able to do more for the cause of women than most feminists can achieve in a lifetime" (New York Times). King's impressive history of women's tennis in We Have Come a Long Way honors the women who made their game great, and also speaks to their fight for equality. "When the men's tour refused to address women's concerns over pay disparity, King broke away to set up a women's tour… Shortly afterwards, she founded the WTA." When President Obama awarded her the Medal of Freedom in 2009, he highlighted "what she did to broaden the reach of the game, to change how women athletes and women everywhere view themselves, and to give everyone… including my two daughters—a chance to compete both on the court and in life" (Guardian). Co-authored with award-winning sports journalist Cyntha Starr.

Book fine; tiny bit of foxing to bright about-fine dust jacket.