A HARD ROAD TO GLORY: A History of the African-American Athlete 1619-1918: 1919-1945; Since 1946

With the help of a seven-member research team, tennis star Ashe has compiled a three-volume work that affords an exhaustive chronicle of the contributions of fellow black athletes to US sport since 1619 (when African slaves first arrived in America) through the recent past. The generation-spanning study also documents the heartbreak and frustrations of black athletes who asked only to compete on equal terms. Owing to tight production schedules, Warner was unable to furnish complete galleys for prepublication review. On the basis of a sizable amount of available evidence, however, the encyclopedic project looks like a real winner. The vivid, evenhanded text (which runs to 1,440 pages) includes a wealth of reference data (e.g., listings of coaching notables, holders of championships, record breakers, et al.), plus 128 pages of illustrations (not seen).