Weintraub vividly depicts Marble’s life and times using primary and secondary sources, including the athlete’s own memoirs and correspondence ... An intriguing book about a fascinating woman, and an inspirational story of her overcoming various odds to become a tennis legend. Highly recommended.
In his exhaustive biography...Weintraub transports the reader into Marble’s vibrant world ... Was Marble a World War II spy for her country? ... the biography as billed does disappoint. Despite his best investigative efforts, which Weintraub laboriously details in nearly 400 pages of text, he could not solve that central mystery of Marble ... A lack of resolution isn’t the only perplexing issue for this biography. Weintraub’s writing is anachronistic, a battle between clever and cloying that, upon instant replay, lands just outside the line ... Surprisingly for a book about women’s tennis, he leaves out obvious comparisons to Serena Williams and Venus Williams ... The author is more successful when he removes himself and re-creates Marble’s first victory at Forest Hills ... a dreamy, indomitable life worth reading about, as today’s tennis tries to return to form.
Weintraub uses Marble’s memoirs as the foundation of his research, and his discoveries turn this sports biography into a page-turning thriller ... serves not only as an opportunity to marvel at the accomplishments of these women, but also as a reminder that some things haven’t changed.
... entertaining but uneven ... The book’s play-by-play re-creation of tennis matches, drawn mainly from the accounts of contemporary sports writers and Marble’s memoirs, are fast-paced and fun. But the real treat is the book’s spin through the glamorous worlds of Hollywood, Palm Springs, San Simeon and Wimbledon that our working-class heroine navigates on her way to stardom ... Mr. Weintraub doesn’t prove or disprove this claim; this compelling episode of Marble’s life remains a mystery. Yet the author begins his book with her supposed car chase through the Swiss Alps. Does it matter if the story is true? Yes, because of the teasing prominence Mr. Weintraub gives it in his preface ... [Weintraub] sensitively documents her struggles and shows how her athletic achievements did not, in her case, lead to riches ... If you’ve ever wondered what the world of competitive women’s tennis was like before King, Evert and Navratilova, The Divine Miss Marble hits that sweet spot.
Weintraub’s fascinating portrayal of one of America’s very first athletic starlets asks as many questions as it answers. Marble’s secretive life was part of her charm, but her glamorous encounters and exciting experiences seem almost too good to be true. In addition to investigating these wild tales, Weintraub solidifies Alice Marble as one of the most important figures in tennis history ... Marble’s influence can still be felt, even as her name remains largely unrecognized. The Divine Miss Marble seeks to rectify that disparity, drawing attention to one of tennis’s greatest players and, most importantly, telling a good story.
Weintraub entertainingly explores the legacy of 18-time Grand Slam champion Alice Marble ... spirited and thorough ... Delightful and engrossing, this is a must for tennis fans.
... [Marble] wrote of her marriage to a man who was killed in action during World War II and also asserted that she spied on a former lover in Geneva during the closing days of the conflict. Yet for all his prodigious research, Weintraub is unable to verify either of these stories. This poses a problem for readers, as does the author’s occasional verbosity ... Nonetheless, Weintraub more than compensates for such minor flaws. He skillfully provides the historical and social contexts for Marble’s life, and his sketches of her contemporaries, particularly Tennant, are enlightening. The author also deftly sprinkles his narrative with charming anecdotes, such as the story of Marble’s brief (and frustrating) tenure as tennis instructor for future astronaut Sally Ride.
