by Billie Jean King
Overall: I listened to this as an audiobook, and it was amazing to hear Billie Jean King reading her own words. You could hear her emotion at different points in the narrative, which added so much to the book. All In is a straight-up autobiography by pioneering tennis player and activist King, but you don’t need to be a tennis nut to read this book. King presents a clear-eyed look back at what women’s lives in sports (and in general) were like prior to the efforts of activists like herself in the 1960s and 1970s; if you’re looking for words to bring you hope that things can change for the better, look no further. King refused to accept the second-class status male tennis officials, organizers, and peers wanted to assign her and the other women. Her hard work and sacrifice in creating the Women’s Tennis Association led to long-lasting changes in the sport; there would likely be no women’s tennis at all without her. And her activism for trans rights (beginning in the 70s!) and LGBTQIA+ rights had me tearing up. Ms. King, YOU are what makes America great!
Likes: This book is straightforward and no-nonsense: King calls it like she sees it. She’s open about her disagreements with her parents on certain issues, her marriage, and her struggle to find herself. The book provides just enough detail on the greater social context (the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War) and the daily indignities of being a woman in this era (adult women couldn’t do many financial transactions without their husbands or fathers signing off on the paperwork) to put her struggles in context without detracting from the forward momentum of her story. If you’re looking for super-gossipy inside details, this may not be the book for you, but it was a plus for me. King (mostly) treats her detractors with generosity and respect, two qualities notably lacking in public discourse today.
Dislikes: the narrative occasionally jumps around in time, as when King mentions almost in passing while discussing her marriage that she had an affair while on a tour. This is a minor criticism: after reading this book, I’m definitely all in!
FYI: abortion, attempted sexual assault, eating disorders, homophobia, racism.
Liz Helfrich 