Levels of the Game

By: John McPhee

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

This account of a tennis match played by Arthur Ashe against Clark Graebner at Forest Hills in 1968 begins with the ball rising into the air for the initial serve and ends with the final point. McPhee provides a brilliant, stroke-by-stroke description while examining the backgrounds and attitudes which have molded the players' games.

©1969 John McPhee (P)2022 Recorded Books

McPhee's early work is brilliant.

"Tennis is a game of levels, and it is practically impossible for a player who is on one level to play successfully with a player on any other."
- John McPhee, Levels of the Game

A fantastic piece of sports writing about the encounter at the 1968 US Open between Arthur Ashe and Clark Grabner. Some of McPhee's best writing is his sports writing. His book on Bill Bradley, A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton, might be one of my favorite sports books ever. Like with his Bill Bradley book, here McPhee is profiling an athlete (two technically) before they've reached their peak. McPhee can see greatness like Ashe can see a ball and Bradley can see a court. Anyway, it is a short read and worth the couple hours and few dollars it requires the reader to invest. I spent a few years in my early twenties living in Richmond and the ghost of Ashe still quietly covers the corners of the town. He was a man of immense talent, class, and intelligence.

Entertaining and valuable

Loved the story and the detail. Always appreciate this author. He is fabulous accurate and entertaining!

Compelling narrative and portraits

Don’t really care about tennis, however, McPhee brings his signature style to a single match. Players, the game, and what brings them together or sets them apart are artfully illuminated.

Master of Words describes Masters of a Game

McPhee compelled my a deep fascination for Tennis, a game I know nothing about; Arthur Ashe, a genius I’ve only heard of, and an opponent whose game and character were not his equal.

a John McPhee classic

Don’t be fooled – this book is supposed to be about a 1968 tennis match between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner. Sure, it’s an account of the match, but like all John McPhee books it is about so much more. It is about the life of two young men, budding professional tennis players. The book explores tennis history, class, and race. It was written in a time of racial and social tensions. It would have been interesting to read this when it was written, but I was a kid so that didn’t happen. You may know about these two players who went on to professional careers. You may know more about Ashe, as I do. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in tennis or not because this is a John McPhee book and he can make any subject interesting. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Grover Gardner. He did a great job.