BREAKING THE GENDER BARRIOR

In Extraordinary Women Athletes, writer Judy L. Hasday presents biographical sketches of more than 40 outstanding women in such diverse sports as tennis (Helen Wills Moody, Margaret Smith Court, and Chris Evert), golf (Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Kathy Whitworth, and Nancy Lopez Knight), and gymnastics (Larissa Latynina, Olga Korbut, and Nadia Comaneci). The book includes some participants in team sports as well, including the players of the AAGBL (All-American Girls Baseball League, which was active from 1943 through 1954), basketball players Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Cynthia Cooper, and soccer player Mia Hamm.

Readers of Extraordinary Women Athletes may infer that some of the women seem to have been born too soon. For example, the African American tennis champion Ora Washington was born in 1898, an era in which there were few opportunities for black or women athletes. Although she was often undefeated in the all-black ATA (American Tennis Association), she never had the opportunity to compete against the leading white women tennis players of her time.

Patty Berg, who became the first president of the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) enjoyed playing quarterback for a local boys' football team as a child, but at the age of 13, was persuaded by her parents to abandon contact sports in favor of the more "ladylike" game of golf.

Hasday estimates that tennis great Martina Navratilova's public acknowledgement of her homosexuality might have cost her millions of dollars in income from potential endorsements.

After the initial introductory chapters detailing the lack of opportunities for women athletes throughout most of history, Hasday proceeds to chronologically highlight prominent women athletes of the 20th century. Each chapter includes biographical information, career highlights, and one or more black-and-white photographs. Also included are descriptions of hardships and obstacles that the women faced. The back of the book lists organizations, names of books and online resources, and a list of an additional 66 important women athletes.