Power and Glory Barty was compiled by Ron Reed with contributions from Linda Pearce and Chris McLeod. Ron Reed is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected sportswriters and felt Ashleigh Barty’s rise from relative obscurity to the number 1 player in the world in a few short years, after taking an extended break, needed to be recorded and celebrated. The other two writers are also experienced journalists.
Unfortunately, having three writers contribute means there’s quite a lot of overlap creating repetition. Nevertheless, it’s good that Reed has taken the time to compile the information from many sources and brought it together in book form for posterity. Barty’s story is remarkable in two ways – her success on the tennis court and her attitude. All three contributors write about both. The book finishes towards the end of 2019, which as it turned out, was a good place to finish as Ash missed most of 2020 due to the coronavirus.
Ash Barty seems to have had no input into this biography, instead, the information has been collected from interviews at the end of her matches throughout her career and also from interviews with her coaches, friends and family. If someone has followed Ash’s career closely, they will find very little that is new in the book.
Overall a good read, but more beneficial for those who are less familiar with Ash’s career.
More reviews of this book can be found on Goodreads.
