A Kind of Grace: A Treasury of Sportswriting by Women

Surely the day will come when the distinction between female and male sportswriters is no longer made; until then, sports enthusiasts can enjoy this collection of women journalists' unique perspectives and experiences. National Public Radio sports commentator Rapoport has gathered more than 70 articles by almost as many different writers, covering everything from basketball and horse racing to Little League and skating. Many of the articles focus on the specific challenges faced by female athletes, coaches, administrators and reporters, but all of the articles, explains Rapoport in his introduction, are intended to ``give some sense of the changes in conscience and consciousness the growing number of women sportswriters have helped bring about.'' Jane Gross looks at the increasing importance of women's athletics; Linda Robertson exposes controversy surrounding the training of young gymnasts; Rachel Blount honors the Iowa State cross country team devastated by a 1985 plane crash; Sarah Ballard gives tennis buffs a brilliantly researched biography of French legend Suzanne Lenglen; and a late breaking story by Michelle Kaufman portrays Tonya Harding. The sheer volume and variety of stories borders on overkill: Rapoport could easily have left out older articles--some go back as far as 1980--and there are plenty of others that simply don't qualify as great writing. Still, readers will be impressed by the accounts of heroism on and off the field, court, rink, track and copy desk. (June)