Tennis by Machiavelli, Signed to Betsy Bloomingdale
[Signed to Betsy Bloomingdale] Ramo, Simon. Tennis by Machiavelli. First Edition. 1984. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition. Book is inscribed, “To Betsy—with the hope it won’t ruin your game.”
Betsy Bloomingdale reached the heights of 1980s Nouvelle Society. Best friend of Nancy, she was a frequent guest at Reagan White House state diners; a close pal of Earl “Johnnie” Spencer (Princess Diana’s father), she vacationed at Althorp; and when in not at either of those locales or in her home state of California, she could be found at Mortimer’s in New York, dining with A-listers like Nan Kempner and Jerry Zipkin. When it came to social ascendency, Betsy Bloomingdale knew something about the rules of Machiavelli. This book sought to apply those same principles to sport. It was written not by a tennis coach but by an amateur player in her extended circle, a powerful industrialist who worked in the Reagan administration and in 1983 was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“[This book] covers every aspect of the modern game of tennis—serving, return of serve, ground stroke replacement, volleys, lobs, net play, poaching, getting along with a partner, and the employment of ruses and covert influences on the play of the opponent, from warm-up through to the calling of close shots.”
--Simon Ramo