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On the Line
by Serena Williams with Daniel Paisner
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 978-0-446-55366-7
Published September 2009 - Hardcover - 260 pages - $26.99

If you don't have the basic talent and will in you (for whatever your pursuit), it's very difficult to learn it and become a champion.  Richard Williams, together with his wife, taught all five of their daughters to play tennis, and as history shows us, two had immense talent and will.  The thinking behind teaching his daughters to play tennis was so that they'd be good enough to earn the huge paychecks the professional women were earning on the circuit.  This was back in the late seventies and women were not earning as much as the men, sadly.  Both Venus and Serena took to their informal tennis lessons and look what happened!  Serena, the youngest daughter, now tells us the story of the Williams sisters and how they became forces to be reckoned with on the tennis court.  They weren't brought up on the plush courts of the elite country club; the family practised on the rough and tumble public courts in Compton and Lynnwood, California.  Serena unapologetically tells of her hatred of losing and of her precociousness as the youngest in the family.  Some would call it determination; either way she turned out to not only be in awe of her older sister Venus, but to become a gritty and disciplined player.  She tells of the love and admiration she had and has for Venus, how much she looked up to her, and the love and caring Venus showed her when they were growing up.  Both parents, obviously, were hugely instrumental in teaching tennis and all that it entails to their girls, but unlike the way Richard Williams in particular was portrayed in the media, Serena says: "They only wanted to give us this giant opportunity - after that, it was up to us to make of it what we wanted."  They weren't as pushy as the press would have us believe.  Also, their faith played a very important part of their lives, and still does.  One comes away from this book feeling the love, respect, and gratitude Serena has for what her parents did for her as a child, as well as her love for her sister and competitor Venus, and all the positives she's gained from the game of tennis.
Conclusion - Very interesting and enlightening.