CONTENTS
Foreword by George Plimpton
Prologue
1. The Joints Trembled on the Spit
The origins of racquets sports with real tennis and racquets; the invention of squash at Harrow School in England
2. Heaven's Heaviest Artillery
The birth of squash in America at St. Paul's School in 1884; infancy in Philadelphia; the strange and sad history of the game of squash tennis; the saga of standardization and why North American squash developed the narrow court and harder ball.
3. Don't Keep Late Hour
Harvard's squash dynasty, 1922-1937; Harry Cowles, genius coach of seven national champions.
4. Hollow-Eyed and Squeaky
The start of women's squash; Yale and intercollegiate squash; squash on the Titanic; a tour of squash cities and tournaments in the 1920s and '30s.
5. Send for the Drama Critic
The Merion Cricket Club juggernaut; the Diehl Mateer/Henri Salaun rivalry of the 1950s; the start of the U.S.Open and the arrival of the Khans.
6. A Clam in Mud at Low Tide
Victor Niederhoffer; the game expands across the nation; women, juniors and colleges in the 1950s and '60s; Harvard dynasty redux under Jack Barnaby.
7. Sex, Scandal and Celebrities
Public squash in the 1970s -- the great explosion.
8. Box of Rain
The North American professional tour of the 1980s.
9. 18-16 in the Fifth
Mark Talbott versus Jahangir Khan, November
1984.
10. Bait and Switch
The tortuous change from North American to international standards.
11. The Infinitely Greater Game
A short history of squash doubles.
12. This Mollycoddled Age
Squash in the twenty-first century; rebirth and expansion; dreams of Olympic gold and a new generation of players.
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Notes
Appendix: Record of Champions
Index
