Peter Bodo (born 19 June 1949) is an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n born American

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, and Senior Editor/Blogger at ''

Tennis Magazine ''Tennis'' is a U.S. print sports magazine devoted to the sport of tennis. It is published eight months per year, and operates a website, Tennis.com. History The magazine was established in May 1965, published out of Chicago with a regional focu ...

''. He is also an occasional columnist for the "Outdoor" section of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and for the '' Atlantic Salmon Journal''. He won the

WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tou ...

Award for "Best Writer of the Year" twice, in 1979 and 1981.

Literary style

Bodo claims that his writing style is based on the idea that absolute objectivity is impossible. He purports to feel that each of his opinions must be defended with "well-reasoned, if not provable or objective, 'truths.'" He also says that he has few "strong, personal" feelings about players and believes that most of his readers understand the "fun" present in his writing. However, some readers have noted that Bodo, despite his Austrian birth, has a strong and regularly repeated bias in favor of American tennis players, in favor of an American or "midwestern" lifestyle, and in favor of an American style of sports, as contrasted with European tennis players, European sports, and European mores. He is also noted for his enthusiasm in promoting the sport of tennis, but he sees this enthusiasm as "the logical outcome" of his writing rather than being a "guiding principle". Early influences on Bodo's journalistic writing style include

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

, Curry Kirkpatrick,

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...

, Norman Mailer, Dave Anderson and Hunter S. Thompson.

Personal life

Bodo was born in Austria to Hungarian parents and emigrated to the United States in 1953. He grew up in New York and New Jersey. Bodo attended the Catholic college, Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ) in the late 1960s and early '70s. He is married with one son, Luke.

Bibliography

Non-fiction

*''Soccer''; 1978 *''Pelé's New World'' with David Hirshey; 1976 *''Inside Tennis: A Season on the Pro Tour''; 1979 *''Rashad: Mikes, Vikes and a Little Something on the Back Side'' with

Ahmad Rashad Ahmad Rashad (born Robert Earl Moore; November 19, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1972 NFL Draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was known as Bobby Moo ...

; 1985 *''The Courts of Babylon: Tales of Greed and Glory From the Harsh New World of Professional Tennis''; 1995 *''The Atlantic Salmon Handbook''; 1997 *''Tennis for Dummies'' with

Patrick McEnroe Patrick William McEnroe (born July 1, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player, broadcaster, and former captain of the United States Davis Cup team. Born in Manhasset, New York, he is John McEnroe's youngest brother. He won one ...

; 1998 *''A Champion's Mind: Lessons From A Life In Tennis'', with Pete Sampras (memoir); 2008 *''Whitetail Nation: My Season in Pursuit of the Monster Buck''; 2010

Fiction

*''The Trout Whisperers'' (novel); 2006

References

External links

''Peter Bodos tennis world
1949 births Austrian emigrants to the United States Living people Seton Hall University alumni Tennis writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists {{US-journalist-1940s-stub