Reviews - The Inner Game of Tennis: One of Bill Gates All-Time Favourite Books

This book is not about tennis. Sure, it talks a lot about tennis, but to see that as the subject would be to miss what it's really about.

What this book is actually doing is using tennis as a vehicle through which we can arrive at the place of Oneness within us that is our true nature, if only we'd get out of our own way.

jvadams's review against another edition

5.0

Don’t let the title fool you. This book is not about tennis. It should really be called The Inner Game of Life. It’s about finding your path to bliss. It’s about the mental aspects of peak performance. It’s about competition and cooperation. The author uses tennis as an example, but his discoveries and the insights he shares are applicable to many aspects of human life.

emerywebster's review against another edition

3.0

Introduces the concept of a self1 (thinker) and self2 (doer) where self1 mostly gets in the way of self2.

Seems eyerollworthy at first but includes some solid insights around practice and performance (esp under pressure) for basically any activity.

abeier's review against another edition

3.0

challenging hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

ballard37's review against another edition

4.5

informative inspiring

itspaigerman's review against another edition

4.0

informative reflective medium-paced

steveno's review against another edition

4.0

I read this because I heard a lot of NBA coaches recommend it and I was curious what it's about. It's an interesting way to think about performance -- that your body knows what to do and our conscious mind often disrupts this. It applies not just to tennis and basketball, but also art and music. It's a lot of interesting ideas to consider and worth a read.

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