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zachnachazel's review
5.0
One of the best books I've ever read. Even if you don't care about tennis or hate autobiographies, this is a must read!
sandiet's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure what inspired me to want to listen to this because I'm not a tennis fan, but I knew the names mentioned in the book because my Mom watched tennis and of course from the sportscasts. This is the 2nd book I've read about tennis players, one fictional and now this one. What did I learn? I learned that they both hated tennis and were driven by fathers who had this dream of perfection and didn't care what their sons wanted.
Agassi lost a LOT of games, reinvented himself many times over but despite all of that his own insecurities were the cause of a lot of his losses and rebellion. He wasn't playing his opponents, the battles were in his own head. He married Brooke Shields knowing it didn't feel right but went ahead anyway because he couldn't figure out why he should not want to marry her and I found that absolutely astounding. He eventually marries Steffi Graf, the woman he's been trying to get to know for YEARS and their love story is sweet.
I really enjoyed this one and even though Agassi doesn't narrate his own book I don't think anything was lost. It's just someone else telling his story and doing a good job of it. I found his life and stories both sad and entertaining, I laughed many times while listening to this.
Tennis fan or not I think you'd like this one, I know I did and I've never watched a game in my life!
Agassi lost a LOT of games, reinvented himself many times over but despite all of that his own insecurities were the cause of a lot of his losses and rebellion. He wasn't playing his opponents, the battles were in his own head. He married Brooke Shields knowing it didn't feel right but went ahead anyway because he couldn't figure out why he should not want to marry her and I found that absolutely astounding. He eventually marries Steffi Graf, the woman he's been trying to get to know for YEARS and their love story is sweet.
I really enjoyed this one and even though Agassi doesn't narrate his own book I don't think anything was lost. It's just someone else telling his story and doing a good job of it. I found his life and stories both sad and entertaining, I laughed many times while listening to this.
Tennis fan or not I think you'd like this one, I know I did and I've never watched a game in my life!
ultimatekate's review
5.0
I enjoyed the excerpt published in "Sports Illustrated" but wow. I couldn't put this book down. I mean, literally. I read it in four days. His prose is easy, flowing, descriptive, and creative. I found myself viewing tennis in an entirely new way because of this book.
I grew up watching the Sampras/Agassi duals and often found myself rooting for Pete. I wish I would have known half this stuff before because that might have changed my mind. Pete seems like a decent guy but Andre has a lot issues and does not have the emotional support (or, dare I say it, intelligence?) to deal with them.
I found myself really sympathizing with Andre. His dad is a controlling perfectionist unable to convey his feelings in a normal way. Andre's forced--from a very young age--to practice for hours a day, even though, as he admits over and over again in the book, he "hates tennis." He berates himself mentally, physically, and emotionally when he doesn't win. He wants to hide in the "safety" of a team sport but knows that he has a talent that few people have. He's not educated to do anything but play the sport he hates. It's a lose-lose situation.
What I really enjoyed about this book was getting into the psyche of a professional athlete. While I realize that Andre doesn't represent every athlete, I'm sure his thinking is much the same as most pro athletes--Don't lose. There's a big difference between Win! and Don't lose and I never really understood it until I read this book.
I grew up watching the Sampras/Agassi duals and often found myself rooting for Pete. I wish I would have known half this stuff before because that might have changed my mind. Pete seems like a decent guy but Andre has a lot issues and does not have the emotional support (or, dare I say it, intelligence?) to deal with them.
I found myself really sympathizing with Andre. His dad is a controlling perfectionist unable to convey his feelings in a normal way. Andre's forced--from a very young age--to practice for hours a day, even though, as he admits over and over again in the book, he "hates tennis." He berates himself mentally, physically, and emotionally when he doesn't win. He wants to hide in the "safety" of a team sport but knows that he has a talent that few people have. He's not educated to do anything but play the sport he hates. It's a lose-lose situation.
What I really enjoyed about this book was getting into the psyche of a professional athlete. While I realize that Andre doesn't represent every athlete, I'm sure his thinking is much the same as most pro athletes--Don't lose. There's a big difference between Win! and Don't lose and I never really understood it until I read this book.
lorenzacos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25