Andre Agassi
Hardcover | Pages: 388 pages Rating: 4.25 | 73786 Users | 6075 Reviews
Declare Books Concering Open
| Original Title: | Open: An Autobiography |
| ISBN: | 0307268195 (ISBN13: 9780307268198) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Andre Agassi |
Narrative In Pursuance Of Books Open
From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi’s incredibly rigorous training begins when he is just a child. By the age of thirteen, he is banished to a Florida tennis camp that feels like a prison camp. Lonely, scared, a ninth-grade dropout, he rebels in ways that will soon make him a 1980s icon. He dyes his hair, pierces his ears, dresses like a punk rocker. By the time he turns pro at sixteen, his new look promises to change tennis forever, as does his lightning-fast return. And yet, despite his raw talent, he struggles early on. We feel his confusion as he loses to the world’s best, his greater confusion as he starts to win. After stumbling in three Grand Slam finals, Agassi shocks the world, and himself, by capturing the 1992 Wimbledon. Overnight he becomes a fan favorite and a media target. Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match and every relationship. Never before has the inner game of tennis and the outer game of fame been so precisely limned. Alongside vivid portraits of rivals from several generations—Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer—Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his brief time with Barbra Streisand and his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He reveals a shattering loss of confidence. And he recounts his spectacular resurrection, a comeback climaxing with his epic run at the 1999 French Open and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one. In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf. Inspired by her quiet strength, he fights through crippling pain from a deteriorating spine to remain a dangerous opponent in the twenty-first and final year of his career. Entering his last tournament in 2006, he’s hailed for completing a stunning metamorphosis, from nonconformist to elder statesman, from dropout to education advocate. And still he’s not done. At a U.S. Open for the ages, he makes a courageous last stand, then delivers one of the most stirring farewells ever heard in a sporting arena. With its breakneck tempo and raw candor, Open will be read and cherished for years. A treat for ardent fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis. Like Agassi’s game, it sets a new standard for grace, style, speed, and power.Describe Appertaining To Books Open
| Title | : | Open |
| Author | : | Andre Agassi |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 388 pages |
| Published | : | November 9th 2009 by Knopf |
| Categories | : | Biography. Nonfiction. Sports. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography Memoir. Audiobook |
Rating Appertaining To Books Open
Ratings: 4.25 From 73786 Users | 6075 ReviewsAssessment Appertaining To Books Open
This is about as honest and open as you are going to get in an autobiography, especially from a sports star.After staggering ups and downs, playing well into his 30s, Agassi became a true tennis super star, beloved to fans and sportswriters. One can only applaud this boy who became a man on a tennis court while battling his demons on and off the court.From Andre to you: Its easier to be free and loose, to be yourself, after laughing with the ones you love. (Pg.342)It is inspiring reading.I firstI loved this book so much. One of the best memoirs Ive ever read. I was absorbed from page oneand Im not even a tennis fan. My only critique is that it read a bit long; it couldve been 50100 pages shorter. Still, what a crazy life, what a transparent telling, what a searching study of the human heart.
This book kept me awake at night. I felt compelled to finish it in 2 days ("straight sets" maybe? - not my fault for the metaphor).I might as well add that I was surprised to find out that Agassi fundamentally hates tennis and that he was an underachiever - he could have done (much) better. The way his father forced him to train as a little boy and the life he led as a tennis pro were also very interesting to know.
Most sporting memoirs I've read so far begin with the sportsperson's love for the game at an early age, some fortuitous occurrence or sheer slogging hard to make it big, and then staying competitive at the big stage despite obstacles, issues and problems of various kinds.Not this one. Probably the first one I've read that begins with the author talking about hate for the game. Andre Agassi's voice certainly seems articulate and honest. (Of course, that also means the ghostwriter did the job
"Open", opens you to the normality of contradictions. It opens up unexpected dimensions into his tennis career, in addition to his childhood, marital life and everything off the court.It is terrifically written, engrossing you to the way he thinks and feels before, throughout and after the game. It is not about how great he was, but rather how confused, unsure, rebellious and sick of his life, his tennis and himself!He was in constant search of himself and kept evolving to understand himself and
The bio started slow and focused a lot of Agassi's hate for the game that made him the household name he is. But as the ghost writer warmed up, well what a treat. By promoting Agassi's narcissism, the ghost writer peppered the last half of this book with many comic gems, such as: comparing tennis forehands to foreplay, believing that he was an Aborigine in a former life, calling Pete Sampras a tight-arse and the unecessary references to his car/s. Not to mention refences to the matching outfits
It is hard to know what to say about this book. It is a strange book! It has a strange tone. It is a page-turner. Why? I'm not sure. Agassi hates tennis. Agassi plays tennis long after his peers have retired even at the point where his body is barely holding on.Agassi has an insane dad. So insane and high-strung and focused on his kids' tennis that it seems like it can't be true.The media doesn't get Agassi. The media thinks he's a brash young a-hole. But he acts like a brash young a-hole. But
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