John McEnroeReseñas

John McEnroe is the former tennis player turned commentator that everyone either loves or hates. The "bad boy" from New York famous for meltdowns on the court about bad line calls and statements such as "You cannot be serious!" that have entered sports lore writes about what he's been doing the last fifteen or so years, since his first memoir (You Cannot Be Serious) came out.

Love him or hate him, McEnroe is honest and will tell you exactly what he thinks. I really enjoyed his 2002 memoir and while I was too young to appreciate his tennis career, I've enjoyed him (especially alongside brother Patrick) as a sports commentator. Basically this book follows his interests, whether it be art, renewed rivalries on the seniors tour, commentating the big matches, dealing with his kids' struggles being the child of someone famous, or his passion for passing on tennis to a new generation in a loosely chronological way. He opens the book with an introduction and a section written by his wife, Patty Smyth, to "set the record straight" on how they met, fell in love and married. He warns you there will be name dropping, and there is, but mostly it's just a fascinating look at the world of a world class athlete. I spent some fun hours entering it, and would recommend it to any tennis fan.½

I enjoy John McEnroe the senior tennis player, tennis commentator and author. McEnroe is not the type to pull punches – – he generally speaks his mind and often catches criticism for it. I was interested and entertained by his recollections and views of various test players including Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters. McEnroe also shares his experiences with people outside the tennis world including Andy Warhol, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, the Rolling Stones, Jack Nicholson and many more.

The most interesting story in the book had nothing to do with sports but with an art swindle that McEnroe and some others got caught up in. This is not just a tennis or sports book – – McEnroe's world includes music, art, entertainment and politics.

I had been looking forward to this book for about a year and bought it eagerly. I was not disappointed.

If you're a tennis fan like myself, you'll really enjoy hearing about all his classic matches. If not, maybe not so much.

September 17.
Just finished it and I really enjoyed reading about all the tennis players back in the days. I was always rooting for McEnroe while my mom wanted Borg to win.
Never was a fan of Ivan Lendl. Interesting read. He is not as mean about Tatum as she was about him in her book.
I do think reading this what a miserable sod is this guy. He appears to be never happy. Not when he won, not when he was married. I wanted to read more about his life with Tatum, about his own drug use, and hers!. It was all superficial and that is why I prefer biographies instead of autobiographies.
I do give it an 8 just because I like to read the stories of back in the days. Hope there is another book about him not written by McEnroe.

Oh and by the way, what a jealous guy he is. He does not even want his own brother to win? geez. And every time he lost he had an excuse, fog, referee, Connors, etcetera.

I loved this book. Was too much of a Lendl fan to appreciate McEnroe when he was at the peak of his playing powers, but this book is fascinating and very well done. Especially delightful are the mentions of players whose very existence I had forgotten about. I

Excellent and insightful autobiography by John McEnroe. This follows McEnroe's tennis career and life beyond in pretty good detail. No doubt it's biased, but being a McEnroe fan, I didn't mind. He does not paint himself a picture of perfection and instead offers up some introspective thoughts on who he is, events that shaped him, and what has been his life.

McEnroe comes off as extremely intelligent and thoughtful, both traits I like in a person and a book. There is something for everyone in this book, whether you be a tennis fan, parent, or simply curious about the man behind the rants.

His top 10 changes for tennis, at the back of the book, are great as well. I wish the powers that be in tennis would take heed.½

An interesting insight into the great tennis player's background and mental processes. Although I am generally sympathetic towards him and regard him now as an outstanding commentator, the book is in places a bit overly defensive and self-justificatory, e.g. he still cannot seem to accept he might ever have been wrong about a linecall.

Love JM - for an autobiography it was fairly good.

Hero½