You Cannot Be Serious

When McEnroe was a freshman at Stanford, I was in my last year of graduate school there. He joined the top ranked college tennis team and became the star as a freshman. He led Stanford to another national championship and an undefeated season. Then he turned pro after his freshman year. This was disappointing at Stanford but should have been expected. Before arriving on the scene at Stanford he made a miraculous run at Wimbledon reaching the semi-finals as a junior tennis player! All this and more is discussed in detail in this book. This book basically takes a not too serious look at McEnroe's life, how he was involved in sports at an early age and actually liked team sports such as basketball better than tennis. His natural patriotism explains why he played Davis Cup so much and encouraged others to do the same. Much of the book deals with his childhood friendships and his ascension in the tennis ranks all the way through his run as the number 1 player in the world. He describes many of his classic matches and you get a glimpse of what was going on in his mind during his great victories at Wimbledon and agonizing defeats (e.g. Lendl at the French Open). Part of the reason for writing the book was to give the reader an inside look at what was going on during his infamous tirades on the tennis court. He reveals his New York upbringing and his inability to control his temper. Later on in the book we get to see some of the personal side. Inspite of the stormy divorce to Tatum O'Neal, John does not display animosity toward her in this book and he actually accepts part of the blame for the break-up. But he definitely wants to dispell the notion that he tried to hold her back in her acting career in favor of her supporting his tennis. You also get a glimpse at his second and apparently very successful marriage to the rock star Patty Smyth. You also see how his attempts at leading his own rock group caused some turmoil in that marriage. McEnroe is a very intelligent and complex person. His intelligence and tennis skills are often overlooked or played down by tennis fans because of his notorious cry baby attitude that he displayed so prominently on the court. His tantrums were accepted and tolerated by tennis officials because of his great success and the interest it brought to tennis. But he was a poor role model that others copied. He was not the first though. Remember Ille Nastase! McEnroe seems to be much more content these days. He has been a successful tennis commentator and received the honor of being named the US team's Davis Cup captain and was elected into the Tennis Hall of Fame. These were obviously very satisfying achievements. Still it seems that he wrote this book to help change his public personna. He is not happy with his bad boy image and by writing this book and hosting a TV quiz show he hopes to show a different side of him as he reconstructs his image. He has a very good sense of humor that comes through in the book as well as

I don't know if it is because I am an avid tennis player and have been since I was ten, but this was the fastest read that I have ever had in a book. It is very entertaining and informative. John McEnroe is a very good story teller. The people that he knew and has met in his life is amazing. It makes you wish that you could have been there too living it with him!He is an amazing man.

John McEnroe scores a triple bagle on his personal testimony. A brat on the court and an insightful analyst behind it, Johnny Mac endorses tennis fans with a rare perspective of his life unveiling some truths, but attempting to eradicate those dark dots in his life in a self-righteous fashion.Honesty fuels good biographies; objectivity rattles them. McEnroe offers the former, but true to his principles, repudiates the latter. His admiration for Borg, his disdain for Connors, his arrogance for up-and-coming players, his passion for Davis Cup competition, his addiction to controversy are all illustrated in a book churned by his unparalleled idiom.Yet, his conspicuous bravado backfires on him one too many times. Rather than apologizing, McEnroe expects answers from the likes of Girulaitis and Ashe. Rather than admitting his own share of faults on a relationship that failed because of clashing egos, Tatum O'Neal and her genealogical tree are the evil empire. Rather than trying to understand Lendl's or Connors' different personalities, he bad-mouths them imperviously.However, John McEnroe does attain one peculiar feat. He harnesses the various dilemmas presented in his book in much the same way he picked up an argument with a chair umpire or negotiated a long rally with the "robotic" Ivan Lendl. He writes a great biography and he does it in his own terms.

I loved this book. It was interesting and entertaining from cover to cover. I literally laughed out loud in the bookstore when I was flipping through it and read the part where he talks about Brad Gilbert! Perhaps Mr. McEnroe should take up writing as a sideline.

I just finished reading this book, and now I'm ready to buy all the videos of McEnroe's old matches against Borg, Conners, Lendl, etc... Now that I know the stories behind the on-court rants, and what went on behind the scenes at some of these tournaments, I want to watch it all over again!If you are a fan of John McEnroe, which I am, you will love this book! Growing up in the tennis boom of the 80s, I was drawn to McEnroe's passion for the game, and as a young player I tried to emulate him, but I never knew much about McEnroe the man. I found it very interesting to learn how he became such a great player, and hear how he looked at the top players as he was starting out on the pro tour. Imagine being barely 20 years old, running around Europe with guys that *you* idolized, like Borg! It's great to hear Mac talk about things like that. You can really tell who he liked, and who just got under his skin. The man does not mix words!Even if you are not a McEnroe fan, but a fan of his era in tennis, you will find this book to be of interest. He talks in great detail about some of the players of that era (Borg, Conners, Lendl, Vitas G., Vilas, etc...) and some of their actions on and off the court. To me, anyway, it was quite interesting to hear about that stuff. When you are 10 or 12 years old, like I was in 1980, you never wondered about what happened off the court, but now you can find out!I was lucky enough to find a SIGNED copy at my local bookstore, as well! What a bonus!