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- Create Date：2022-08-01 18:16:36
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Andre Agassi
- ISBN：841900443X
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Summary
Папаша безжалостно отстреливает ястребов， кружащих над домом， сестра сбежала из дома с великовозрастным теннисистом， а Андре никак не решит， что же купить на первые заработанные деньги - так необходимый ему свитер или подарок девочке， которая очень нравится？。。
Биография Агасси кажется сказочной историей покорения мальчиком из бедной семьи большого мира и большого тенниса: в ней есть и агрессивный отец с тяжелой рукой， и безропотная мама， не смеющая заступиться за сына， и ненавистные маленьким Андре круглосуточные тренировки на корте。
Эмоциональные истории из жизни， смысл которой бунтарь Агасси нашел， только встретив настоящую любовь в лице Штефи Граф， ощутив радость отцовства и научившись выигрывать ради людей， которым необходима его поддержка， способны тронуть читателя до глубины души。
Биография Агасси кажется сказочной историей покорения мальчиком из бедной семьи большого мира и большого тенниса: в ней есть и агрессивный отец с тяжелой рукой， и безропотная мама， не смеющая заступиться за сына， и ненавистные маленьким Андре круглосуточные тренировки на корте。
Эмоциональные истории из жизни， смысл которой бунтарь Агасси нашел， только встретив настоящую любовь в лице Штефи Граф， ощутив радость отцовства и научившись выигрывать ради людей， которым необходима его поддержка， способны тронуть читателя до глубины души。
Reviews
Kelly Llewellyn
，
Absolutely loved this。 Such nostalgia with all the old tennis players I remember from my youth and as Agassi was my favourite from those days， I loved every moment of this book。 A great insight into his life and what he endured during his childhood and career。 Highly recommend！
Jonathan Franco
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Really enjoy the boom。It was a shock to me how the story of Agassi was developed。 It is pretty inspirational and shows how difficult the live for an elite athlete。 I was surprised of how well written the book was。
Marcus Viitamäki
，
A bit too much tennis。 I did not really get hold of the true feelings outside the games。 Maybe that is for someone else to write about。
Jonathan Pearson
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Fascinating autobiography even if， like me， you’re not particularly interested in tennis
Tiit Sepp
，
Erakordselt hästi kirjutatud spordimemuaar。 Kuigi kaanelt nime ei leia on teose kokku kirjutatund J。 R。 Moehringer， kes on Pulitzeriga pärjatud kirjanik。 Agassi lugu põnev jälgida， sest tal on kõik klassikalise tuhkatriinuloo tunnused， tavalisest poisist miljonäriks， oma printsi valgel hobusel leidmine （kes tõsi küll on tegelikult Steffi Graf）， kooli pooleli jätnud lapse kasvamine kooli ehitajaks jne jne。 Ühesõnaga tegu on ühe parima spordimemuaariga mida lugenud olen， naljakas et pärast lugemis Erakordselt hästi kirjutatud spordimemuaar。 Kuigi kaanelt nime ei leia on teose kokku kirjutatund J。 R。 Moehringer， kes on Pulitzeriga pärjatud kirjanik。 Agassi lugu põnev jälgida， sest tal on kõik klassikalise tuhkatriinuloo tunnused， tavalisest poisist miljonäriks， oma printsi valgel hobusel leidmine （kes tõsi küll on tegelikult Steffi Graf）， kooli pooleli jätnud lapse kasvamine kooli ehitajaks jne jne。 Ühesõnaga tegu on ühe parima spordimemuaariga mida lugenud olen， naljakas et pärast lugemist oli esimene mõte et äkki peaks ka Steffi Graffi memuaare， või tema treeneri Bradi raamatuid lugma。 。。。more
Candy_K
，
The best biography this year。 Encountered by chance， or let’s call it fate。 Wasn’t growing up as a Agassi’s fan （neither Sampras’s） since those names were way before the word #Tennis came into my life。 Yet did watch his shots when looking at old footages and also other exhibition matches。 Yet always heard about those rebellious stories about his appearance and behaviour， as the quote #ImageIsEverything 。 I picked it up from the bookshelf in neighborhood， stroked by the first page I read。 The phy The best biography this year。 Encountered by chance， or let’s call it fate。 Wasn’t growing up as a Agassi’s fan （neither Sampras’s） since those names were way before the word #Tennis came into my life。 Yet did watch his shots when looking at old footages and also other exhibition matches。 Yet always heard about those rebellious stories about his appearance and behaviour， as the quote #ImageIsEverything 。 I picked it up from the bookshelf in neighborhood， stroked by the first page I read。 The physical pain around his retirement match he delivered gave a shiver through my spine， as I barely managed to keep on reading。 Then I found myself deeply touched by those ups and downs with the words he put up together。 I remember my laughters and tears scattered every page， every sentences， whereas he said he remembered every games he played as they made up the pieces of him at the moment。“It's no accident， I think， that tennis uses the language of life。 Advantage， service， fault， break， love， the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence， because every match is a life in miniature。 Even the structure of tennis， the way the pieces fit inside one another like Russian nesting dolls， mimics the structure of our days。 Points become games become sets become tournaments， and it's all so tightly connected that any point can become the turning point。 It reminds me of the way seconds become minutes become hours， and any hour can be our finest。 Or darkest。 It's our choice。” 。。。more
Graziano Pagliarulo
，
Interesting and catching at the beginning。 Dishonest and sappy then。
Giacomo Michelon
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Autobiografia stupenda ，Racconta a 365 gradi la propria vita ， sin dall’ infanzia con un padre che lo obbligava ad allenarsi varie estenuanti ore al giorno a tennis ， questo gli porto ad avere un odio contro lo sport con il quale poi in futuro raggiunse l’apice diventando il n。1 al mondo Racconta alti e bassi della propria vita compresa la sfera privata non facendo mai diminuire in ogni pagina l’ interesse del lettore 。Consiglio a tutti questo libro ！
Nick Emond
，
Don’t have to be a tennis fan to enjoy this read。 Agassi is brutally honest with his struggle to find meaning in life and the false hopes that he thought was going to give him meaning。 Enjoyed seeing the conversion from teenage rebel to family man。 No man is an island。
Emily Ciabattari
，
Not a tennis fan and only peripherally knew him/his career。 But a well-written and compelling story。
Susanna
，
Interesting very well written autobiography。 Recounting a career excelling at something you hate makes for very interesting reading。 A look behind the curtain of what it takes to be a professional athlete。 Tennis is very lonely。 Fun to read about all the people I grew up watching， like Pete Sampras， Jimmy Connors， etc。 It was exhausting reading about how difficult it was to maintain the mental fortitude to continue to ruthlessly pursue championships。 For Years。 For someone who dropped out of sch Interesting very well written autobiography。 Recounting a career excelling at something you hate makes for very interesting reading。 A look behind the curtain of what it takes to be a professional athlete。 Tennis is very lonely。 Fun to read about all the people I grew up watching， like Pete Sampras， Jimmy Connors， etc。 It was exhausting reading about how difficult it was to maintain the mental fortitude to continue to ruthlessly pursue championships。 For Years。 For someone who dropped out of school in grade nine， Agassi got so much satisfaction from opening a school and giving back to underprivileged kids。 Much more than winning at tennis。 I like this book。 。。。more
Gabriela Gonzalez
，
Me encantó。 Me pareció un libro muy entretenido y me gustó mucho la vulnerabilidad de Agassi， que se muestra totalmente humano y trata de explicar su lucha interior a lo largo de su carrera en el tennis。 Muy interesante entender el rol de la mente en el tennis y ver cómo Agassi fue madurando y aprendiendo a usarla a su favor con los años。
Akshath Dorai
，
A joy to read！
nicole
，
Knew when I saw this recommended by Cup of Jo that I’d eventually get around to it one summer。 I know nothing about tennis， and knew less about Andre， but deeply enjoyed this one。 Well， except for anything related to his charter school， which absolutely incensed me， because I loathe rich people thinking they can come in and apply their money outside the public education system to be better than it。 Like， the part where he explains his lesser paid teachers should still be proud of the impact they Knew when I saw this recommended by Cup of Jo that I’d eventually get around to it one summer。 I know nothing about tennis， and knew less about Andre， but deeply enjoyed this one。 Well， except for anything related to his charter school， which absolutely incensed me， because I loathe rich people thinking they can come in and apply their money outside the public education system to be better than it。 Like， the part where he explains his lesser paid teachers should still be proud of the impact they make？ Okay bro， let Nike say that to you and let me know how you feel。 。。。more
Shane Miller
，
Amazing read。 Great insight into his world。 Loved every minute of it
Animesh Mohan
，
Note to athletes， actors， politicians and the like: this is how a memoir should be。 This wasn't just a retelling of a life already captured in the press and the popular imagination。 It was an honest insight into Agassi the person- his struggles with identity， his motivation to keep himself in pain， his relationship with his father， everything。 Agassi's humor deserves a special mention here- its dark， but not in a way that is forced。 His sarcasm almost reveals a lived experience- its funny， but r Note to athletes， actors， politicians and the like: this is how a memoir should be。 This wasn't just a retelling of a life already captured in the press and the popular imagination。 It was an honest insight into Agassi the person- his struggles with identity， his motivation to keep himself in pain， his relationship with his father， everything。 Agassi's humor deserves a special mention here- its dark， but not in a way that is forced。 His sarcasm almost reveals a lived experience- its funny， but raw; like something being recalled from memory and not via a literary trick。 。。。more
Nishant Bhagat
，
What a well written book！A very candid and straight up autobiography by one of my favourite Tennis players。 While reading this book I realised that once Agassi retired， How I slowly pulled away from watching this game。 And how I have watched and knew every other player mentioned in that book。 The frustration of having to watch Agassi lose again and again to Sampras in finals。 Oh how I hated that part！ Back to the book， else I will sound more like a fan boy than a reviewer！ What I really liked ab What a well written book！A very candid and straight up autobiography by one of my favourite Tennis players。 While reading this book I realised that once Agassi retired， How I slowly pulled away from watching this game。 And how I have watched and knew every other player mentioned in that book。 The frustration of having to watch Agassi lose again and again to Sampras in finals。 Oh how I hated that part！ Back to the book， else I will sound more like a fan boy than a reviewer！ What I really liked about this book is how well the author manages to move the story from one moment to another。 There is no going back or repeating of the same old things said earlier。 Each chapter has a good pace， ending in a typical Agassi style cross court winner。 And like any fairy tale， the book ends with my 2 favourite players getting married and living happily ever after （or so I hope！）I would recommend this book to any and everyone！ Read it even if you don't understand anything about Tennis as this book is more about meeting life's challenges and coming out being a better person！ 。。。more
Chris Cary Harder
，
I think…。 my first “Autobiography “ read…。& I loved it。 As a sports enthusiast you would think I would have knocked off a few sports hero’s life stories， but no。
Mary Grace
，
This is a great book for sports fans or anyone looking to read an amazing autobiography that reads like a fiction novel。 This is a book I will be adding to my personal collection and one that I will probably read again in the future。
MaríaPaz MartínezB。
，
Está muy bien escrito y la historia es interesante incluso para gente que no sepa nada de tenis。 Lo que más me gustó fue leer lo que pasa por su cabeza durante los partidos e imaginar lo distinto que puede ser respecto a otros deportistas
Alons J Maliekal
，
I never loved the game Tennis。But I loved this book。
Theresa H。
，
I did the audio book on this one。 Although， I'm not a big tennis fan， I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 It was either well written， well read， or both。 My husband and I both thought it was a great audio book。 I did the audio book on this one。 Although， I'm not a big tennis fan， I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 It was either well written， well read， or both。 My husband and I both thought it was a great audio book。 。。。more
Jose Carlos Frías
，
Un libro que me interesaba desde hace tiempo， especialmente por mi afición al tenis y todo lo que rodea el tema de la superación personal asociada a este increíble deporte。Agassi tuvo una trayectoria profesional amplia， de la que tuve cierto conocimiento en los finales de los noventa y los años venideros al nuevo siglo， y siempre me sorprendió por sus extravagancias varias y su forma de ser en la pista。El libro es una biografía de su vida profesional e inevitablemente de la personal， porque amba Un libro que me interesaba desde hace tiempo， especialmente por mi afición al tenis y todo lo que rodea el tema de la superación personal asociada a este increíble deporte。Agassi tuvo una trayectoria profesional amplia， de la que tuve cierto conocimiento en los finales de los noventa y los años venideros al nuevo siglo， y siempre me sorprendió por sus extravagancias varias y su forma de ser en la pista。El libro es una biografía de su vida profesional e inevitablemente de la personal， porque ambas van de la mano， influyendo ambas de forma recíproca。El relato se inicia con el partido en 2006 frente a Baghdattis en el US Open， el partido que ponía suponer el fin de su carrera， una carrera llena de éxitos y no menos sinsabores， una vida digna de ser escrita。A continuación empieza describiendo a su familia， de origen iraní su padre， un hombre complicado y un padre exigente， que obligó a Agassi a practicar tenis， haciendo con su comportamiento que el bueno de André lo llegase a odiar。 A partir de entonces y con esa relación amor-odio con su deporte， se relata toda una serie de etapas vitales con una inmensa cantidad de anécdotas asociadas。Divido el libro por su importancia， según las etapas en función de sus relaciones amorosas:una incipiente con Wendy Stewart， que lo acompaña en los inicios de su carrera hasta ganar su primer Grand Slam， Wimbledon 1992。 A destacar su rivalidad con Becker de quien no habla muy bien。 Posteriormente su conocido noviazgo con Brooke Shields， separándoles pocos años después sus amplias diferencias。 Y finalmente su relación con la madre de su hijos， la tenista Steffi Graf， a la que describe ejemplarmente como persona， mujer y madre dentro y fuera de la pistas。 Me ha encantado la vida de este deportista pasional， sus enfrentamientos históricos con Sampras， al que describe tan opuesto a él logran emocionarte！Cuento aquí la anécdota de como perdió una final de Roland Garrós porque poco antes tuvo problemas con su pelo postizo！Un libro muy recomendable para los amantes del deporte， que entusiasmará a los amantes del tenis。 。。。more
Alle
，
Nel complesso avrei dato meno stelle， perché mentre lo leggevo lo trovavo superficiale e a tratti， Andre， mi sembrava sbruffone e arrogante。 Poi alla conclusione del libro ho capito ciò che voleva dire e ho messo in secondo piano， se non in terzo， le cose che mi davano più noia。
Owen Lewis
，
To me， a sports autobiography lives or dies based on how well it answers a single question， a question that David Foster Wallace refers to in his phenomenal essay "How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart。" That question is， of course: "how did it feel？" If an athlete with godlike accomplishments can't humanize themselves enough to connect with a reader， the book is dead。 Most people reading this book， presumably， have some idea that Andre Agassi was a great tennis player， if not that he won eight major To me， a sports autobiography lives or dies based on how well it answers a single question， a question that David Foster Wallace refers to in his phenomenal essay "How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart。" That question is， of course: "how did it feel？" If an athlete with godlike accomplishments can't humanize themselves enough to connect with a reader， the book is dead。 Most people reading this book， presumably， have some idea that Andre Agassi was a great tennis player， if not that he won eight major titles and completed the Career Grand Slam。 This book answers that crucial question as well as anything could。 Agassi not only tells us how it felt to win a major （I'm not exaggerating when I say the difference between this book and Pete Sampras's autobiography is night and day in this respect）， he takes us through the emotions of his life， which conveys the fact that athletes， outside of their sports， can be just like the rest of us。 As a raging tennis fan， this book more than satisfied my desire to read about matches in point-by-point detail， but it also didn't overplay its hand， maintaining a nice balance between tennis and life。 I ordered this book a few years ago; I remember it arrived on a night when I had hours of homework。 I read the entire book that night anyway and have returned to it many times since。 I lent it to a friend who knows less than nothing about tennis， and she loved it。 If you read one sports autobiography， make it this one。 。。。more
Claudia Eftimie
，
Read it some 10-15 years ago but I still remember it as one of the most authentic， sensitive， touching yet funny at times autobiography。 Human。
Manu
，
I picked up the book after reading an interesting anecdote from it on how Agassi cracked the Boom Boom Becker serve， and then only sparingly used the knowledge so Becker wouldn't know he knew the tell！ I haven't read autobiographies before and didn't know what to expect， so what I did get from it was a classic five-setter between Agassi and Sampras。 And as it goes， if it reaches the fifth set， Agassi invariably wins。 In simplistic terms， it might be the hero's journey archetype， but from the ver I picked up the book after reading an interesting anecdote from it on how Agassi cracked the Boom Boom Becker serve， and then only sparingly used the knowledge so Becker wouldn't know he knew the tell！ I haven't read autobiographies before and didn't know what to expect， so what I did get from it was a classic five-setter between Agassi and Sampras。 And as it goes， if it reaches the fifth set， Agassi invariably wins。 In simplistic terms， it might be the hero's journey archetype， but from the very first page， Agassi gets you invested in his life。 He invites you to see the person beyond the personalities with a vulnerability and warmth that I really didn't expect to find。 Personalities because his appearance and public persona have changed with age。 His initials are after all AKA， we are reminded late in the book。 Both Andre and Kirk are names of his father's bosses！ I was a half-fan of the version late in his career。 Only half because Steffi married him*， and I couldn't live with that。 He also provides a behind-the-scenes view of his tennis - a life he can only describe as a 'whirl'， and a blow by blow account of various matches - his game， his physical and emotional battles， the sheer pain in the body and the mind， none of which the viewing audience knew about。 And that's probably why you start rooting for him as we go through the journey。His father， an Armenian born in Iran， and an Olympian boxer， got him into tennis really early， and those years probably explains his love-hate relationship with the game。 No one asked him if he wanted it。 But his father did want it， and taught his son to take the opponent's best punch and still be standing。 The philosophy that made the best return in the game， and psychologically defeated opponents。 His dad also proclaimed early to Connors， while stringing his rackets in Vegas， that he （Agassi） would be number one in the world。 Connors seems to have been quite an influence - the guy Agassi didn't want to become。 Not carrying his own bag to court， not remembering Agassi when they played officially， and not even applauding after Agassi's last match。 The journey goes through Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy， which also marked the beginning of half a life long rebellion - beginning with mohawks， ear-rings， breaking rules and even a vow of silence。 Then follows the first offer from Nike， reaching the first final after turning pro and losing to Ramesh Krishnan， the mullet and the famous Nike denim shorts that apparently McEnroe rejected， hairpieces and bandannas， meeting Gil who became a father-figure， the vilification courtesy Canon's "Image is everything" campaign， the first Grand Slam win at Wimbledon beating Goran Ivanišević， getting Brad Gilbert as coach， the many injuries， testing positive with meth and getting away with it thanks to an untrue apology， the Grand Slam wins， the revamped version with Darren Cahill as the coach， his retirement match against Becker （not Boris， Benjamin）， and in general being "The Punisher"。In parallel run the personal relationships - long-time girlfriend Wendi， the friendship with Barbra Streisand， marriage with Brook Shields （trivia: in 1994 Agassi became the first unseeded player to win the US Open after Frank Shields in 1966 - Brooke's grandfather）， and the romance with Stefanie Graf。 There are interesting stories - how he had a crush on Steffi and how crushed he was when the Wimbledon dance （for champions） was canceled， and how Brook Shields had a photo of Graf pinned for motivation because she thought Graf had the best legs。 For me， the book was also a lot of nostalgia - of the time I used to follow the sport。 It's fascinating to see the eras pass - Agassi as the young turk to Connors and McEnroe， the younger foe to Lendl， Edberg and Becker， the contemporary to Courier， Chang， Rafter and relatively lesser known names like Todd Martin， Wayne Ferreira， Sergi Bruguera， Thomas Muster， the classic rivalry with Sampras， and towards the end， playing and recognising the future greatness of Federer （"most people have weaknesses， Federer has none"） and Nadal （"I've never seen anyone move like that on a tennis court"）。 It is also the fascinating story of a man who was "neither punk nor paragon"。 All he wanted was his own pace and space to find himself。 That's something I could relate to。 Great read！ * Now that I know what the person is about， I can finally live with the fact that Steffi is married， and even be a bit happy for him。 。。。more
Jenifer
，
I was interested in reading this because of the ghost writer JR Moehringer （I recently read one of his books and really liked it）。 I grew up in the era of Agassi and Sampras， I was always an Agassi guy。 This book showed me what a jerk Agassi really was。 The first hour of the book is Agassi reliving his last US Open， which I almost gave up on。 After that the book is all about how much Agassi hates tennis， how his dad made him play， and how he rebelled。 He goes into detail about his marriage to Br I was interested in reading this because of the ghost writer JR Moehringer （I recently read one of his books and really liked it）。 I grew up in the era of Agassi and Sampras， I was always an Agassi guy。 This book showed me what a jerk Agassi really was。 The first hour of the book is Agassi reliving his last US Open， which I almost gave up on。 After that the book is all about how much Agassi hates tennis， how his dad made him play， and how he rebelled。 He goes into detail about his marriage to Brooke Shields （I feel really bad for her） and all about his rival with Sampras （would love to hear his side of the story）。 Agassi sh*t talks EVERY single tennis player he has ever played， I doubt he has ANY friends in tennis anymore after this book， and opens up about a crystal meth problem he had。 I also lost respect that he didn't even read his own book for Audible。 。。。more
Amy
，
A really great introspective of his career， personal life and life after tennis。 I am really glad I picked this one up！
Tauri Laane
，
A good example how NOT to live your life - at least the first half it :） The author is a co-dependent person who almost always ends up making bad decisions he doesn't actually want for himself。 To make things worse， they usually aren't even wanted by the other people that he is doing them for。 So this book is a good "wake up call" for all of us to start living our lives for US， doing the things we want for ourselves。 So while the Author is not a good role model， the book IS a good influence to m A good example how NOT to live your life - at least the first half it :） The author is a co-dependent person who almost always ends up making bad decisions he doesn't actually want for himself。 To make things worse， they usually aren't even wanted by the other people that he is doing them for。 So this book is a good "wake up call" for all of us to start living our lives for US， doing the things we want for ourselves。 So while the Author is not a good role model， the book IS a good influence to make better decisions in the future。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Open
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Open&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Open&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0