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You Cannot Be Serious

John Mcenroe, James Kaplan

You Cannot Be Serious - image
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Rank: 39696
In his new role as TV commentator (and in his short-lived run as Davis Cup captain) McEnroe has tried to make the unlikely switch from tennis enfant terrible to tennis elder statesman.

Judging by the welcome he has received from both the cognoscenti and the American public, it has been a largely successful transition.

This memoir of growing up (or not growing up) on the men's tour tracks the same course. Unfortunately, when shifted to the page, the reinvention produces a much more muddled result.

All of the career highlights and lowlights are here his idolization of Borg, his seminal matches with Connors and at Davis Cup, his clashes with the British press at Wimbledon, his romantic perambulations.

But while appealingly self-aware ("For me, the relief of not losing has always been just as strong as, if not stronger than, the joy of winning") and consistently honorable, the effort feels a little dull.

McEnroe's sincere pronouncements lack the cojones that might have made the book entertaining, and yet for all his openness, he engages in too much self-justification to seem truly vulnerable or poignant.

The book grew out of a profile Kaplan wrote for the New Yorker two summers ago. That piece managed to present McEnroe as affable without diluting what is essentially brash and true about the star, and one wishes a little more of that boldness would have crept in here.

For McEnroe, the persona hinted at in public remains more interesting and complicated than the person he gives us in this book.

While the champion would no doubt argue, it appears that he has hit this one a little wide.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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About the Author

John McEnroe, who made it to the Wimbledon semifinals in 1977 at the age of eighteen, has won more tournament titles than any professional ever to play the game.

James Kaplan is the author of the novels Two Guys from Verona and Pearl's Progress.



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Editorials

Sample 3 of 13

You Cannot Be Serious
John Mcenroe, James Kaplan
 From Library Journal
McEnroe, the feisty New Yorker whose brilliant serve-and-volley style of play was at times overshadowed by his on-court antics, captured 17 Grand Slam championships during a 15-year "wild ride" on the professional tennis... read full editorial
 Boston Globe
[A] bracing new serve-and-volley autobiography..."
 Irish Voice
...offers a riveting look into the mind of McEnroe... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.




Customer Reviews

Sample 3 of 48

You Cannot Be Serious
John Mcenroe, James Kaplan
 the psyche of J. McEnroe, his wives, friends & mostly tennis
(Princeton, NJ USA) November 9, 2002 - 4.0/5 stars
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... read full review
 Sanitized version
(USA) June 27, 2002 - 3.0/5 stars
John McEnroe claims to have written his autobiography, You Cannot Be Serious, in order to determine if he really needs attention- and if so, how much? And why? The answers to these questions are yes, he really... read full review
 Only for the most dedicated tennis fans
(Florham Park, NJ USA) October 7, 2002 - 2.0/5 stars
I found this book to be a little dull. The bulk of it is just a chronological listing of his matches, with a little insight from John about the match. He does talk a little bit about his antics, his marriages, and other... read full review




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