Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi (2010, Paperback, Reprint)

Synopsis
When Andre Agassi burst onto the tennis scene in the late 1980s, with his brash attitude, neon-colored shorts, and that ragged mane of hair, many followers of the notoriously conservative sport felt sure that the kid from Las Vegas lacked the determination and discipline needed to become a champion. More than 20 years later, Agassi retired as one of the greatest champions in tennis history, and the only man ever to complete a career "Golden Slam" (winning all four Grand Slam events plus an Olympic Gold Medal). Perhaps more importantly, with his audacity and charisma both on and off the court, he was one of the primary reasons for the sport's resurgence in popularity during the 1990s. Agassi lets his vibrant personality shine in this remarkable memoir, as he charts the genesis of his rebellious image and recalls the highlights and lowlights of his career with equal candor. Along with providing amazing insights on his playing career, Agassi also documents his high-profile romances with Barbara Streisand, Brooke Shields, and his current wife, fellow tennis great Steffi Graf. Selected by the New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of 2009.

Key Details
Author:	Andre Agassi
Language:	English
Publisher:	Vintage Books
Series:	Vintage
Format:	Paperback
ISBN-10:	0307388409
ISBN-13:	9780307388407

Additional Details
Edition Description:	Reprint

Size
Length:	385 pages
Thickness:	1 in
Weight:	12.8 oz

Publisher's Note
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.


From the Hardcover edition.

Industry Reviews
"By the time Agassi's hopeful ending arrives, not only has he bared his soul like few professional athletes ever have, he's done it with a flair and force that most professional writers can't even pull off."
(11/13/2009)

"[I]t's both astonishing and a pleasure to report that Andre Agassi...has produced an honest, substantive, insightful autobiography. True to the genre of jock hagiography, it has its share of stock footage -- total recall of famous matches, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and an upbeat ending. But the bulk of this extraordinary book vividly recounts a lost childhood, a Dickensian adolescence and a chaotic struggle in adulthood to establish an identity that doesn't depend on alcohol, drugs or the machinations of PR."
(11/08/2009)

"Welcome to Mr. Agassi's world. As described in OPEN it is lively but narrow, since Mr. Agassi's curiosity does not extend far beyond tennis, more tennis, the misery of tennis, the way sportswriters misunderstand tennis and the irritating celebrity that tennis stardom confers....[W]hat exactly keeps OPEN going? Somebody on the memoir team has great gifts for heart-tugging drama."
(11/08/2009)

"OPEN is one of the most passionately anti-sports books ever written by a superstar athlete--bracingly devoid of triumphalist homily and star-spangled gratitude....[It] is not just a first-rate sports memoir, but a genuine bildungsroman, darkly funny yet also anguished and soulful....[H]ard-won self-knowledge irradiates almost every page..."
(11/22/2009)

"OPEN is not your typical jock-autobio fare. This literate and absorbing book is, as the title baldly states, Agassi's confessional, a wrenching chronicle of his lifelong search for identity and serenity, on and off the court."
(11/21/2009)