Rating: 
Summary: You gotta love this guy!
Review: I grew up watching John McEnroe in action. I'm an avid reader and a tennis lover. And I could not have asked for a better read.
The book is very different from anything you might have read. But then, so is Johnny Mac. Right from the get go, you feel as if McEnroe himself is talking to you and telling his story in person. You can almost hear him speaking as you read. You get to know a lot of tennis legends, from Borg to Sampras...plus the greatest of them all, the super brat himself. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: the psyche of J. McEnroe, his wives, friends & mostly tennis
Review: 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 in some of his recent TV commercials.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Not Be Serious-John McEnroe
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for the most dedicated tennis fans
Review: 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 non-match related stuff, but not enough for me. If you loved Johnny Mac back in the 80's I guess you would like this, but for the rest of us, I would pass on this book.
Rating: 
Summary: You must be BLIND!
Review: This shot is OUT! C'mon, Ivan Lendl owes his career
success to Johnny Mac calling him names? Making excuses
decades later that he and doubles partner Peter Fleming
lost a match in LA, DUE TO SMOG? He lost a Wimbledon
finals to Connors...because he missed the retired Borg? No one ever approached the net with a defter racquet than
JMAC, but he still needs to be visiting his therapist. Even so, for avid tennis fans, it is a fun trip down
memory lane to read about all the greats that this game
has served up from Don Budge to Leyton Hewitt.
Rating:
Summary: A tennis fan's must-have
Review: A riveting book about who Johnny Mac was a person and his outlook on life. Very honest portrayal of him. Bold of him to openly talk about his weaknesses as a person not just a player. I absorbed the book in 2 days. Could not put it down. I found myself looking at old tapes of some of his memorable matches (from my father's collection) with a new set of eyes. Loved it. Highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read!
Review: I found John to be quite candid about his professional tennis career, his personal life from family to first marriage and now with his second wife. I was suprised by the amount of children he has and his hands on role as a parent. He talks openly about success, drugs, fame, family, his past, the present and future hopes and dreams. There are a collection of photographs that add to the story telling and validate this man of many talents. I was a fan during his peak on the tennis courts and found him refreshingly outspoken and spirited. His book is more of the same with a bit of wisdom, grace and class that seems to stem from his age/personal growth. Interesting and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: You cannot STILL be talking!
Review: You know, when someone is the BEST at something, it would be interesting to read about the thought processes, the feelings, the joy and agony behind holding this position. What this book was, was a play-by-play commentary of every match McEnroe ever played, and I mean EVER! I was half-way through the book and was shocked when he was only up to his 19th year. Get to Tatum already! We can watch the great matches on ESPN2. What we can't see is how McEnroe thinks. He manages to down-play every life event from championships to the birth of his children until they are as exciting as watching paint dry. Believe it or not, I wanted to know about Farrah and Ryan, the "mystery celeb girlfriend" and about how he did wild and crazy things in his youth. It seemed as though he wrote this book cautiously, deliberately censoring adult language in case his kids might stumble onto it. Is this really the place to apologize to everyone in your family "(Sorry Mom!)"? If there is anyone that deserves an apology, it's the fans that have listened to his temper tantrums all of these years and the youth that have watched his example and now think it's OK to loose control of yourself while playing a GAME. And please, don't get me started on the rock musician portion of the book! Carlos Santana dedicated a song to him. WOW! I mean, if your are going to go on AND ON about how cool music is, talk about how it affected your game, training, mood, etc. You can't live in New York or Los Angeles without rubbing elbows with musicians, John. Unless you're going to discuss an influence they had on you, you're only going to sound star struck.
Rating:
Summary: Sport Psychologist Enjoyed the Book
Review: As a sport psychologist and author of the book Smart Tennis who works with professional tennis players, I enjoyed the insights into the life of one of the most successful tennnis players in history. It amazed me how fortunate John was to continually find himself in the right place at the right time. How he was was coached by the player who beat his boyhood idol Rod Laver (Tony Palafox), and was later coached by Laver's coach Harry Hopman. How his creative genious made him the best (I once did a survey in my column and readers rated McEnroe the most creative player in tennis history). It was also ironic that just when he was on top of the tennis world, he admitted that he was not at all happy - and that he could not appreciate his success. Tales from the Tatum O'Neil relationship were illuminating. The public often doesn't appreciate the fact that these so called "stars" are people just like you and I - with the same problems - and often more problems - and that money and fame are not the keys to happiness. I personally remember meeting John and Tatum as a tennis coach on Maui in the late 1980s. They were on their delayed honeymoon in January. I was visiting the Haleakula volcano at the top of Maui in January of 1987 when I saw John and Tatum standing there alone near a rented Ford convertible. I approached John and said - "Hi ... you look a lot like John McEnroe" and he said "yeah ... a lot of people tell me that" ... and Tatum smiled. It was the standard scene of the famous tennis star approached by one of the multitudes (far from being ranked in the top 10, I was just coaching tennis at Maui's Royal Lahaina Resort at the time). This book indicates that John has grown a lot in many ways since his pro career. I was pleased that he was open about seeking counseling for his anger. Sport psychology counseling works for standard problems - and also to improve performance by enhancing mental skills such as focus and confidence. I currently enjoy his television commentary. "You Cannot be Serious" is a deep and serious book and appears to reveal John's innermost thoughts and feelings. A creative New Yorker who changed the sport of tennis forever.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than Average
Review: Better than most autobiographies. Moments of honesty and openess...however, not enough. McEnroe is too fascinating a character for such a tepid book like this. I did not get to see him during his best tennis years, so I did find the parts that recounted past matches to be pretty engaging. This is a good shot. If you're a Mac fan, buy it. If not, go get it from the library. It's worth the read.
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