You Cannot Be Serious

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Summary: The Original Bad Boy Tells His Story
Review: I became interested in tennis watching Jimmy Conners, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe play tennis. My brother and I would go to the park on US Open and Wimbleton weekends and pretend we were the different pros while playing our mildly [bad] matches. I was a fan on McEnroe's but it was always kind of a love/hate relationship because I saw my childish self in him. I was a bit petulant myself when I played sports but, on the other hand, I was always embarrassed by my behavior and wished I could control it. I guess I projected some of these feelings onto McEnroe.

It was nice, therefore, to read his book. To be honest, I really didn't know much about him and it was interesting to get a look at how he became a tennis star. And interesting to see what he did with his fame. Let's face it, people like McEnroe get to do a lot more than those of us who work for a living and it's fun to live vicariously through them. This isn't a book filled with shocking revelations, if that's what you're looking for, but it is a real romp at times.

I tend to read autobiographies as opposed to biographies. I think it's usually more fun to read what a person has to say about themselves as opposed to what others have to say about them. A person writing about their own life has an agenda, of course, just like any biographer but this just tells you even more about them. In this book, despite the help from Mr. Kaplan, McEnroe sounds like McEnroe. And that's what I wanted to read. If you are a fan, you should definitely take a look.

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Summary: You cannot be serious!!!
Review: If you call yourself a tennis enthusiast, suffice to say you're not one in my book if you haven't read You Cannot Be Serious. The always irreverent Johnny Mac takes the reader behind the scenes of his meteoric and sudden rise to the top of the tennis world as a teenager as well as his difficult, if not tumultuous, ride down when he was married to Tatum O'Neal. McEnroe recounts many amusing anecdotes from his tennis days that make for an entertaining read. He tells the stories behing his not so secret disdain for the enigmatic Jimmy Connors(beginning with Connors' refusal to shake his hand prior to their first Wimbledon meeting in 1977 when McEnroe was an 18 year-old unseeded juniors player).

McEnroe reveals his propensity for smoking marijuana during his self-imposed hiatus from tennis in the mid 80's, the wild partying with the amiable Vitas Gerulaitis, the mutual camaraderie, unparalleled competition, and respect, of his nemesis and friend Bjorn Borg, the infamous longstanding feud with Connors, and his passion for, and unprecedented success, with Davis Cup. Johnny Mac tells of an offer of $1 Million from Donald Trump to play Venus that Venus turned down based on the somewhat dubious claim that she didn't want to play "an old man." McEnroe, ever the competitor, tells of his anger over Steffi's notorious default of their Wimbledon mixed doubles semi that left him calling her a rather choice name(female dog is a hint) in the locker room - strangely enough in the company of her future hubby Andre Agassi and his then coach Brad Gilbert. Good stuff.

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Summary: John McEnroe: Bad Boy of Professional Tennis
Review: John McEnroe is one of the all- time greats in the game of tennis. Bursting on the scene in the late 1970's, McEnroe brought a new dimension to the sport. He relives some of his greatest sports moments in this book, "You Cannot be Serious".

McEnroe was known for his legendary temper, and he explains to readers how he got this way and why he continued to blow his top from time to time. He admits, in retrospect, that he went too far more than once, but he stops short of completely apologizing for his on- court antics. Among other reasons, he points out that the promoters of professional tennis quietly encouraged his behavior. They didn't necessarily think it was the best way to act, but they also knew that McEnroe's bad boy image helped increase the popularity of the sport.

McEnroe talks about more than just tennis in this book. He also covers his tumultuous marriage with actress Tatum O'Neil; his encounters with rock and roll superstars; his second marriage to pop singer Patty Smythe; and his present- day occupation as a tennis announcer and commentator. McEnroe lays his heart on the line in this book, letting the reader know exactly how he felt about different players in the game and the women in his life.

Even though I like John McEnroe, both the man and the player, there are a few negative points to make about this book. First of all, there's the editing job by James Kaplan. There are some poorly- worded sentences throughout the pages and there are too many exclamation marks and colons in places where they are not necessary. Second, McEnroe's ego could be hard for some readers to stomach. He brags on himself and always seems to have an excuse to explain why he lost certain key matches.

Overall, this is still a fun book to read, in spite of its flaws. It could have been better with some more thought and effort, but it still makes for an enjoyable read. McEnroe lets you know exactly how he feels about the sport of tennis, the various personalities involved, and his own personal relationships. He's very serious, and he wants you to understand where he is coming from and where he is going.

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Summary: the real McEnroe, tennis, friends, marriages
Review: John McEnroe was a freshman at Stanford during my last year of graduate school. He joined the top ranked team in the nation and as a freshman became the star of the team and led them to a national championship and an undefeated season. He left to turn pro after his freshman year. Yet this could have been expected. Before arriving on the scene at Stanford he made a miraculous run as a junior reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon! All this and more is detailed in this book.

The book is basically a look at McEnroe's life, how he was involved in sports at an early age and actually liked team sports like basketball better than tennis. This and his natural patriotism explain why he played Davis Cup so much and encouraged others to do the same.

Most of the book deals with his childhood friendships and his ascension in the tennis ranks to his run as the number one player in tennis. He describes his great matches and you get an inside look at what led to his great victories and his agonizing defeats. He even replays as best he can his terrible fold to Lendl in the only French Open he really should have won.

Part of his purpose in writing this book is to give you a look at what was going on inside him when he had his infamous tirades on the tennis court. He reveals the New Yorker inside of him and his inability to control his temper. Contrary to what many think this was not something that he did for advantage. McEnroe felt that these outburst hurt his matches as much as it helped him. He also usually felt bad or guilty about it afterwards.

John McEnroe is an intelligent and complex person and that comes out if you read this book closely. Late in the book you get a glimpse at his personal life. His marriage to Tatum O'Neill and the problems that led to their stormy divorce. Unlike what most people think, he does not blame her for the problems and does accept some of the responsibility. But he definitely wants to dispell the notion that he tried to hold back her acting career in favor of his tennis career.

We also get a glimpse of his second marriage to Patty Smyth and how his attempts with his own rock band nearly caused problems in that marriage.

McEnroe seems to be a much more content soul these days. He has his tennis commentating and received the honor of Davis Cup captain and induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame that were oviously very satisfying achievements. Still it seems that he wants to change his public personna. The bad boy image is not something he is proud of and this book and his recently unsuccessful TV quiz show seem to be attempts to reconstruct his image. He also has a very good sense of humor which comes across in this book as well as in his TV commercials

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Summary: John McEnroe, the charismatic and wonderful tennis player
Review: John Patrick McEnroe, born in 1959, was the world's best player between 1980 and 1984. He has won 76 singles titles, of which 7 Grand Slam, and 76 doubles titles. Nowadays he is one of the best (perhaps even the best) tennis commentator.

In this book McEnroe discusses his childhood, his rise to tennis fame and success, his fantastic 1980 and 1981 Wimbledon-finals against Bjorn Borg, his marriage to actress Tatum O'Neal, becoming a father (eventually six times!), his slow slide down the rankings, his divorce from Tatum O'Neal, his rock 'n roll career, the start of his art gallery in New York, meeting his second wife Patty Smyth, and being a father of six children. He also discusses his current work as tennis commentator for both US and UK television.

Although I am/was a huge John McEnroe-fan I am slightly disappointed with this autobiography. Yes, it does shine some light on the magical tennis player, but it does not go very deep. There are not many details and he remains mostly at the surface. In all honesty, he comes across as selfish and childish (for example: his divorce from Tatum O'Neal was her fault, his slide down the tennis rankings was also not his own fault.) Just like some other readers I expected more as that is what autobiographies are about. However, for John McEnroe-fans like myself it is a MUST.