On Being John McEnroe

Author: Tim Adams
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
ISBN: 9780224069618
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 158

Book Description
A fan's-eye-view of one of tennis' most notorious stars. The greatest sports stars characterize their times. They also help to tell us who we are. John McEnroe, at his best and worst, encapsulated the story of the eighties. His improvised quest for tennis perfection and his inability to find a way to grow up dramatized the volatile self-absorption of a generation. His matches were open therapy sessions and they allowed us all to be armchair shrinks. Tim Adams sets out to explore what it might have meant to be John McEnroe during those times and to define exactly what it is we want from our sporting heroes: how we require them to play out our own dramas; how the best of them provide an intensity that we can measure our own lives by. Talking to McEnroe, his friends and rivals, and drawing on a range of references, Tim Adams presents a book that is both a portrait of the most colourful player ever to pick up a racket and an original study of the idea of sporting obsession.

But Seriously

Author: John McEnroe
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316324876
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Book Description
He is one of the most controversial and beloved athletes in history, a tennis legend and a volcanic, mesmerizing presence. But after reaching the top of his game - what came next? Fifteen years after his international number-one bestseller You Cannot Be Serious, John McEnroe is back and ready to talk. Now the undisputed elder statesman of tennis, McEnroe has won over his critics as a brilliant commentator at the US Open, Wimbledon, and other Grand Slam tournaments - with outspoken views on the modern game, its top players, and the world of 21st century sport and celebrity. Who are the game's winners and losers? What's it like playing guitar onstage with the Rolling Stones, hitting balls with today's greats, confronting his former on-court nemeses, getting scammed by an international art dealer, and raising a big family while balancing McEnroe-sized expectations? In But Seriously, John McEnroe confronts his demons and reveals his struggle to reinvent himself from champion and tennis legend to father, broadcaster, and author. The result is a richly personal account, blending anecdote and reflection with razor sharp and brutally honest opinions, all in McEnroe's signature style. This is the sports book of the year: wildly entertaining, very funny, surprisingly touching, and 100% McEnroe.

You Cannot Be Serious

Author: John McEnroe
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101204400
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 414

Book Description
A no-holds-barred, intimate memoir by John McEnroe—the bad boy of professional tennis. John McEnroe stunned the tennis elite when he came out of nowhere to make the Wimbledon semifinals at the age of eighteen—and just a few years later, he was ranked number one in the world. You Cannot Be Serious is McEnroe at his most personal, an intimate examination of Johnny Mac, the kid from Queens, and his “wild ride” through the world of professional tennis at a boom time when players were treated like rock stars. In this “bracing serve-and-volley autobiography” (The Boston Globe) he candidly explores the roots of his famous on-court explosions; his ambivalence toward the sport that made him famous; his adventures (and misadventures) on the road; his views of colleagues from Connors to Borg to Lendl; his opinions of contemporary tennis; his marriages to actress Tatum O'Neal and pop star Patty Smyth; and his roles as husband, father, senior tour player, and often-controversial commentator.

Bad News for McEnroe

Author: Bill Scanlon
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1466863390
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
A shockingly honest memoir about life on the pro tennis circuit during its golden years by one of McEnroe's and Connors' chief rivals, Bill Scanlon. In the golden age of tennis, when players were just learning how to become media personalities, men like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and Ivan Lendl ruled the court. In a tell-all memoir, former top 10 seeded tennis star and chief McEnroe rival, Bill Scanlon, presents an unfettered look at the good old days of tennis when some of the most colorful (and infamous) players in history went head-to-head and the game was changed forever. Bad News For McEnroe is in part a revelation of the feud between McEnroe and the author that began when they were teenagers, but the essence of this book are the wonderful and surprising on- and off-the-court high jinks of such notable players as Guillermo Vilas, Borg, McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Connors, all of whom Scanlan played and knew intimately, from locker room fights to on-court breakdowns and blow-ups. A story that could not have come from anyone but a true insider, Scanlon's tale of life on the pro tennis circuit will shock and delight tennis fans everywhere.

Our Town

Author: Kevin Jack McEnroe
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1619026384
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
Our Town is the debut of a striking literary voice, one that captures the disillusion at the fringes of Hollywood as seen through a haze of drugs, alcohol, abuse, and fallen aspirations. An unseen narrator guides us through the dark fairy tale of Dorothy White, an aspiring actress who "never quite figured how to get out of her own way." Her perfect marriage to an equally golden actor, Dale, quickly turns into one of jealousy and violence. Dorothy ends the marriage yet begins a legacy of self–destruction for the failed couple, as well as their two children, Clover and Dylan. But we see the pathos in Dorothy's attempts to get back on track, to be a good woman, mother, and grandmother. Throughout the novel, she is left in the wake of decisions that turn disastrous. Her downward spiral from elusive fame into consistent infamy—a series of DUIs, the continuing neglect of her children, a string of failed and unhealthy relationships—is not without its grace, with the warmth of her character shining through her spackled makeup and cloud of acrid perfume. In many ways, Dorothy White is an anti–heroine for the ages—"vanilla voiced," bewigged, loving, and ever radiant —a sympathetic character caught in the riptide of her transformation from small–town southern girl to one–time toast of Hollywood to embarrassing tabloid fodder. Our Town is an original and startling debut novel, one whose fresh voice and expert perspective reinvents the Hollywood story for a new generation of readers.

Hardcourt Confidential

Author: Patrick McEnroe
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 140139597X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Book Description
An entertaining and unfiltered look at professional tennis as only Patrick McEnroe can offer. Patrick McEnroe has been in the world of professional tennis in one way or another for most of his life. As a player, coach, and ESPN commentator, he's seen it all. The significant tennis books of recent years have all been autobiographies--famous players burnishing their image or attempting to set the record straight within carefully controlled memoirs. No one has been willing to do a book that pulls back the curtain and presents an honest, no-holds-barred look into the ultimate gentleman's sport and the larger-than-life personalities that inhabit it. Patrick McEnroe does just that. Curious to know which marquee player threw a tantrum and bailed early on a tournament? Why Roger Federer, presumably the greatest player of all time, has a losing head-to-head record with Rafael Nadal? Why certain tennis prodigies burned out early? The real role of coaches like Nick Bollettieri? Which player is as much of a diva off the court as on? The greatest match ever played? In Hardcourt Confidential, McEnroe uses his twenty-five-plus years in the trenches of the game to tell true tales and wild stories about the players you think you know (from Sampras to Agassi to Roddick to the Williams sisters), how and why the game has changed since he first swung a racket, and what the future holds in store for American tennis. McEnroe takes an unapologetic look at the men, women, and events of the past three decades, right up to the epic Federer vs. Nadal rivalry that dominates the game today. He's got a lot to say and he's not afraid to say it.

Serious

Author: John McEnroe
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0748109161
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 303

Book Description
John McEnroe enjoyed tremendous success at all levels of tennis, and he owns 77 career singles titles, including 7 Grand Slams. He joined the circuit in 1978 and it took him only three years to attain the No. 1 ranking. The 1980 Wimbledon final, between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, is considered by many tennis experts to be the best match ever, a five-set thriller which McEnroe avenged the following year for his first Wimbledon title. In doubles, McEnroe is recognised as the best player of all time. He was ranked No. 1 for a record 257 weeks and captured a total of 74 titles, including 8 Grand Slams. Still an active player, McEnroe is now an outstanding tennis commentator and broadcaster for the BBC and other national networks. This autobiography, his first, covers an awesome tennis career, marriage to movie star Tatum O'Neal and where arguably the greatest tennis player of all time goes from here. This is SERIOUS.

Epic

Author: Matthew Cronin
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 9780470190623
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Book Description
A top tennis writer tells the story of the greatest Wimbledon, the greatest U.S. Open, and the greatest rivalry in the history of the game The epic 1980 Wimbledon final that ended with John McEnroe's defeat by his idol, Bjorn Borg, is considered the greatest tennis match ever. The U.S. Open final later that year, when McEnroe got his revenge, is considered the greatest U.S. Open ever. These two matches marked McEnroe's transformation from tennis player into an American icon, the high point of tennis's gigantic leap into the national consciousness, and the beginning of Borg's rapid and surprising decline. This book takes you back to that amazing summer at the height of the golden age of tennis. Includes fascinating details about John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg both on and off the court, from grueling practice sessions to late-night partying Packed with stories and anecdotes of top tennis players and coaches, including Vitas Gerulaitis, Mary Carillo, Lennart Bergelin, and others Highlights a pivotal moment in the evolution of the game?from quiet to loud, from wood to metal racquets, and from European to American dominance Written by veteran tennis writer and analyst Matthew Cronin Whether you're a longtime tennis fan or a recent convert, Epic will give you a deeper understanding of the game and of two of the most amazing players ever to have played it.

McEnroe

Author: Richard Evans
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780450055867
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Book Description
A noted sports journalist traces the spectacular rise of tennis's "enfant terrible," examines his on-court behavior and his great matches, and reveals McEnroe's generosity and loyalty to family, friends, and country

Dick Enberg

Author: Dick Enberg
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1613210051
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
How did the most recognizable voice in broadcasting get his start? By asking for a mop. In this humorous, poignant, and well written autobiography, Dick Enberg shares the stories behind the voice of sports in America. A tireless worker whose boyish enthusiasm for athletics has never diminished, Enberg ?rst walked into a radio station in 1956 to apply for a janitorial position. He wound up on the air instead and a legend was created. In the half-century that Enberg has been in the sportscasting business he has called everything from the World Series to the Super Bowl. Traveling across the country and around the world, Enberg has called football games in weather so frigid that his coffee froze before he could drink it, been challenged to a ?ght by an irate baseball player, led the Notre Dame band in a rendition of “The 1812 Overture,” and been threatened with ejection at Wimbledon because he was shouting too loudly into his microphone. Those stories and hundreds more are told in Dick Enberg: Oh My! with wit and candor, as Enberg not only relives some of sports’ greatest moments, but takes readers into the booth and behind the camera. “Sportscasting is a kid’s dream come true,” he says, “which is one of the reasons that I keep doing it. I can’t let my dream go. I’m still in love with what I do.”