OPEN : An Autobiography

by Andre Agassi

Paperback, 2009

Status

Missing

Description

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.

User reviews

LibraryThing member stellarexplorer
Full disclosure: I followed Agassi's career very closely, and have always had deep affection for his struggle, his fearless style of play, and his reflective nature.

This is surely one of the best sports memoirs I've read. It is far more than the mediocre accounting of a career, full of soporific
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recountings of, for example, some rather forgotten match in Stuttgart in 1995. This is the fully formed Agassi, the man he labored to decades to find, to become. He illuminates himself in a way that may seem surprising if one was not paying attention all those years. There he is in pain, all suffering and aggression and introspection, hard to avert the eyes from; A player like Sampras has little to offer beyond his tennis; Agassi is the overcoming of his tennis.

Ultimate this is not a book about a tennis player; it is a book about the pain of a lost childhood; the difficulty in forming a coherent identity when one is used as a tool by an abusive parent, made all the more impossible when the growing up takes place under the relentless glare of the public spotlight. And it is about finding oneself in the end. Survival. Suffering. Personhood.

400 pages; I read it in two long sittings, unable and unwilling to put it down. But part of that is me. It was rather like finally finding the redeeming truth about one's lost brother.

Just to add: the media hype about the book which focuses on a few sensation elements in the book is predictable, and utterly misses the message.
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LibraryThing member mks27
First, let me say that I am neither a tennis fan nor a tennis player and not all that much of a sports fan.

Gratefully, this did not deter me from picking up Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Open. I recommend this book for the tennis fan and non-tennis fan equally. Yes, this book is in part about
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tennis, the game, the tournaments, and the top players, but primarily it is a story of a confused boy and later, a man, searching not only for his own identity, but for some reason for all the pain and struggles we must face though our lifetime. In the end, I found his answers inspiring and easily relatable.

Agassi’s life is one of extreme contradictions and those contradictions are explained with great clarity in his memoir. He is a gifted tennis player who hates tennis; he is a high school dropout who starts a school for at risk kids. As a child and teen, he hated his home then missed it while he was away and finally returns to it as an adult.

I earlier used the word clarity. This autobiography was not written in the process of finding out who he is and what is important to him, that work had already been done. His life, experiences, mistakes, and successes are laid out clearly. Agassi has looked them up and down and, for the most part, has both them and him figured out.

It is a compelling journey that offers lessons learned and truths discovered that we all can relate to and benefit from, I know I did. As I moved though the book, I found myself stopping to write down a few notes, something unusual for me. I wanted to secure a few grains of wisdom and hard fought for lessons to keep with me always.
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LibraryThing member Stbalbach
I don't usually read sports biographies, but Agassi focuses on the human side with a great sense of the tragic. The first third is probably the best, during his childhood and teen years before he became famous. The arc of Agassi's story is not unlike Charles Dickens Bildungsroman David Copperfield:
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the young hero with an abusive father who is sent off to boarding school with a wicked headmaster whom he eventually triumphs over to become his own man; the failed first marriage to the girl above his class, the second marriage to the girl more like himself whom he should have married in the first; the cast of colorful characters - some so good they nearly magical, others so evil they are like devils. Like Dickens, Agassi sees the world as fated, the good guys always win in the end, and the bad guys ultimately loose (Agassi sees himself as born with a golden horseshoe). Aggasi almost breaks the old literary mold with a true modern memoir by revealing he hates tennis, but he ends the book playing tennis for pleasure, and it's never convincing how much he really hates all the things tennis has done for him. Just as modernism taught us to be skeptical of the narrator in literature, this memoir may contain style over substance in the interest of telling a compelling story - ironically the very charge he has darted his whole professional career ("Image is Everything"). Indeed, the more compelling the story, and the more neatly it fits the old literary molds, the more skeptical we should be. It's not what he says, but what is missing.

Beyond any pedantic "literary criticism", Agassi is a good guy and has proven it with his philanthropy work, he is a role model for all of us on how to improve our own lives by improving the lives of others. That is the true message of the book and Agassi has only just begun to tell that story.
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LibraryThing member Canadian_Down_Under
I am a mad tennis fan and always enjoyed watching Agassi play. I have read other player's autobiographies and been unimpressed so I was a bit reluctant to read this. I was pleasantly surprised.

Agassi is wonderfully honest in this book. He is not shy about his success and talent but also lets us
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into the parts of his life that weren't so shiny and bright, including his lack of schooling, his unsuccessful first marriage and his love-hate relationship with tennis.

My biggest complaint, as one who loves the English language and grammar, was the incorrect use of pronouns. Throughout the book, Agassi incorrectly uses the pronoun "I" when he should have used "me". For example, he would say, "He was a lot taller than I". This is a common hyper-correction particularly by people who do not have a formal education. It is a small point but one that bothered me throughout the book. It should have been picked up by an editor.

All in all, this was a solid autobiography. Recommended for tennis fans in particular as you get a very good look at how talented kids are thrown into the fantasy world of elite sports.
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LibraryThing member mountie9
One of the most fascinating biographies I have ever read. Agassi's raw honesty and humour make it a truly compelling read. I found myself fascinated and wanting to learn more about Tennis, which I won't lie had no interest in. Many of the tennis scenes had me on the edge of my seat. I was impressed
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with his trust and love for those involved in his career and his constant mentions of how he couldn't do anything without them. His generosity and strength of character are inspiring. Sad that his fathers childhood coloured him and he tried to make his son fulfill his dreams. And I admire Andre's forgiveness and acceptance of his dad's faults. Enjoyed the humour and the constant mentions of "Of course it was Pete." This was one of the recommendation from Captain Awesome, who is my non-fiction guru. I trust him implicitly when it comes to non fiction. He has not disappointed me yet.

Favorite Quote's Passages

"All this is lost on Pete, however. From the opening, he’s yawning, fidgeting, checking his watch. He doesn’t like the theater, and he doesn’t get actors since hes never pretended anything in his life. In the quasi-darkness of the footlights, I smile at his discomfort. Somehow, forcing him to sit through Grease feels more satisfying than beating him in Key Biscayne”

“I find it surreal, then perfectly normal. I'm struck by how fast the surreal becomes the norm. I marvel at how unexciting it is to be famous, how mundane famous people are. They're confused, uncertain, insecure, and often hate what they do. It's something we always hear - like that old adage that money can't buy happiness-but we never believe it until we see it ourselves.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
When I started this book, I must say that I was determined not to like it. I had no real desire to read about the life of a tennis player, that I was very much aware of, but my face to face book group chose it for us.
Well, surprise, surprise, it was very engaging and very interesting, far more than
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I ever expected and each time I put it down, I looked forward to picking it up and reading it. Who would have "thunk"?
I was quite struck by the easy way the book is written, by the sincerity of the words on the page which exposed this young man in all his vulnerabilities. If I remembered correctly, he was one of tennis’ bad boys, the one who was influential in bringing color to the tennis court, but now he does not seem so bad after all, rather he seems a sympathetic figure, one almost consumed or driven by an almost Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like syndrome about tennis, one who professes a love/hate relationship with the career he has chosen.
This book is quite amazing. As a young boy, Agassi has had to deal with a father who is abusive in his relentless effort to make him the number one tennis player and a mother who seems to absent herself from anything to do with his upbringing. She is the antithesis of his father and seems to be a gentle soul. His father, on the other hand, is a violent man who instills terror in his son and coerces him into keeping the secrets of many of his violent encounters from his mother, whom he would not tell anyway because she has no interest in anything other than her job, her jigsaw puzzles and her animals.
Throughout the book, despite his dysfunctional childhood, Agassi maintains his love and respect for his family and a loyalty to his friends and those that help him. The book is told with such honesty and a touch of humor too which made it hard to put down. It was a book about a personage that I grew up with and yet, it was never boring, never tedious, even though I knew the eventual outcome. For someone new to Agassi it will read like a novel, not an autobiography, like a love story about a boy coming of age.
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LibraryThing member lhossler
Ghost written by the author of The Tender Bar. An excellent, well written book that flows. Agassi allows all his warts to be visible. This book helps explains why celebrities act the way they do, sometimes childish, rude, and often seemingly self-serving.
LibraryThing member mochap
sad, touching, and in some sense quite naive autobiography.
LibraryThing member GeniAus.
I bought this book because I am interested in the enigma that is Agassi, have seen him play in Australia and like tennis. I expected it to be another ordinary biography on a subject of interest to me but I was hooked from the very first paragraph.

I was astounded by the quality of the writing in
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this book and the way it told the Andre story, warts and all. The characters, many of whom I have seen play, were well-drawn and came alive in the pages of "Open". I couldn't believe that Andre could write so eloquently so I wasn't surprised to find that the book was ghost-written.

Andre's positive perceptions of Australia and Australians such as Pat Rafter and Darren Cahill struck a chord with this proud Aussie. It was gratifying to hear that Andre loved visiting our shores.

I recommend this book to all readers irrespective of whether they have an interest in tennis or not. 4 1/2 stars is the highest rating I have ever given to a book - as a harsh judge I just can't give 5. This is one of the most engaging tales I have read in a long time.
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LibraryThing member julyso
This is Andre's story from a young boy being forced to play tennis to an adult who continued to play a game he didn't like. It is also about his brutish father who pushed him too hard. We also learn about his competitors, the good and the bad. It is also the story of his struggles, from tennis to
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injuries to temptations. My favorite part was probably about his relationships with Brooke Shields and Steffi Graff.

I really didn't think I would finish this book when I started it...not a big sports fan, but I have always liked Andre Agassi. I really enjoyed this book and found most of it fascinating. The only part I would skim (sometimes!) was all the excessive details about tennis games-boring! Everything else was very interesting and I love that he started his own school.
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LibraryThing member norinrad10
This is hands down one of the best biographies I have ever read. Not sports biographies, but biographies. Agassi gives true insight into the life of a professional athlete. We see both the pain and the glory. Also evident is how different these lives are from our own. Amazing book.
LibraryThing member Stevejm51
How can you hate something, but still be very good at it? Andre Agassi explains how in this well-written and very revealing autobiography. After reading the book I understand the sacrifices tennis players make to become good at their sport.
LibraryThing member jocelynam
Loved it. Really fascinated in the tennis scene, the way Andre and Gill reinvented himself 3 times, the exercise regime to do that as he aged. The philosophy behind winning, the effects of losing and the whole support mental health issues
LibraryThing member labwriter
I enjoy watching tennis, but I wouldn't call myself a tennis nut by any means. I bought this book because the memoir has become my newest favorite genre and this one got great reviews. Only at the end is the excellent writing explained--the book was actually written by J.R. Moehringer, author of
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the Tender Bar. I would have preferred to know that at the beginning; I knew it wasn't possible for a guy with an 8th-grade education and no writing background to have written this, so I was somewhat distracted by "who done it" until the end (I read this thing on my Kindle, so I didn't find the acknowledgment until I came to the end of the book, which is one of the problems I have with electronic readers--you don't know what to look for until you find it). When I discovered who really wrote the book, I bought Moehringer's memoir right away.

This was a very compelling read. Agassi is one of those sad people who had their childhood's stripped from them by a pushy, abusive parent looking to live through their child. Tiger Woods also comes to mind, especially because of the sad/bad news from him lately. It's sad and horrible to know how much this guy hated playing tennis all his life and to imagine what that did to him. The story about Agassi's charter school is inspiring and a testiment to the human spirit.

My only quibble with the book is that for me there was too much detail about all the tennis matches. However, a real tennis fan would find the detail to be a strength of the book. Nevertheless, I found the book difficult to put down and I read through it in a couple of days--the writing was just that good.
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LibraryThing member pat1eiu
I should start out by saying i am an Agassi fan. I loved watching tennis during the period he played and have not watched much since his retirement. Having said that, i thought this book was amazing. I wished when he retired that he would go on playing a bit longer so i could keep watching him. I
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felt the same about this book, i wanted his career to be longer so the book would be. Easily one of the top celebrity autobiographies of all time.
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LibraryThing member pescatello
Great read. Found it really interesting to hear about his life and emotional path. Would highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member karenlisa
Open By Andre Agassi Open is exactly as the title depicts. Andre Agassi, famed, successful, beloved tennis star opens his heart and soul to the world. The reader does not need to be a tennis fan to enjoy this incredible account of life as a child prodigy, early professional tennis champion. I, for
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one, know nothing about tennis and adored this easy to follow autobiography of Andre's life, according to Andre. As a young child growing up in Las Vegas Andre Agassi finds himself under the thumb of his demanding, perfectionist, overachieving father. He is sent away to the infamous Bollitierri Academy in Florida and drops out of school by the 9th grade, a regret he is constantly at odds with throughout the book. He goes on to have a rollercoaster career filled with emotions the public rarely gets to hear about. His friends and family support and love him but it is not easy. It is never easy, and maybe that makes you stronger but it also wears you down way too fast. His honesty is humbling and one could only imagine how exhausting putting this autobiography together must have been. Kudos to Mr. Agassi, his loving family and fans that will always remember the good old days with him.
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LibraryThing member crazy4reading
I am not a huge fan of tennis but Andre Agassi is one tennis player I always enjoyed watching and hearing about. I did not realize he had written an autobiography so when our Library Book Club chose this book I was pleasantly surprised.

As I read Open I found myself trying to remember some of his
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matches and the way he played or reacted to the way he was playing. Andre wrote from the heart about his dislike for tennis and yet he kept playing. He wrote about his relationship with Brooke Shields.

I enjoyed reading the book and realizing how he matured during his career. Andre doesn't hide about how immature he was during his young days of playing tennis. I realized while reading this book how intense tennis can be for some players. How they talk in their heads and sometimes that is what causes them to lose the game. I now look at tennis in a very different way.

I also enjoyed seeing the pictures that Andre included in the book. Pictures of him and his family, etc. I also learned that there is an Andre Academy in Las Vegas. I found that very interesting considering Andre never finished school and in his own words 'what a contradiction he is'.
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LibraryThing member pmarshall
Why spend your life doing something you hate? First, because you are a young boy doing what your father tells you to do, secondly, when you are older and have more control over your life you do what you know you can do and finally, I think, it was a love-hate relationship that held him in tennis
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until he knew it was time to leave it.

Andre Agassi’s “Open” is the best sports autobiography I have read, in fact one of the best autobiographies. It must have been extremely painful to publicly lay himself and his family out as he did. Even when you live in the public eye you have some semblance of privacy but Andre forgoes this in “Open.”

His memory of particular matches and players is phenomenal. The people he played from Becker to Blake to Federer covers half of the history of the open era. His accomplishments are many, eight Grand Slam singles titles, an Olympic gold medal, his Davis Cup record, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas. He is a man to be admired.
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LibraryThing member goofyfoot
Agassi’s story is an unusual insight into the life of a professional athlete. He tells it with honesty and candor. His early struggles with his father, his struggles with his own hatred of tennis, then with his fame, his marriage to Brook Shields, and finally, coming to terms with himself and his
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purpose. Now married to Stefanie Graf, he has two children and has built a private school in Las Vegas. Well worth reading. I kept looking for the name of his ghost writer because it was written so well and Agassi quit school early in high school.

At the end of the book, in the Acknowledgments, he says that the book would not exist without his friend, J.R. Moehringer. He told the story to J.R. over many hours into a tape recorder. J.R. wouldn’t let his name be put on Agassi’s book, saying he couldn’t see signing his name to another man’s life. Agassi has read J.R.’s book, The Tender Bar, which he loved. I think I will take a look at it.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
Though I'm not usually into celebrity autobiographies or sports memoirs, I wanted to read this because JR Moehringer, who wrote one of the best memoirs I've read, wrote it (though he insisted, to his credit, that Agassi be the sole author). And I wasn't disappointed - it was extremely well done.
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Just a few too many play by plays, but very open and compelling.
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LibraryThing member stuster
What a sensational memoir! This book kept me awake for hours with its gripping tale of Agassi's path to manhood and wisdom. His journey was played out on the tennis court, but the lessons can be applied universally to all men as we grow up, seeking our identity and discovering ourselves and the
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world.

The story was particularly poignant for me, as it tracked the period in my life during which I began following tennis as a boy; an interest which grew quickly into a great passion. The quality of writing is outstanding, with Agassi's Pulitzer Prize-winning ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer, taking the reader so close to the action, the emotion, the ups and downs, that I felt like I was there, re-living every moment. And for many of those moments I was there, up late at night through the 1990s and early 2000s, glued to the TV watching this incredible talent win and lose.

I learned that my own impression of the young Agassi (ostentatious, arrogant, disrespectful) was completely wrong. Of course it was: how can we know someone by seeing them on TV? He was a precocious talent finding his way in a confusing world, not trying to "be" anything other than himself.

The book ends with the wonderful tale of his joy in finding lifelong love and subsequent fatherhood: the most amazing experiences of all, to which new fathers (and likely old ones as well) will strongly relate.

This is a magnificent tale which must surely rank as one of the great sporting memoirs.
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LibraryThing member jdy
Agassi describes his life in tennis vividly in his autobiography. Growing up playing tennis, and watching many matches of Agassi vs. Sampras, it's interesting to see his side of things. From the hate for the game, the hair piece, his relationship with Brooke Shields, his beautiful family and
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relationship with Stefanie Graf... all very interesting and great glimpses into his life. More respect for him now that he wrote the book and shared his feelings, than the respect (which was great) I had for him when he was playing tennis regularly. A great, interesting, and motivating read.
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LibraryThing member GShuk
Andre Agassi confesses all with some very personal and suprising revelations. It surprised me that someone so gifted could hate tennis so much. For anyone who followed Andre this will help them better understand why he behaved the way he did.
LibraryThing member flexatone
Open is most successful in its accounts of Agassi's first 18 years, and of his last year of professional tennis. His relationship with the game, with his father, and with his own talents are wildly interesting and worth reading. The middle chunk of the book, though, is a more sprawling and diffuse.
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This part will please only the most avid fans, as Agassi recounts specific matches, encounters and clashes with two generations of players.
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