Open by Andre Agassi is a life changing book. Keep in mind, I am not one to throw around the phrase "life changing book" lightly and this masterpiece fits the criteria. It made me want to shave my head and rise to the top of the tennis world...kidding...or am I?
Seriously though, I was an Agassi fan back at the beginning and followed his miraculous career revival. I did not know all the facts, and I guess no one did - suffice it say, Agassi is so brutally honest he might just add Pulitzer Prize Winning Author to his already impressive shelf of accolades.
In the book Agassi is insightful about his career, marriages and opponents (including Pete Sampras) as well as his eventual fall to rock bottom. However, the real power of his book lies in his ability to look inside himself. Agassi constantly evaluates and evolves with the times and his reflections are potent and often so real the reader is truly touched. This is a long way from Chad Ochocinco's "I love me some me". The book inspires the reader to look deep inside themself in a new way in order to constantly challenge themselves to try and be better.
Let's face it, if an over the hill thirty year old tennis star can completely reinvent himself and rise to the top why can't you? Agassi pretty much throws down the gauntlet to his readers and there is no way you can step away from this book without being moved. It sticks with you long after you turn the final page. A definite - and surprising - early contender for book of the year.
The ball is back in your court Sampras, but I figure memoir writing ends with an indelible Agassi victory.
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