From Publishers Weekly
In his new role as TV commentator (and in his short-lived run as Davis Cup captain) McEnroe has tried to make the unlikely switch from tennis enfant terrible to tennis elder statesman. Judging by the welcome he has received from both the cognoscenti and the American public, it has been a largely successful transition. This memoir of growing up (or not growing up) on the men's tour tracks the same course. Unfortunately, when shifted to the page, the reinvention produces a much more muddled result. All of the career highlights and lowlights are here his idolization of Borg, his seminal matches with Connors and at Davis Cup, his clashes with the British press at Wimbledon, his romantic perambulations. But while appealingly self-aware ("For me, the relief of not losing has always been just as strong as, if not stronger than, the joy of winning") and consistently honorable, the effort feels a little dull. McEnroe's sincere pronouncements lack the cojones that might have made the book entertaining, and yet for all his openness, he engages in too much self-justification to seem truly vulnerable or poignant. The book grew out of a profile Kaplan wrote for the New Yorker two summers ago. That piece managed to present McEnroe as affable without diluting what is essentially brash and true about the star, and one wishes a little more of that boldness would have crept in here. For McEnroe, the persona hinted at in public remains more interesting and complicated than the person he gives us in this book. While the champion would no doubt argue, it appears that he has hit this one a little wide.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
McEnroe, the feisty New Yorker whose brilliant serve-and-volley style of play was at times overshadowed by his on-court antics, captured 17 Grand Slam championships during a 15-year "wild ride" on the professional tennis tour. Now, he and journalist Kaplan take a candid look back at this colorful career. Smashing racquets and screaming tirades against linesmen and umpires only cemented McEnroe's role as the explosive bad boy of tennis. Yet the Hall of Famer shows surprising insight here. He explores why matches were constant battles against "the other guy and myself," admitting that the relief of not failing was at least as strong as the joy of winning. McEnroe fully details his most significant triumphs and losses (e.g., the 1984 French Open final, in which he held a two-sets-to-one lead over nemesis Ivan Lendl, and the classic Wimbledon five-set defeat by Bjorn Borg). His three Wimbledon and four U.S. Open singles titles were special, but perhaps his proudest achievement was the five Davis Cups he helped to secure at a time when other top players were more interested in the money to be made in tournaments and exhibitions. McEnroe also writes openly about his turbulent former marriage to actress Tatum O'Neal, and current status as father to six and husband to pop star Patty Smyth. Readers will be happy to learn that his anger-management counseling seems to help him defuse "certain situations" effectively. Recommended for sports and general collections.- Howard Katz, New York Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The years from the late 1970s through the early 1990s made up a golden era in professional tennis. Connors, Borg, and Lendl were all household names during the period, but nobody attracted attention the way John McEnroe did, for both his on-court triumphs and his reputation as the sport's enfant terrible. His profane outbursts, usually directed at hapless linesmen and umpires, became legendary. (The title of this autobiography derives from his most famous invective.) Writing with a good-humored maturity borne of age and experience, McEnroe recounts his edgy years as a star, wincing a bit at the youthful excesses and the self-important posturing. His recollections fall into three categories: accounts of key matches, life as a jet-setting celebrity, and reflections on the emotional roller coaster that has been his personal life (including his much-chronicled marriage to and divorce from actress Tatum O'Neal). Tennis fans will revel in the match accounts; McEnroe, a true student of the game, is an excellent television tennis commentator, and his analyses make fascinating reading. The jet-set anecdotes read well, too, thanks to the engaging, self-deprecating humor the author brings to his tales of partying with the rich and famous. As charismatic as ever, McEnroe is still a celebrity--game-show hosting is now part of his repertoire--and his book is sure to draw a crowd. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

Unconventional, sarcastic, confrontational. These are but a few of the words detractors and fans alike use to describe tennis icon John McEnroe. With an impressive record -- which includes almost eighty singles titles -- and a notorious penchant for trouble, McEnroe remains a high-profile tennis commentator and senior tour player. Now McEnroe bares all in You Cannot Be Serious, a memoir that crackles with his own brand of cranky energy. McEnroe's book balances sharp, funny insights into the evolution of game with a thoughtful look back at his career, his marriages, and his most outrageous acts.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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, a no-holds-barred 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. Here 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--and his current roles as husband, father, senior tour player, and often-controversial commentator).

FROM THE CRITICS

San Diego Union-Tribune

...an autobiography that's as gloriously colorful as [John McEnroe] is.

San Antonio Express-News

...a well-written and interesting look at a character most people knew from video clips and sound bites.

Washington Post

...eminently readable,because it is, like him, reflexively honest.

Pages Magazine

Often controversial and always colorful, the seven-time Grand Slam winner serves an ace with You Cannot Be Serious.

Irish Voice