After finishing Agassi's "Open" last night--a well-written, fascinating insight into the mind of someone that the world views as close to perfect in at least one arena--I couldn't help but wonder if Tiger Woods likes golf, and whether the career goals he's pursuing are his at all. Like I'm sure most of the people who read this book, I was struck by Agassi's central point--he hates tennis. He played tennis because his dad wanted him to play tennis. He became a champion because his dad wanted him to be a champion. He obtained a number one ranking because his team told him that was a good goal. Indeed, the only tennis-related goal that Andre seemed to have was winning the French Open after winning the other three slams, and he pursued that with a vengeance. That doesn't mean Andre didn't hate to lose, or that he wasn't great at tennis through at least the sheer amount he practiced and played, or that he didn't appreciate the money and celebrity that his tennis success brought. But fundamentally, the person everyone thought Andre was--a dedicated tennis champion pursuing his dream--was bogus. And he spent much of his life rebelling against that image, even though nobody realized it at the time. Fast forward to Tiger. Tiger's goal according to the media is to win 19 majors and pass Jack Nicklaus on the all-time list. And I'm sure he does want to accomplish that at this point. But think about it in light of Agassi's revelations. When was that goal set? Everyone talks about Tiger having a poster of Jack on his wall from a very young age. Does it really make any sense that Tiger at the age of 4 or 5 knew he wanted to pass Jack Nicklaus? Or was it his dad's goal for him? We know from the reports that Tiger's dad had Tiger practicing from an incredibly early age. He would yell at him while Tiger hit shots to try to make him mentally tough. Does that sound any different than Andre's father? I remember an anecdote that Tiger told once to get a laugh. He was in his second U.S. Amateur and staging a furious comeback against his opponent. Off the tee on 15 or 16, he bombed a 300 yard drive, which landed less than a foot off the fairway. As they marched up to it, Tiger's dad yelled, "that doesn't count as a fairway hit." It was funny because it seems ridiculous that someone would care about Tiger missing the fairway by a foot after hitting a near-perfect drive and staging an incredible comeback. But what if Tiger's dad wasn't joking. What if he was dead serious, and that's the way it was for Tiger--nothing was ever good enough? As I read Agassi's book, I was reminded of that story when Andre talked about his dad getting upset when he would miss a ball from the ball machine that hit another ball and took a funny bounce. It seemed ridiculous to get upset about something that would never happen in a match, but it was dead serious to Agassi's dad, and therefore it was one more thing for Agassi to fear and to think about. It's not that Tiger's dad didn't turn Tiger into a great player. It's not that Tiger's dad didn't make him exceptionally mentally tough. It's not like Tiger's dad didn't give him a goal to try to achieve. But isn't that exactly what Andre said his dad did for him? The point is that if Tiger's pursuit of 19 majors is his dad's goal, then does it make a little more sense that at some point Tiger would try to rebel, to do something that was just for himself--i.e., all these affairs? Especially after his dad died in 2006, which is when the affairs really seemed to take off? Because Tiger's problem right now is that the goals he's pursuing are career goals--and it's going to take playing at the top of his game for a few years before he gets there. So, he's not getting the rush of winning individual tournaments, and he can't just buckle down and live the dream through for a short period of time until it's done. If he's living his dad's dream--and really doesn't care that much for golf--then his life isn't giving him the joy that we all would assume it does. And if he feels like a fraud--because it doesn't bring him that joy, and maybe marriage initially was the same way--then why not just indulge and do what you want because you're a "fraud" anyway? Agassi's book was phenomenal because it shattered a perception we had of a professional athlete. We assumed he loved what he did, both because he had to in order to be great, and because he was getting to be essentially a rock star playing to thousands of adoring fans every match. But what Andre said was no, he did it because other people thought it was important, and by the time he realized it, he felt like there wasn't anything else he could be doing with his life. He was happiest after he met Stephanie, while playing with his kids, and while working with his school. What if Tiger's the same way? What if he's great because it's what he's always done, but he doesn't love it. What if Tiger secretly has just wanted to hang out with people and maybe hook up--a typical mindset for many, many people his age. But he feels like he couldn't because he has an obligation to pursue this goal. And what if the wins and the championships don't give him much of a rush anymore, because he still has a ways to go to achieve the career goals set in front of him? Then doesn't it make sense that Tiger might just have decided to indulge himself, that me might have justified to himself that it was okay to betray his wife because his entire life is a fraud anyway? My wife mentioned that she never say Tiger happier then when he was playing with the kids at the school he set up--just like Agassi said in his book. Maybe that's the one time we've gotten to see him doing something that he really wants to be doing. I raise this not to justify Tiger's actions, but to understand them. After all, we all assume that Tiger is single-mindedly focused on his dream--winning 19 majors and passing Jack--which is why all these affairs seems like such a shock and contrary to our image of him. But what if it's our image of him that is flawed, that he's playing golf because what else is he going to do at this point, and he feels like his life is a fraud. Well, then, he sounds a lot like Agassi sounded about himself, and maybe he'll be happy--like Agassi--only when he wraps up and decides that he's going to live his life the way he wants to--even if's not all that different than the lives that you and I lead every day. I have no idea if any of this is correct. But we assume that people who are incredibly successful must be happy and must be doing what they love. Agassi proved that was wrong, at least for him. Maybe it's wrong for Tiger as well. In any event, a great book, and I highly recommend it.

Agassi was always an enigma during his career. Seemingly brilliant tennis player, under-acheiver, tortured soul and sex symbol rolled into one. As he progressed in his career, he seemed to grow up before our eyes. The book captures all of these dimensions of his life to perfection...and more. The progression of his life throughout the book was fast-paced, fascinating and, most importantly, honest and real. Though a play on words, the title of the book is perfect. Rare is a self-portrayal as critical and incisive. Andre exposes events devoid of any hint of the self-importance one would normally expect from a celebrity of his stature. In a word, his presentation of his life is humble. The scenes are described in stunning color, emotion and presented startlingly clear mental images. He also captures many of the scenes with hilarity (the scene when Andre's father meets Stephanie's father is worth the price of the book). Both haircut scenes (his and his son's later in the book) were comical. Perhaps most interesting to many is his incredible portrayal of the mentally and physically grueling nature of the tour. I got the feel of almost actually being there when he describes the actual games. His explanation of the Sampras rivalry was priceless. His descriptions and views on other players, particularly Connors, like most of the book, gives the sense of being there. He seemed fair in his assessments and, like his tennis game, stayed just inside the line. The relationship with Shields was presented clearly without being critical. One gets no sense that she was at fault for the divorce or a bad person, generally. A difficult line to walk for anyone in such circumstances, but he managed it artfully. The description of his run-in with meth could not have been more forthcoming and, to me, was courageous given the hysteria surrounding the issue in America. I was sometimes surprised by the almost perfect diction, grammer and prose used in some scenes given the absence of a co-writer. After all, although Andre comes across as intelligent in television interviews, he has only a self-proclaimed 9th grade education. Regardless, he finally fessed up at the end that one of the better writers in this genre assisted. This, of course, is to be expected and does nothing to detract from the genuineness of the book. My only complaint is that the book was not longer and needed more explanation for why he continually reminded the reader of his paradoxical "hate" for tennis. The words "hate tennis" appear 17 times in the book. Generally, it's just another person who he is letting in on his dirty little secret. I think 2 or 3 times as a shock to the reader would have sufficed. It seems his writing helper could have steered him clear of this overuse. Overall, thIs was a minor nuisance and has the nominal value of reminding the reader of his emotions at the time. The real question was why he hates tennis. The answer to the question seems apparent in that he was forced to play from an early age and into his his early teens. His father was cast in an unfavorable light as the slave master, but it is apparent that he has now moved beyond that difficulty. Anyone generally hates something that is forced upon them. Regardless, it is unfortunate that he didn't explore the why a little deeper. Regardless, this is one of those reads that you just want to go on because it's so well done. Some might be put off by the rather lengthy descriptions of the games, but for me, reliving some of those moments in such dramatic detail was awesome, particularly since he describes his emotions in the moment so perfectly. I believe this is one of the more unique, well-written and inspirational books of its kind. It's an absolute must read for Agassi and sports fans, generally. Beyond that, almost anyone should read this as a testament to the ability to overcome the demons in one's soul and life difficulties generally. Agassi presents such an honest portrayal that my estimation of him as a person increased immeasurably. Finally, the success of his foundation and work on his charter school as described were inspirational. I was never a huge Agassi fan, but I am now.