MAXXply
Hall of Fame
Paul McNamee's autobiography is a breezy account of his years as a touring pro, tournament owner/promoter and innovative tournament director.
Macca has the larrikin DNA that exists in Aussie men of a certain age but thankfully that doesn't pervade the book and reduce it to a collection of testosterone-filled anecdotes. His book isn't a warts-and-all account told in fruity locker room style to insiders. His friendly humour infuses the book with a conversational ease that will be understandable to any casual tennis follower. As an account of his life and careers there is no gloating triumphalism in the way he describes the wins in his life, nor is there the overwrought melancholy and theatrical faux-sadness that fills the chapters of other ex-sportspeople's biographies, as if to pad out a few more pages. It is a linear tale of his life told in a matter-of-fact way.
Longtime Aussie tennis followers will already know the career arc and trajectory of Macca's life and his book merely accounts it in a general way. McNamee is indisputably the most erudite and outspoken Australian ex-pro, a man whose insights are a welcome addition to the discerning Aussie tennis observer tired of the banalities of Tennis Australia's hype merchants. So it is disappointing Macca does not delve deeper into the backroom machinations of his TA presidency bid, nor does he proffer much criticism of TA other than toward its coaching philosophy. In that respect his bio could've been more outspoken in his criticisms of the system and Australian tennis' governing body.
I would've liked to have read about his experience as a pro golf administrator but that didn't make the cut in the book. His tales of life on the tour reveal not much more than the fact he and Chris Lewis were great mates and he was extremely fussy about his string tensions. Oh, and he was the only man to take a set of McEnroe at Wimbledon '83. Overall a good account of Macca's life and career but sparingly few insider tidbits for the hardcore tennis fan.
"Game Changer", Paul McNamee, Text Publishing 2013, 320 pages.
Macca has the larrikin DNA that exists in Aussie men of a certain age but thankfully that doesn't pervade the book and reduce it to a collection of testosterone-filled anecdotes. His book isn't a warts-and-all account told in fruity locker room style to insiders. His friendly humour infuses the book with a conversational ease that will be understandable to any casual tennis follower. As an account of his life and careers there is no gloating triumphalism in the way he describes the wins in his life, nor is there the overwrought melancholy and theatrical faux-sadness that fills the chapters of other ex-sportspeople's biographies, as if to pad out a few more pages. It is a linear tale of his life told in a matter-of-fact way.
Longtime Aussie tennis followers will already know the career arc and trajectory of Macca's life and his book merely accounts it in a general way. McNamee is indisputably the most erudite and outspoken Australian ex-pro, a man whose insights are a welcome addition to the discerning Aussie tennis observer tired of the banalities of Tennis Australia's hype merchants. So it is disappointing Macca does not delve deeper into the backroom machinations of his TA presidency bid, nor does he proffer much criticism of TA other than toward its coaching philosophy. In that respect his bio could've been more outspoken in his criticisms of the system and Australian tennis' governing body.
I would've liked to have read about his experience as a pro golf administrator but that didn't make the cut in the book. His tales of life on the tour reveal not much more than the fact he and Chris Lewis were great mates and he was extremely fussy about his string tensions. Oh, and he was the only man to take a set of McEnroe at Wimbledon '83. Overall a good account of Macca's life and career but sparingly few insider tidbits for the hardcore tennis fan.
"Game Changer", Paul McNamee, Text Publishing 2013, 320 pages.
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