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Summary: A Terrific Tennis Book!
Review: Nowadays, there are so few quality hardcovers that deal with the professional aspect of tennis; much of what's written concerns instruction, travel, etc. Fein has enviable access to players and venues, and provides insightful commentary that sounds fresh even to one who's read whatever else that's out there on this topic. This is a book that I see myself rereading every few years because of the quality of the writing, and because the topic is brought across with acute attention to detail and finesse. By the way, you can read Paul Fein's pieces in Tennis Week magazine, as well!
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Summary: The one and only...Tennis Confidential
Review: Paul Fein has filled a void in tennis literature with Tennis Confidential. It's the only book in tennis history to contain: 1. Memorable Q & A interviews. With Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Bobby Riggs and Ted Tinling. 2. In-depth essays on the great issues. Such as topical trends, burning issues, great controversies and twentieth century perspectives. 3. Lots of tennis significa and trivia in a reader friendly form titled Fascinating Facts.
Tennis needs more mainstream coverage especially of this quality. Tennis Confidential is a must both the tennis fan and the general sports fan. You will become much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about tennis after reading Tennis Confidential. There is something in it for everybody. It doesn¡¦t matter whether you followed men¡¦s tennis through Laver¡¦s era, when Borg ¡VMcEnroe - Connors battled it out or through the Agassi - Sampras rivalry, or women¡¦s tennis during the great Evert - Navratilova rivalry, ¡§supporting¡¨ Anna K through to the family affair between Venus and Serena Williams. Chapters with broad appeal include portraits of the stars like Venus, Agassi, Kournikova, Serena, Kuerten, Capriati, Borg, Laver, Davenport and Navratilova and reliving the ten greatest matches in tennis history. Paul Fein¡¦s essays provoke discussion and hopefully will influence the opinions and attitudes of tennis policymakers enough to change flawed policies and make changes for the better. You are invited to stand up and be counted. I, personally am inspired to devote more time to writing about tennis and contributing to the future direction of the game. Tennis Confidential is an artistic success. If we¡¦re lucky there will be another tennis book written by Paul Fein.
Rating:
Summary: The one and only...Tennis Confidential
Review: Paul Fein has filled a void in tennis literature with Tennis Confidential. It's the only book in tennis history to contain: 1. Memorable Q & A interviews. With Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Bobby Riggs and Ted Tinling. 2. In-depth essays on the great issues. Such as topical trends, burning issues, great controversies and twentieth century perspectives. 3. Lots of tennis significa and trivia in a reader friendly form titled Fascinating Facts.
Tennis needs more mainstream coverage especially of this quality. Tennis Confidential is a must both the tennis fan and the general sports fan. You will become much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about tennis after reading Tennis Confidential. There is something in it for everybody. It doesn¡¦t matter whether you followed men¡¦s tennis through Laver¡¦s era, when Borg ¡VMcEnroe - Connors battled it out or through the Agassi - Sampras rivalry, or women¡¦s tennis during the great Evert - Navratilova rivalry, ¡§supporting¡¨ Anna K through to the family affair between Venus and Serena Williams. Chapters with broad appeal include portraits of the stars like Venus, Agassi, Kournikova, Serena, Kuerten, Capriati, Borg, Laver, Davenport and Navratilova and reliving the ten greatest matches in tennis history. Paul Fein¡¦s essays provoke discussion and hopefully will influence the opinions and attitudes of tennis policymakers enough to change flawed policies and make changes for the better. You are invited to stand up and be counted. I, personally am inspired to devote more time to writing about tennis and contributing to the future direction of the game. Tennis Confidential is an artistic success. If we¡¦re lucky there will be another tennis book written by Paul Fein.
Rating:
Summary: A Book For All sports Fans
Review: Paul Fein has truly captured the sport of tennis as it is, as it was, and as it will (hopefully) become with this wonderful collection of essays and interviews. Tennis Confidential is much more than a "behind the scenes" look at the world of tennis. Fein gets "under the covers" with his interviews of the stars, his insights into the game and his ideas for the sport's future. Fein explores the burining issues of today's game as well as the key moments in the sports evolution and, along the way, provides his readers with hundreds of "fascinatng facts" that make the book a "must read" for not only tennis fans, but for all sports enthusiasts.
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Summary: The Real Deal
Review: Paul Fein's "Tennis Confidential" is quite simply a `tour de force.' As a former sports reporter, editor and now documentary filmmaker, I have a professional and personal passion for this game. As such, I have read more than my share of tennis books. Seldom have I encountered a more incisive or entertaining analysis of the contemporary game, its personalities and controversies. This collection of award-winning essays and articles, gives you far more insight into the lives of the game's top figures, than encountered on television or in magazines. When you actually meet a celebrity, they are often quite different from their public persona. This book shows the kinds of interesting things, which don't get through the filter of the day's sensational sound-bytes. You will meet a funny, often witty Sampras, a thoughtful, sensitive Martina Navratilova. Kournikova, for instance, who is friendly and down to earth in person, was by all accounts an unbelievably brash kid. Fein relays a hilarious anecdote told by Gene Scott, the publisher of Tennis Week and a tournament promoter about how she was discovered. Scott, who ran Russia's first pro tennis tournament, decided to showcase Russia's emerging junior talent in an exhibition prior to the Kremlin Cup. Kournikova was so talented and cocky that as a 12-year-old girl she would serve and volley and try to peg her older male opponents with the ball. The crowds would go wild. This young girl threatened the tournament director that if she was not allowed to be on center court every single night, she wouldn't play -- period....And so the officials caved in. Anna was discovered at the event and brought to the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida, where she further developed into teenage sensation. As a twenty-five year veteran tennis reporter, Fein also has the experience and ability to make the past come alive. He discusses the greatest matches of all time and delves deeply into the reasons the sport has changed so much. He astutely analyses the game's trend toward sheer power and makes interesting arguments about how (and how not) to reform the game. True fans will find his brief chapter explaining the ranking system, and how it encourages players to "tank," alone worth the price of the book. If there is a tennis fan in your life (or even a former enthusiast turned-off by the modern game), this is a highly informative, lucid, can't-put-it-down kind of read.
Rating: 
Summary: An inside peek into pro tennis
Review: Paul Fein's "Tennis Confidential" examines the professional tennis scene from several angles:
...The players--profiles and interviews with 15 players...from Bobby Riggs to Venus Williams
...Key social issues--overzealous parents, dexism, racism.
...Controversies over equipment, rules, and styles of play--e.g., powerhous racquets, ranking procedures, two-handed backhands.
...Recaps of 10 great matches--from 1926 to 1992.
"Tennis Confidential" abounds with colorful detail and toothsome gossip...and should appeal to hackers and serious players alike.
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Summary: Tennis Confidential
Review: Paul Fein's "Tennis confidential" is a luscious compilation of tennis stars and their pickles. Their perfect bodies leap and smash their way across 49 blazing chapters. There are "great controversies" and "memorable interviews." Fein serves up fabulous quotes. The book is ablaze with graphic display. Doubles as a history of tennis and textbook for sports writing. Indeed, "Tennis confidential" will teach a reporter that facts must be preceded by passion for the subject; also, how to organize the unorganizable. (I like "Englishman Buster Mottram serving a ball into the Royal Box at Wimbledon.") Perfect gift for the tennis buff.
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Summary: Store-house of Tennis-world ..and more
Review: Paul Fein's book is simply one of the best written on the stars of the game, their lives and the glamour and agony that comes their way. It is just impossible to sum up the book as merely an informative account of the top players and their achievemrnts, for besides of glorifiying their lives, it also brings critical commentary at the same. The collection of interviews, profiles and photographs shows the versatility of the author's research. His knowledge of the game, its stars and their lives is clearly evident through the insights of these many articles which range from the early 70's to the present day. The collection of the greatest players, the greatest matches and on top of that the greatest conroversies are simply superb. The titles of the articles are as much fascinationg and thought provoking as the content is. Though some of the articles of have appeared in leading magazines, yet to get them in one singe volume is a treat, so in my view this book is definitely a must, and a dream of every pro-tennis lover. If you like tennis, you should have it, and even if don't like it, You buy it and see, you will start loving the game and its stars.
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Summary: Tennis Confidential by Paul Fein
Review: Paul Fein's new book, Tennis Confidential, is a wonderful book filled with interesting facts, great interviews and profiles, accounts of his choices for the 10 greatest matches, and intriguing discussions of tennis's current and past controversies. I bought the book on a Friday evening and spent most of the next two days reading it. I found it completely engrossing. The book is divided into 6 major sections: Portraits of the Stars, Memorable Interviews, Topical Trends and Burning Issues, The Great Controversies, 20th Century Retrospectives, and The 10 Greatest Matches in Tennis History. This collection of articles, many of which won journalism awards, runs the gamut of the current players such as Venus and Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras, to the stars of the late 1970s and 80s such as Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, and Jimmy Conners to several of the games legends such as Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Bobby Riggs. Yes, there are some players missing, mostly due to space limitations, I suspect. I would have enjoyed profiles and/or interviews with Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, and Monica Seles on the women's side. On the men's side, Ken Rosewall, Stefan Edberg, Bill Tilden, and Don Budge. However, he writes about several of these players in the section on the 10 greatest matches, so perhaps I'm just greedy. Regarding the controversies and burning issues, he writes about the problems with the advancing technology in racket manufacturing, and the effect these advances have had in the power game, especially in the men's game. He also discusses such critical issues as the role parents (especially fathers) have taken in developing their child's game. He deals with most of the famous "Bad Dads, " only really missing the recent addition of Jelena Dokic's father. He talks about the need for the Grand Slam to be accomplished in one calendar year, why we should keep the let serve rule, the use and possible misuse of the tiebreak rule, the ranking system problems, why Wimbledon should remain a grass court tournament, the problems that occur with letting teens play early and often, the issue of equal pay for men and women, and the effect that more black players could have on the game, including the inherent problems in attracting and keeping black athletes in tennis. I don't have any complaints about the book. There are several items I might have liked to read about, but I fully recognize the limitations and choices one needs to make in such a work. One extra I would have enjoyed is a brief player update after the original profile and/or interview. Although most of these are from 1997 on, there are few from earlier that an update would have been nice. For instance, there are two interviews with the late Arthur Ashe. Many people who have become interested in tennis in the past five years or so, may not have much of a sense of his contribution. The interviews help in that regard, but it would have been nice to have a brief obituary about his death. The same would have been nice in regards to Bobby Riggs and Ted Tinling who have died since their interviews were done. Also, to no surprise, there are several matches I would consider in the last few years that could rank among the best. One, in terms of historical importance, would be the Bobby Riggs/Billie Jean King "Battle of the Sexes" in the Astrodome in 1973. This match helped to put women's (at least American women's) tennis on the map. In a period where the women's game is so much more vital and interesting than the men's, this match's importance cannot be overstated, even though it was nearly 30 years ago. Also, there have been three great women's matches in the last three years that I would place somewhere: the Graf/Hingis French Open Final in 1999 (I thank Paul for reminding me of this one), the Clijsters/Capriati French Open Final in 2001, and the Hingis/Capriati Australian Open Final in 2002. But these are quibbles on my part. All in all, I found this a wonderful read. I had a lot of trouble putting the book down. Anyone who appreciates tennis and good writing cannot go wrong in purchasing this book. I am a big fan of tennis and there aren't a lot of great books available. Through the years, there have been some, but not nearly the wealth as there is for baseball. Do yourself a favor, buy it, read it, tell others. Let's encourage those who write and write well about tennis. I'd love to see more by Paul Fein, and will be looking forward to more.
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Summary: Paul Fein Hits A Winner!
Review: Paul Fein's Tennis Confidential is a fantastic collection of essays and interviews. As a former collegiate tennis player and current teaching pro who has avidly followed and played tennis my whole life, I learned more from Tennis Confidential than any other tennis book. Fein combines his expert journalism with his supreme knowledge of the sport to produce a gem. I found the essay style very convenient. With just 10 minutes of spare time, I could be transported behind the scenes of tennis and into Fein's world with one of his essays, interviews, or match coverage. My favorite part of the book was the "Fascinating Facts." True tennis fans will be in heaven with some of the trivia that Fein has collected over the years. Importantly, too, Tennis Confidential has diversity appeal. Newcomers to the sport will be enticed to learn more, and seasoned fans and players will be reminded of how unique the game and its personalities are. I am anxiously awaiting Tennis Confidential II !
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