|  |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 8 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Are you kidding me? Jul 10, 2009
By J. Chapman
Were these reviews written by friends of the author? Maybe the book I received was the rough draft rather than an edited copy.
I'll read just about anything about tennis, but this book is so full of typos, grammatical errors and bizarre punctuation that it is hard to take seriously. What a disappointment, after reading all these glowing reports about the book.
Even the names of players are mangled by this divorce lawyer-turned sports-writer. Ernests Gulbis of Latvia makes an appearance as "Ernesto Gulvis," which did at least make me laugh. Another good funny: the author describes a chair umpire as "bespeckled" rather than "bespectacled," (unless he had extremely pronounced freckles, I assume.)
There are sentences that are missing entire words and punctuation, which just makes
(Do you get now how frustrating that is?) This author had an interesting point of view, and he sounds like a nice guy, but he could have used a fact-checker, a spell-checker, and an editor before trying to pass this off as a book. I'd be embarrassed to submit this as a rough draft...in middle school. A pity.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An insult May 13, 2010
By Fred Doevils
"Tennis Librarian"
What is this? The author had suddenly something else to do, and just brought it to publisher and he also had something else to do and so here is this book, full of errors and strange punctuation, missing words etc.
It should have zero stars because it's an insult to the buyer.
And it's a shame because what mister Kent has to tell is fun to read. Lots about the two weeks at Flushing Meadows, history, experience, ushers, juniors, ball boys. But also here, to finish his book he obviously still needed some extra pages, so he put in a piece about Vilas. Which is a nice article but what is it doing in this book?
So, if you see it at a marketplace for just a few bucks, you can buy it.
But shame on you mister Kent.
According to mister Kent: one of the twenty greatest player in the USOpen: Tony Rosewall. Yes, the incredible TONY ROSEWALL.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Insightful and Behind the Scenes Jan 25, 2009
By Neal S. Kaye
The difference between a just-the-facts broadcast solely by a cut-and-dried play-by-play analyst and one enlivened by a well-versed color commentator is the difference between an otherwise typical book about a major sporting event and Richard Kent's "Inside the US Open." Kent has a conversational, light style that makes reading this interesting behind the scenes account a quick but fascinating adventure. If you are interested in an uncommon perspective from a true insider and tennis afficionodo, then this book is definitely a fun and worthwhile read.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An Ace Jan 18, 2009
By Joseph Kasimer
This is a really interesting inside look at the US Open tennis tournament. I usually follow the results, but had no idea of the culture and experience of the Open until reading this book. In addition to much history about the Open, the author has dug down to the inside of the open-- interviews with ball boys, ushers, participants and other individuals who make this event one of the best attended sporting events in the world. The author's account of his own ill-fated try-out as a ball boy is hilarious. I would highly recommend this book to both hard core tennis fans and novices.
1 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Open and shut Apr 28, 2009
By Howard E. Ignal
It is certainly refreshing, but unfortunately rare, when a book, especially a sport's book, has the ability to transport its reader to a place he or she has experienced, but not to the fullest possible extent. Mr Kent has skillfully managed to return a lapsed tennis fan and habitual U.S. Open attendee -- where have you gone Jimmy Connors? -- to a time when late August and early September meant driving to Flushing Meadows and watching the best tennis players in the world compete for the most lucrative title in the sport. But even in those days of live viewing, was I seeing everything? The answer is, of course, no! I may have observed the ball boys and girls, but had no idea how they are chosen or how arduous the process is, especially when one candidate (the author) is a few decades past boyhood. I may have occasionally noticed an usher beyond the perfunctory thank you or scowl, but failed to consider how important they are to the entire tournament operation. I may have remembered some of the great matches and participants, but not in the context of a rating system. However, thanks to Mr. Kent, I now know the ins and outs of the Tournament well beyond the superficial. Heck, I now even know how a qualifier, well...qualifies! If I can no longer have Connors- McEnroe or Sampras- Agassi, I'll settle for the author's vivid description of the Federrer-Nadal rivalry. I particularly appreciated the chapters on Guillermo Vilas and Mary Carillo, as the obvious close relationship between author and subject gave surprising insite to their unique characters. Mr. Kent writes in a breezy and light, yet thorough, manner and no doubt loves the subject he's writing about. If you have never been to The Open, or like me can't wait to return, "Inside the U.S. Open" is just the ticket.
See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.com
|
| | |
|
|
