Customer Reviews

On the Line

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is an autobiography with plenty of facts and details about growing up poor, her dad learning tennis and then teaching them, her hearing firecrackers in the background as a child and then later to find out they were gang shootings. Those are all things we knew and many times reiterating just the facts gets boring.

I was hoping for more indepth knowledge about how Serena thinks, her loves, future hopes...even some juicy stuff. But none of that is in the book. Even when she talks about the events of 9/11 when she and her family were all flying that day, it reads like a dry gulch rather than the tear gusher that it should be. She refers to past loves as "so and so", there's just not enough details about the private Serena to make this a worthwhile biography. It's all the stuff about the public Serena and then a few tidbits of stuff thrown in where she calls Venus a nerd. But even that doesn't seem like sincere banter.

OK, very light reading, perhap read while sitting in an airport terminal somewhere and then leave for the next person to pickup and read.

If you are a fan of tennis, you cannot escape the huge accomplishments of the Williams sisters, and the incredible drive, energy, and success they have achieved both for themselves and for the game in general.

That said, if you have watched many post-match interviews with Serena, you can see that she has a hard shell and a number of self-exculpatory defense mechanisms, which come into play whenever she does not meet the high standards of success she has set for herself.

In short, I have always sensed that she is not all that interested in spending a lot of time in self-reflection, and reading this book has confirmed that sense for me.

While interesting, and an amazing story really, what is missing from this book is a hard analytical look at who Serena is, and what drives her.

Perhaps an autobiography is the wrong place to expect such analysis, and we will have to wait for a biographer to do this right.

Still, if you are looking for a light and uplifting tale of tremendous athletic and personal achievement, you will enjoy this as a quick read. Just don't expect much more (at least, not now).

I've followed Serena for years now..and I often wondered about some of the things she did and said. We all heard about her background growing up in Compton and everyone has seen her father and probably her mother or other family members as well at any tournament shown on T.V..

This book--her mini biography..does fill in some of the blanks ...and answers some of the whys and hows of her spectacular tennis life that not only she but also her sister Venus ..and other members of her family have experienced during this rise and fall and rise of her tennis life over the years.

This book is written on such a level --that I would highly recommend it for the younger set of teens ...pre teens. It is squeaky clean throughout....almost too clean for me...but for the masses of fans that are readers out there---I don't think she could of done a better job. All and anyone can read this version of her life.Nothing too deep. Nothing too painful.Nothing too sticky...absolutely nothing to damage a squeaky clean image. All sanitized to the nines.

Lots of talk here about her sister Venus and many other family interactions..and she trys to bring us into her rather small and very closed world as a child ---her whole world seemingly simply playing
tennis..enveloping herself with family and practicing her faith as a Jehovah Witness.She never writes even once of having a overnight with a girl friend or going to a movie with a friend or ever having any interaction or experiences at all with anyone outside of her immediate family--which I find a little disturbing..more so ..because she never mentions--- ever--- the lack of normal relations with other people while growing up.Her story ?? YES !!!! But not seemingly told to others so they can understand better her particular story.

No matter what one comes away with from this "biography"---all must admit first and foremost that Serena is a great Champion of Tennis...and deserves every single accolade that she receives...she has the heart..the soul..and the guts....to be Champion.

However--as a adult reading this book---It opened very few doors into the real Serena...it is purely top of the skin...and goes nowhere under the skin in order to really understand the human being..except perhaps the Indian Wells incident.That was so tramatic and she states it being so. Its a place one can really "FEEL" the life blood...the human beating heart and soul of Serena Williams. Anyone having watched her for a moment at any tournament already knows of her extremely close relationship with her family---and have seen..on many occasions her mindful statements of "witnessing" to thank "Jehovah "at every tournament win-- thus we know of her religious connection to the Jehovahs Witness religious Organization.....and her familys deep connections to each other.But that seems to be all that we are going to be told about her life.

I hope there is more to her...and more to her life --but I just didn't see much of it in her book...I would really of liked to know --if she was a lonely child growing up without friends except family ( as it appears to me ).Did she not ever have having dinner that a friends mom made--did she and a friend --not family-- have any interaction at all during her life ??...there are just so many unanswered questions I still have after reading this book about her. They certainly were not answered here.

If you want mess, drama, and gossip, watch The Wendy Williams Show (that's what I do, cause its funny)..."How U dou-ingg?" LOL

This is a very very good book about Serena, her growing up with her family, and how she felt about tennis and things. I loved it. I felt her...I cried with her in places because she allowed us to feel her pain in certain places (something she didn't have to do). Because, the gift that God gave her to share with us is her tennis, and she has done and is doing that. But, we want more...why do we want to consume her life? It's not fair to any celeb to hold them to our standard, or to want to consume their entire life.

This book told me things about Serena, her family, the tennis world, and the media that I often wondered about...what is she thinking about during this or that match?...how does she feel about the way the media, the WTA, ITF, and the fans treat her, especially the French at Roland Ghetto, and the racists Americans at Indian Hills, CA, & Flushing Meadows, NY?...(because I know that I feel really bad for her)...and so many other things that I didn't know. Serena is an alive loving, spoiled by her family baby sister, human being; someone with feelings, faults, loves, and desires, like all of us. She is not a "hole" or "window" that you look through to see what you can see or to see what you want to see. She is a person; and I appreciate her for the great tennis Champion that she is. I love this book and her dearly.

ON THE LINE
Serena Williams with Daniel Paisner
Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-446-55366-7
$26.99
257 Pages
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

Serena Williams did it...she beat her big sis, Venus, at Wimbledon 2009. In her new book, ON THE LINE, Serena explains that she has always been in the shadow of her big sis, Venus. Although she walks onto the tennis court to win, she loves her sister, Venus, without reservation. So, while she may have won, she still feels sadness for her sister's loss. Such is the lot of Serena. She was raised by parents that kept their children so busy on the tennis courts that they couldn't get into any trouble elsewhere. No idleness in this family.

While mostly we hear of Serena and Venus Williams, their other sisters were tennis players as well. Their father saw to it that every court in their hometown and beyond was filled with William's girls. No formal training under his belt, Mr. Williams had a natural instinct for tennis. He and his wife taught their daughters the art of winning at an early age and it has served their family well in the years following.

The on-court demeanor of Serena Williams does not compare to the young woman who wrote this book. As onlookers, we see the competitive, hard driving woman who never says die. When off the court, Serena is a loving person who not only cares for her family, but her community as well.

This book offers a real insight into a champion. Whether it is pride in her work, pride in her family, pride in her culture...she shines as a good example for children everywhere who have a dream and have the will, tenacity and drive to see it to reality.

Having watched both Serena and Venus as they face one another across the court, one senses their connection. However, being sisters has never jeopardized their on-court performances. They give their all remembering a post their father placed on public tennis courts to inspire them when they were growing up. It read: "When you fail, you fail alone." But a win for one Williams is a win for the entire family, that much is clear.

I don't normally read biographies, especially a biography of one so young. However, being an avid tennis fan and an even more avid fan of Serena, I could not resist. I must say that it was not what I expected. This is the first biography that I have even found myself laughing out loud, and that was on page one of the prolog, Commenting on her sister Venus, which she does a lot in this book, she graciously admits that when her big sister is on her game no one can beat her, she continues "except for me." This sets the tone for what I found to be a witty insight to the mind of arguably the best female tennis player and athlete in the world. I often wondered what was in that little book I would occasionally catch her looking at during changeovers, now I know, and I know how much it affected the outcome of some of her most challenging matches. As I said, she spends a lot of time on her relationship with her sister, and rightfully so. It is obvious that Venus has played a pivotal role in Serena's entire life, not just tennis. I especially enjoyed the recollection of matches from the play by play aspect of what was going though her mind at the time. I do wish she would have given us a little deeper insight regarding the relationship with her father and mother. It could not have been easy on her and I can't help but wonder with amazement how she and her sister both managed to become so successful and still maintain such a positive level headed outlook, unlike many young tennis phenoms. Oh well, she is still young with plenty of time left for another biography, and she certainly left me hungry for more.

Serena Williams fully admits that she's not old enough to completely write an autobiography and that she has a lot more tennis and living to go through. However, this is a good book to get started on. I didn't really know much about Serena. I think if you are a longstanding fan of hers then you will be disappointed with this book. It's very basic and she's very positive about everything in her life. She appeared to me to be making a lot of excuses about her family. She barely mentions her parents' divorce and the effect on her. However, she does go into great detail about Sept. 11th and her sister's death. I liked how she was open about how she feels to play tennis and to visit Africa. Overall, it was a typical sports biography of an athlete that isn't done with their careers and that is still putting positive spin on everything.

Before reading this book I honestly didn't know much about Serena Williams. I knew she was a great tennis player who was into fashion, and I knew she had a sister, Venus, who also was a phenomenal tennis player. Beside that, I didn't really know much about her. For example, I had no idea that she had other siblings. (In fact, I didn't know anything about her family or upbringing.)

I was surprised when reading this book at just how down to earth Serena seems to be.(Totally not what I expected of a high profile tennis diva.) Reading this book, you'll feel like she's telling your her life story over coffee. In this book, she takes us from her childhood in Compton to her life as a tennis champion.

If you are a fan of Serena Williams, I would imagine that you will really enjoy this book. It is very possible if you are a fan that you may have already heard or read some of the stories Serena tells in this book, but perhaps you haven't heard them from her perspective.

If you think that you don't like Serena or are maybe just lukewarm or indifferent towards her, you may find that you really like her after reading this book. I was in the indifferent category going into this book and now that I've finished reading this book I can't help but like her.

The book is very well written in a style that is rather engaging. This book is more or less a memoir rather than a straight-up autobiography. Most of the time she hops around from one time period to another, so don't expect that you're going to read this book as a time line of her life. The time period hopping can be a little distracting, but not so much that it detracts from the story. Each chapter has a story or two that Serena feels was pivotal in her life. Essentially this book is an anecdotal memoir. In this book, she dispels rumors about herself and her family that have prevailed in the media, and she shares heartwarming and heart wrenching stories about herself and her family.

I found the book to be entertaining and inspiring. It's one of those books that you'll feel good about having read.

I selected this book as part of my classroom library, and I have yet to get a chance to read it because it has been so popular with my students. Both the boys and girls have devoured it, and they discuss parts of her story, so I know they didn't just skim over it. So, if you are shopping for a young teen, my students say this should be high on your list!

Inspirational from and to the heart!
Each and every chapter is amazingly uplifting and so very well written with humor, honesty and two feet on the ground -
"On the Line!" FANTASIC!!!

Hope there will be "On the Line book 2" coming SOON!!! Want to read more about
Serena William's history of experiences and success "off and ON the tennis line!!" :))