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Subscribe to The New Yorker for access to the total contents of the journal, as well as the whole thing of its archives. The passage of time has shaped Andre Agassi’s legacy into something shiny and clear, however there was an period, which now seems way back, when he was the primary object of such fascination. This is abundantly clear in “Open,” a 2009 autobiography that provides depth and complexity to Agassi’s reputation as both a champion and an insurgent. For one, it avoids the litany of clichés concerning the love of the game that’s usually espoused by professional athletes.
(The theme of the guide is, in fact, Agassi’s overwhelming disdain for tennis.) During its press run, Agassi foregrounded his relationship together with his ghostwriter, J. Agassi even confesses to using crystal meth and then mendacity about it after failing a drug check. Rather than sand down the perimeters of Agassi’s status or shroud it with platitudes, “Open” embraces his volatility and insecurities.
The Times’ venture Overlooked has tried to proper historic wrongs by giving obituaries to figures the paper beforehand ignored. Rocca isn’t as ideological as that—he’s pushed by the will to absorb nice facts and pass them on. He seems genuinely aggrieved that Audrey Hepburn died on the identical day as Bill Clinton’s Inauguration and didn’t get her proper due. Same goes for Farrah Fawcett, who died on the same day as Michael Jackson. Onetti thrived in shorter varieties, and the first main English translation of his collected tales, “A Dream Come True,” brings the creator’s skills into full view.
The ultimate Mobituary within the guide is for Rocca’s father, Marcel ( ), advised by way of his love of the trumpet, a teen-age interest that Marcel resumed at the age of fifty, practicing in the cellar of their household house, in Bethesda, Maryland. Rocca credit Marcel along with his love of long automotive rides, the music of Jerome Kern, and obituaries—curiosity paid forward. Also, Rocca notes, would you believe that the famous trumpet player Lee Morgan was shot onstage at Slugs’ Saloon, by his common-regulation spouse? In our truth-challenged times, Rocca’s joyful tour by way of the “didja know”s of history is an surprising antidote. Obituaries tell us about lives lived, but in addition about whom we worth.
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