SOURCE: Random House – Knopf Press Release

Andre Agassi’s Autobiography, OPEN, to Be Published by Knopf November 9: “60 Minutes” Will Conduct First Interview With Agassi; ‘People’ and ‘Sports Illustrated’ to Publish Excerpts

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire – October 24, 2009) – Andre Agassi’s autobiography will be published by Alfred A. Knopf on November 9, it was announced today by Sonny Mehta, Chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. OPEN, a deeply personal account of Agassi’s life on and off the court, will also simultaneously be published in Canada, England, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The Knopf first printing has been set at 500,000 copies, and it will be available as a Random House audiobook.
’60 Minutes’ has agreed to conduct the first interview with Agassi about his autobiography.
‘People’ magazine and ‘Sports Illustrated’ have both purchased first serial rights to the book.
“No one ever asked me if I wanted to play tennis,” Agassi writes, “let alone make it my life.” In OPEN, he recalls for the first time a childhood without choices. Forced to embrace tennis, banished to a brutal tennis camp while still in grade school, catapulted to fame while still in his teens, Agassi grew up feeling isolated, alienated, detached. In OPEN he tells how he reconnected, how he overcame his fears, fought through his loneliness, found strength and purpose in the decision to devote his life to others — and in the love of one extraordinary woman.
Agassi writes with uncommon candor about his father, his family, his best friends and first loves. He recounts the intimate details of his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields. He describes the grind of championship tennis, the physical toll and greater mental toll. He recalls his most painful moments in the arena — humiliating defeats, career-threatening injuries, ridicule from fans and media — but celebrates the maturity to which they all led. He also puts his fellow players, including legendary greats, under the microscope of his astounding memory. With precision and grace he recalls their quirks, gifts, foibles, and the demons with which they often struggled.
“OPEN is one of the most candid, introspective, and surprising autobiographies I have ever read,” said Mehta. “Andre Agassi has lived a remarkable life, and his book will resonate with readers far beyond the spectrum of tennis. We are enormously proud to be publishing it.”
Alfred A. Knopf is the flagship imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, the international media company. A photo of the book jacket for OPEN is available upon request.

In NYC? Andre Agassi book signing November 12:  Go Here

ALSO!

Agassi Admits to Drug Use During his career, read the following passage in which Agassi recounts sitting with his assistant only referred to as “slim”:

“Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I’ve just crossed,” he said.

“There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I’ve never felt so alive, so hopeful – and I’ve never felt such energy.

“I’m seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the beds.”

ANDRE AGASSI 1999