Un libro único que te envuelve desde las primeras páginas.Carlin lo compara con Superman y Clark Kent, fuera de la pista Rafa es inseguro y necesita del apoyo pleno de su familia y amigos. Es increíble confesión de humano maravilloso.Absolutamente encantada y se lo recomiendo a cualquiera que quiera aprender más sobre Rafa no sólo como deportista, sino también como persona.Explica a detalle como tomó una de las decisiones más difíciles de su vida elegir entre el tenis o el fútbolNadal es un excelente deportista y un individuo ejemplar. Quizás un poco joven para empezar a biografiarlo, pero como dice John Carlin, coautor del libro, “a sus veinticinco años ha vivido más experiencias que muchas personas de ochenta”.Como la hazaña de convertirse en el jugador más joven de la era de los abiertos de tenis en conquistar los cuatro torneos de Grand Slam. Me encantó como el libro fusiona la parte deportiva con lo familiar.Disfrute, bueno sufrí revivir el partido el que ha sido para mi el mejor partido en la historia del tenis cada pensamiento punto a punto por el mejor deportista de todos los tiempos, 2008 Wimbledon contra otro grande Roger Federer una belleza de partido.Un relato personal, revelador con un lenguaje sencillo que te llega al corazón. The excitement with which I started reading this book did not get its complete worth. It was a fun read about a player I always wanted to read about but it was not a comprehensive one for sure. To start with, the fact that he is still playing changes the context of a large part of book if read in today's light. This autobiography revolves around his first Wimbledon triumph; his family; his upbringing as a child; his relationship with his father, uncles, friends and others and his victories. That's about it. And that is not new to a regular tennis follower. Yes, there are many anecdotes of kid Rafa which make you love this fighter even more, yes there are some unknown dimensions revealed of Tony-Nadal relationship that put smile on your face as you read through it, but all that does is solidifies the image you knew of Rafa. The humble, loving, family-oriented warrior champion!May be that's all he wants us know about him. May be that's all Rafa is.But then he could have let us know more about others - Federer, Murray, Djokovic - for an instance. He does have appreciations of Djokovic but they are certainly the words from Rafa at the top, looking down at the climbing-next-big-thing Nole and appreciating the luxury of the sight. It misses the pain of Rafa struggling through 2011, wondering how to decipher the Serbian robot who not just climbed up but pushed Rafa away from the viewpoint. Rafa-Nole, is the biggest rivalry the sport of tennis manages to have to the point and the big half of it (Rafa) has no mention of it in his autobiography certainly leaves reader's appetite unsatisfied. Also this book does not serve as your kaleidoscope to view other tennis stars through the eyes of our beloved Rafa. Well, to his credit Rafa shows us Carlos Moya and Tiger Woods a bit, but I was more interested in viewing his compatriots of today and of tomorrow, especially of tomorrow for what could be more exciting than keeping an eye on bloke who Rafa thinks to be the next best thing for Spain. A little insight on peers - the big 4 and others. Agassi does that in 'Open' with an unparalleled honesty and that makes reading 'Open' a more fun since the reader then gets to feels like being in Agassi's shoes when he reads the events. That thrill was an unknown entity for me when I was reading 'Rafa'. This all may fall in the category of demanding too much from the autobiography of family focused and introvert Rafa, but detailed analysis of losses rather than wins especially early on his career would have been the joyful ride every reader deserved. We get it here, a beautiful ride but its a quick one as in it comes and goes in flashes. And for the large part we see 'Rafa' spiraling in about three things - his family, his determination to win and beating Federer in 2008. Somehow the book portrays that moment, winning Wimbledon in 2008, as an apex of Rafa's career and revolves around that moment. And that is, in my opinion, the biggest flaw in the content for its like - a book that's supposed to throw a light on entire earth and is exhausted just crawling around the Everest. Further, I really don't accept 2008 win of Rafa is an Everest of his career for a simple reason that its not over yet. He could still make a calendar slam or win three Wimbledon titles in a row or break the major records that Federer has, and the zenith will get updated. So we are talking about an autobiography that is all about one break-through championship of one of the greatest tennis player. I think more than the readers, it's Rafa who deserves better than this 'Rafa'.
What do You think about Rafa (2011)?
Un libro único que te envuelve desde las primeras páginas.Carlin lo compara con Superman y Clark Kent, fuera de la pista Rafa es inseguro y necesita del apoyo pleno de su familia y amigos. Es increíble confesión de humano maravilloso.Absolutamente encantada y se lo recomiendo a cualquiera que quiera aprender más sobre Rafa no sólo como deportista, sino también como persona.Explica a detalle como tomó una de las decisiones más difíciles de su vida elegir entre el tenis o el fútbolNadal es un excelente deportista y un individuo ejemplar. Quizás un poco joven para empezar a biografiarlo, pero como dice John Carlin, coautor del libro, “a sus veinticinco años ha vivido más experiencias que muchas personas de ochenta”.Como la hazaña de convertirse en el jugador más joven de la era de los abiertos de tenis en conquistar los cuatro torneos de Grand Slam. Me encantó como el libro fusiona la parte deportiva con lo familiar.Disfrute, bueno sufrí revivir el partido el que ha sido para mi el mejor partido en la historia del tenis cada pensamiento punto a punto por el mejor deportista de todos los tiempos, 2008 Wimbledon contra otro grande Roger Federer una belleza de partido.Un relato personal, revelador con un lenguaje sencillo que te llega al corazón.
—tyjones
disclaimer: I'm a federer fan albeit have a healthy respect for Rafa. this was a scintillating and passionate account of Rafael's career though I hope there will be an updated edition when he's done with the game. personally I found the double narrative, chapters told from rafa's POV followed by chapters by the cowriter a little distracting in some instances, in other instances it worked very well. I loved the insight into his head and his groundedness and his impressive sense of family. peeks into these parts of Spanish ways of life were very rich and interesting. there is a lesson in nadal's life and game from everybody: his emphasis on the person he is rather than his laurels and achievements.
—nrt91
It's very interesting. I was able to relate to some of his troubles.
—stilts
A very good read. Made me fall in love with Rafa even more :)
—blanaid
the best tennis biography after Andre agassi's
—soumyajeet
