Here’s a brief review and some thoughts.

Content
In 2003, James’ family found out that Thomas Blake Sr., James’ father, a fit and healthy man, had terminal stomach cancer. Aiming to do his father proud and build on a lackluster 2003 season, Blake was excited at the beginning of the 2004 tennis season, but had a freak accident during practice in Rome, hitting a net post and breaking his neck. As he was going through a difficult recovery of uncertain length and result, his father’s condition worsened. Thomas Sr. died in July 2004, the week of Blake’s comeback tournament in Newport (which Mr. Blake, on his deathbed, insisted James and his brother Thomas play). A week later, Blake developed symptoms of zoster (also known as shingles), a stress-related virus. Soon, the left side of his face was paralyzed and he faced another off-period of indeterminate length. However, James was able to overcome the virus in a few months, had a then career-best 2005 season and an extremely successful year in 2006.

Breaking Back focuses on the year of 2004, but also provides a look into James’ childhood and early years on the ATP and college circuit, some key matches from his career, and an examination of his philosophy and approach to the game.

It is an open and honest story. Blake does not shy away from recounting his feelings, from describing the time spent with his dying father to the thoughts running through his head in key moments of important matches. While the subjects themselves are emotional – career-threatening injuries, loss of a loved one - it is definitely the approach that James allowed the storytelling to take that had me emotionally involved.

Breaking Back is well-written, flows well, and has a story that is tied together. Blake and his co-author Andrew Friedman were able to provide this inside look into James’ life and career without making it too simple, or too glorifying, but still showing the significance of that time in his life for himself and others.

The book was also a joy to read for a tennis fan. If you are looking for a behind the scenes tell-all from the Tour, look elsewhere. Of the two times James mentions anything negative about ATP players, one is a collective lament (only one of the players who played in the TMS Rome tournament in 2004 checked to see how James was doing in the hospital – by text message), and in the other, no names are given.

However, it provided an invaluable look into a player’s mind. Most tennis fans have wondered what goes through a player’s head as he is facing a tiebreak, down a set point, serving for the match, when he is at the highest and lowest moments of his career. James describes in detail some of the biggest moments in his career, including a point-by-point account of the exhilarating fifth set tiebreak he lost to Andre Agassi in the 2005 US Open quarterfinals.

The Point
Throughout the book, two main adages that define Blake’s philosophy and approach to tennis keep showing up. One is the call for hard work, exemplified and honed in his son by James’ father, and the other is the proposition of playing tennis with the goal of “getting better,” part of the patient and positive philosophy taught to James by long-time coach Brian Barker.

James credits his ability to fight through and recover from his 2004 physical and emotional difficulties to following those two adages. He was able to keep positive by working hard in practice and this positivism allowed him to accept the slow progress of his recovery, along with the set backs.

While Blake never gets preachy about his philosophy, he does dwell on its importance for his career and life. These concepts of hard work and setting progress as one’s goal, along with friends and family, are what he feels got him back from the brink to the top of his career.

What I Learned about James Blake
All throughout school, I noticed that there are two kinds of successful students, the ones that diligently work hard, starting to study for exams and do research for their papers weeks or months in advance, and those who do not quite shift things in high gear until the last day (or, often, the night before). While I have always respected the “diligent” ones for their effort and hard work and tried many times to follow their example, I was proudly a member of the second group. I say ‘proudly,’ because there is some kind of value in trusting yourself enough to “pull it off” and succeed. I also noticed that it was often harder for me to connect with the other group, even outside of academic matters.

This is probably why I could never quite add James Blake to the list of my favorites. James has succeeded, particularly in 2006, in the aftermath of his life experiences, on the jointly “diligent” philosophies of “working hard” and “getting better.” Following both concepts is crucial for any tennis player. The sport is progressively more physical, so it is virtually impossible for a player to succeed without putting in the work. And the goal of progress is also more or less a no-brainer for anyone, although it’s not always the main goal.

It is to Blake’s credit that he takes those fundamental concepts to the next level, but the question is whether that is enough. Having a goal of “getting better” can win, and has won him matches over opponents who had previously defeated him, and hard work certainly helped him to overcome the physical and mental burdens his 2004 experience put on him. But is it enough at 5-all 30-40 in a fifth set? Or is that when you need to pull out something extra, that self-confidence one requires to pull-off an “A” paper in an all-nighter?

It is hard to see James as just a “workhorse.” In addition to an engaging personality and an interesting life story, when he is “on,” he is a terrific, exciting shot maker on the court. Between that and the decibel levels that have been reached by the “J Block,” his branded group of supporters, Blake does not evoke a grey, boring image.

Yet, at least as far as Breaking Back goes, that is how Blake presents himself. He does not really mention those “other” factors, the qualities that, traditionally, have distinguished great from good, champions from top players. He believes he still has room for improvement, but with no set goals, it is hard to say whether there are even any specific ambitions James has for his career.

For me, then, the question I was left with after reading Breaking Back, is whether Blake himself is using his success in 05-06 to justify his philosophy, rather than using his philosophy to justify his success. James seemed content and confident about his success in life off-court. But when it came to tennis, I felt there was something left out, whether consciously or subconsciously. I wondered if he would need to look beyond his usual philosophy to bring that something to the surface, and if doing so would lead him to new heights in tennis.

Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life by James Blake (with Andrew Friedman) is available at Amazon.com and at bookstores nationally.