Wide Open: A Life in Supercross

by Jeremy McGrath

Jeremy McGrath has been called 'the Michael Jordan of Supercross' by the Los Angeles Times, and in this revealing autobiography fans not only get his personal story, but also a detailed guide on how everyone can become a Supercross racer. The No 1 Supercross racer in the world – who has over 20 sponsors, his own film company, a toy line, Nintendo and Playstation games, and a signature shoe by Vans – talks about his life and the sport. Supercross started out as a redneck '70s sideshow, but thanks largely to Jeremy McGrath it has become a massive extreme sport. Over the last three years, AMA Supercross attendance has mushroomed from 700,000 spectators a year to 1.5 million. This book will satisfy even the most hardcore fans, as it not only gives you the life and times of Jeremy McGrath, but acts as the calling card to the entire sport by including unique sections on how to become a Supercross racer, the workout regimes, fixing common bike problems, and more.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Levi Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response
Wide Open A Life in Supercross was a very good book. I say that because I can relate to this book. I can relate to it because it showed me that I have to be willing to strive to be my best, to be my best. I also watch supercross, so I get what the author is talking about most of the time. This book teaches me really good life lessons at the same time. I am a gear head so this book is perfect for me. I also like how this book is in his perspective, so it gives the reader a real life like experience most of the time. The book tells me how life is not easy and never give up. Giving up is the worst thing anyone can do in life.

Plot
The book starts off when Jeremy McGrath was a kid. Jeremy was a good kid when he was younger. He was not a problem child at all. Jeremy's dad and Jeremy would go to the races every weekend. Jeremy was a horrible rider at first but as time went on he got better. He said that practice makes perfect. At age twenty, Jeremy got injured when he was dirt bike racing. It was a super hard crash and he broke his wrist and had a really bad concussion. He was out of racing for one year after that. He was really depressed but he could not wait to get back on the track. Afterwards, Jeremy got back to racing he started to train really hard to become the best racer he could. Jeremy had supportive parents at the same time, which helped him a lot. In 2005 he finally became pro. He started the season strong but did not win the championship. Ricky Carmichael did. It would be that way for a couple years until Jeremy got injured again in a wicked crash. He signed with team Ktm but he crashed two races later and could not race the whole season. That crash made him rethink his career and he retired with Ktm. He said he did not want that day to come, but he started to grow a family and that was more important to him. In 2008 Jeremy decided to come out of retirement for a limited number of races on the Monster Energy Supercross Circuit. Jeremy still had some competitive edge in him and he proved his speed. He placed in the top five in every race. He decided to hang it up again in 2010. Jeremy then raced NASCAR for a while and he did not do so good. Jeremy then created his own off-road company and he now races trophy truck as well as having people race for him under his team.

Characterization
The main character in this book would be Jeremy McGrath. He is a very inspirational guy and he is someone people can idol and took up too. He went through a lot in his life but he pushed on and pursued his dreams. He loves what he does and that is what everyone wants to do in life. He has a wife. I have met Jeremy in Crandon, at the truck races and he is a very considerate and understanding guy. He could talk to you forever. He is not self centered at all. He wants to help people as much as he can. Jeremy even donates to charities all the time. He is a very inspirational guy. Jeremy will talk to anyone no matter who you are. He has a lot of respect for his other rivals too. Jeremy is the one guy I want to be like and I look up to him.

Setting
The setting in this book takes place all over. It takes place at Supercross tracks, his house, his parents house, and so on. Most of the book takes place in California. The main part of this book takes place on the race track. Most of racetracks are indoors also. My favorite place in this book that he talked about would be his house. The reason why is because it is huge and he has his own Supercross track there. The book takes place in the Ninetys and two thousands. The book told you about Jeremy's whole supercross career and when he was younger. He quit supercross when he was forty five. The time and place in this book is important because Jeremy has a lot of tracks by him to practice on. If Jeremy was living up in Wisconsin, he would not have that much support as he had in California. The tracks are sporadic over in Wisconsin. They are far or there are only a few of them. The time makes a big difference in this book. If Jeremy raced in 2017, he would have a hard time racing and placing in a event. There are a lot of skilled riders that already beat and went over his record. He would not be as good today as he was before.

Theme
One theme in this book that I saw a lot of and stuck out to me was passion. I say that because Jeremy had a lot of passion for his career. Jeremy did not just like to race, he lived and breathed it every day. He has multiple passions but motorcross was one of his greatest passions. He did not have a passion for it at first, but then he realized that was what he wanted to do and he pursued it.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for motorsports. This would be the right book for them because the book tells you that you have to want it with all you got to get good at doing what you like. Talent does not come naturally, you have to work for it. The age group I would recommend this to, would be teenagers and up. I do not think anyone younger would get the word usage. I would recommend this to any gender also. I rated this book a five out of five because this was the best book I have ever read. I could relate to it so much , was unreal. I would definitely read this book again over any other book.

[Trey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide Open By Jeremy Mcgrath is an autobiography of Jeremy Mcgrath This book is about Jeremy Mcgrath and his career. He started as ameture racer as a kid and then he realized that he had a really big tallant. He was signed with honda factory racing and that is when his career really took off. He bought a house and was living the high life, but then he wanted a real relationship. He met a girl named Kim and then he married her.
I absolutely loved this book so much! This book is so good because it shows what it takes to make it big in his career and the behind the scenes of the sport. He talks about the heart it takes to be in the sport and that you can never give up. I love how he shows you step by step of what happened in his career. He told the reader about certain races that he felt were important for his career. I wish that he would have told you more about his personal life though. He told you mostly about his career and not as much of who he was a person. I feel like i know what his personality would be like out in public. He never really talks about family except when he was a kid. I loved this book and I will probably read this book more than one time. It shows heart and determination.
This book is all about what it means to work hard and never give up on what you love. Throughout this book he is faced with struggles and hardships that made it so he would not have been successful if he didn’t just keep trying and working hard. A couple examples of this is when the factory team told him that he would never be a pro rider and that he wasn’t good, he ended up being the most successful rider that the industry has ever had. Another example is when he didn't have a race team but he kept training anyway and never gave up, finally he got a team and he was unstoppable because he never gave up and just kept working. Never ever give up on what you love no matter how bad it seems.

[Aaron G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Wide Open: A Life in Supercross by Jeremy McGrath. Jeremy starts riding dirt bikes at a young age after his dad scraped up some money to buy him his first bike. Jeremy's parents supported him and his racing career but he was almost forced to stop when they were running out of money. He raced as hard as he could until he had a Factory race team contact him and wanted him to join their team. Jeremy could race his best with his top of the line Factory Honda and raced with them for many seasons. After problems with his new Honda contract he decided that he would leave Honda after many seasons racing for them. He then signed a contract with Suzuki and raced with them until his contract expired, once it expired he then moved to a Factory yamaha team and raced with them for many years. After a couple years of racing for Yamaha he decided to switch and go with Factory KTM. After about the first season with KTM he decided it was time to retire. He retired to live a life without the racing schedule and to live in his house with his wife.
The theme of the book is to never stop trying. After all of the people he was racing against got Factory support and he did not he didn’t stop trying and he raced until he got factory support. At the beginning of the book he wasn’t able to get what he needed but after a long try of giving it all he had he got what he needed. Jeremy did everything he could but one day when he was going to get his bike worked on the mechanic Mitch told him he would never be good enough to be the best rider in supercross and that’s when he started trying as hard as he could to get into the top spot and go down in history as one of the best riders. He also had friend problems, people wanted to get into his life because he had a lot of money and the friends he had always liked to throw parties and other things that he didn’t want to do.
This book is a very good book that is about a true story. Anyone that likes dirt bikes or motocross should read this book. I liked this book because I like supercross and riding dirt bikes and it is a good book about those things. The book wasn’t too hard to read and it wasn’t confusing so someone that doesn’t like to read could read this book without a problem. You really couldn’t tell what was going to happen next in the book because of all the events and years it was covering. The ending was good because he retired from riding supercross to live a normal life with his wife and not have to worry about the supercross racing schedule. The author wrote this book off his own personal experience so it isn’t all over the place and is a very good book.

[Christian Hannemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book that will tell you the struggles and also the glorious moments that you go through as a professional dirtbike rider. I would highly recommend this book for all readers because it not only gives you lessons about dirtbiking but it also gives you life lessons. It talks about how to ride a dirtbike, and the hard times. It teaches you how to handle the money, whether it be the very little income of a privateer or the millions of a signed professional. This is a great book that I think everybody should read.

[Isaac Danke · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wide Open" is a great book for anyone who likes the sport of supercross and motocross. Jeremy's' story is a great example of who you can live life how you want to. Jeremy is such an inspiration and a role model. In the book, it goes on to tell of the struggle that Jeremy faced in supercross, like finding sponsors and paying the entrance fees for races. The book also has information on how to improve your riding style and technique. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes dirtbikes or who wants to learn more about the sport of motocross.

[Owen L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
Jeremy McGrath, one of the most famous Supercross/Motocross riders of all time, has had an incredible story about his journey through the sport. McGrath started riding when he was just 8 years old. His parents took it upon themselves to buy Jeremy a used 1979 RM 80 in 1980. McGrath rode this bike for several years until racing became a big priority. On Jeremy’s birthday, November 19th, 1985, his parents decided that he was ready for his first brand new dirt bike, a 1986 YZ 80. Jeremy was a horrible rider at first, but he practiced, and practiced, and practiced, until his riding capabilities improved. After the 80cc bike outgrew him, he had earned enough YZ bucks to buy him a brand new YZ 125. That year, everything would change. Jeremey was getting bigger (more famous), and better. And after that, the next couple years he would start to gain sponsors, and would be signed by Team Green, also known as Kawasaki. But, things took a turn for the worse. At age 20, Jeremy got in a bad crash while racing. It was a terrible crash, which caused a broken wrist and a severe concussion. He took a year off of racing to recover from his injuries. After recovery, Jeremy started to train hardcore to become the best racer he could. In 2005, Jeremy finally went pro. Although McGrath was an excellent rider, he sadly did not win the championship, Ricky Charmichael did. It would be like that for a couple of years until McGrath got into another major crash. After that horrific crash, Jeremy decided that it would be best if he were to retire from Supercross/Motocross and start to grow a family. He came back out of retirement in 2008 to do a limited number of races in the Monster Energy Supercross Circuit. He ended up placing in the top 5 every race. He rode for a couple years after that, until he finally decided to fully retire from the sport in 2010.
Analysis:
This book was written By Jermey McGrath himself, so it gives a really good autobiography about his journey through the sport in his own perspective. One theme in this book that stuck out the most to me was one that is a very common, but very well used theme, and that is Never Give Up. Jeremy started riding when he was just a little boy. He wasn’t a professional, but worked his way up slowly, even through the hard times. On page 58, “ I knew I was fast, but how far could I go without the right kind of support? I came pretty close to just hanging it up for good. But then something happened that gave me hope.” No matter what happened to McGrath, He simply kept pushing through and never quit. Because he never gave up, McGrath became one of the most popular Supercross riders of all time.
Recommendation:
I recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for the life of powersports, Motocross, Supercross, racing, you name it. This is a fantastic book that goes into detail about how to become a better rider, the journey through success, and failure. Not everything can go to plan, and that is exactly what happened in Wide Open. This book tells you that you have to want it, in order to achieve it. I can relate to this book, because I ride Dirt bikes myself. I could read this book 100 times and still miss key aspects and learn from it each and every time. I also recommend this to both genders. You don’t have to be a man to ride a dirtbike, or ride a fourwheeler, or be a mechanic. Those are for everyone, and that is why it is such a great book. It is a book for everyone, and whoever wants to read it, is going to enjoy it. I enjoyed this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

[Levi Johns]

I am doing a book review over the book “Jeremy McGrath Wide Open A Life In Supercross” by Jeremy McGrath. I thought it was a great book. I also think that probably because I really like dirt bikes and Jeremy McGrath, The guy who wrote the book about himself. Jeremy McGrath was a professional motocross and supercross racer. He is retired now.

I would recommend this book to anybody who likes dirt bikes, of course, and if you like to hear other people’s stories. Jeremy McGrath has a lot of great stories. One of his stories is when he was in open practice at a supercross race and went to jump a triple. He cased the triple and landed really hard. He said “the top of my right femur pops out of my hip bone, tearing away the ligaments and muscles that were holding it in place, and shoots out of the back of my right ass cheek”(McGrath IX).

In the beginning of the book it talks Jeremy McGrath when he was a little kid. He said that the first time he rode a dirt bike he got whisky throttle, which is when you give it a lot of gas on accident and get scared and can’t let go of the throttle, and ran right into a fence. He also talks about when he raced bmx when he was a teenager. He was very good at it and got a lot of trophies. After that he talks about his amature motocross career and then his amature supercross career. Then how he slowly progressed to being a professional supercross and motocross racer.

There are not many characters in the book I read because it is a book about one person. The main person the author mentioned is Mike “Mouse” McCoy. Another person is Jeremy McGrath’s dad Jack McGrath. Jack got Jeremy his first dirt bike. It also talks about Jeremy’s mother. The book never mentions her nome though.

In my opinion, my favorite part of the book is when he talks about when he was a little kid with a big wheel tricycle and would hit jumps on the sidewalk with his friends. I like it so much because it is kind of funny to imagine a little kid launching through the air on a plastic tricycle. That is when Jeremy’s dad noticed that he liked to go fast and do dangerous things. There is not much more to say about this subject. I will move on to the dislikes about the book.

The things that I do not like the most was when some parts of the book got boring. There were not many times when the book got boring though. The only time I can think of is when his parents got him his first dirt bike. That part kind of dragged along and took a long time. There we not any boring parts I can think of.

Now I will talk about why I chose this book. I chose my book because I love dirt bikes and Jeremy McGrath is on of my favorite dirt bike riders. Sometimes reading can be fun but usually I would rather do anything else but I could sit and read this book anytime. Another reason is because I had to read a book so I could do this book review. I also chose this book because I like to hear stories from other people.

Jeremy McGrath Wide Open is kind of a long book. If you do not like to read very much or if you don’t have a very open schedule then this might not be the book for you at all. If you do have an open schedule and like to read then I would suggest reading this book. I would definitely read this book again. It is really good.

[Michael Svorinich]

It was a good book teaching u about the life of a super-cross racer wining championships in all different stadiums with a bunch of fans and fame i learned a lot from this book like what it takes to be good how to ride faster and how get better like practicing once a day 3 times a week as much as u can in Ur life and to never give up on this sport

[Tom C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated at this point but still great. Really a pretty basic autobiography, but written by an all time great...so if you like off road motorcycling, you'll dig this book. I enjoyed it quite a bit...as someone that grew up loving MC.

[Douglas E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frank and honest portrayal of the challenges and expectations of the man that made supercross. From his early days in pee wee motocross through the heady days of his rise to "King of Supercross" and the conflagrations of retirement, McGrath holds nothing back.

[Joe Smith]

Awesome

[Matthew]

my favourite part of the book was when he was doing his events.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have very little interest in Supercross, and only picked up this book because it fit into one of the categories of required books for a class that I am taking. But I really enjoyed it. Although I know nothing about bikes and all the parts that go onto them, I found that the way his story was told was extremely interesting. I really enjoyed hearing about how he got into Supercross, his family life, the trips he took, how much money he made and what he did with it, and who he was overall. I got the feeling from this book that I was reading about a really down to earth great guy, and that made me want to keep reading even though I have very little interest in the sport. After reading this book, I would like to attend a Supercross race and hopefully meet him some day.

This is the true story of a Supercross superstar. In close to 300 pages, Jeremy McGrath not only tells us how he became a Supercross champion but also lets readers into who he is personally. He starts off by describing his amateur career, and how vital his parents were to his success. As the story progresses, readers are able to see just how much he loved the sport and how determined he was to become a professional factory rider. Throughout the autobiography, he talks a lot about the different bikes that he used, the people that were instrumental to his success, and the good and the bad experiences he had throughout his career. However, he also lets us into his personal life. He talks about trips that he took with his friends, how much money he made and what he did with it, his family, and now wife Kim. The novel does a great job of letting use see Jeremy McGrath the Supercross champion and Jeremy McGrath the person.

I have very little interest in Supercross but I loved this book. Therefore, I think that because of the way that was written, it would appeal to a lot of people, both young and old. First off, people who are interested in Supercross would love this book because he talks about where he practiced and rode in competitions, the various bikes that he rode and the parts that they used to enhance the bikes, the different sponsors that he had, and the people that he worked with. Also when Jerry talks about all of these things, he is very open and honest about both the good and bad experiences he had in his career. Also in every chapter there is a little section that gives hints about becoming a better rider. For people like me, this book is very appealing because of the way that it was written. While reading the book, I felt as though I was learning about a really nice down to earth kind of guy. Because he was so honest about his life, the places that he has gone, and what he has accomplished, I found myself constantly wanting to read more. Therefore, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a good autobiography.

[07MasonE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an autobiography that was about his life and career that he went through it is about 293 pages with exciting parts and intense racing that you will love about this book. The was him and his best friend name Chris Plamer he made it go through detail in the racing parts. Both of them were actually was out there on the track racing with each other which made it so great.

I was familiar with Jeremy McGrath before reading his book. I have followed his career for as long as I can remember and was excited to see what he really had to say about his life and career.

I had viewed him as a really cool person, which had achieved a lot in life. As I began reading I found how he was interesting in the way he did everything in his life. That made it fun to read through the book as he taught you a lot of thing that were cool. He also gave you some tips on how to do things and how to be the best of the best at things.

I found him to more intelligent then I thought he was as an Action Sports Star. He told of many stories that helped shape his life and those around him. He found ways to balance his everyday life while still being in the spotlight that has success brought him.

I found this to be a very well written book with plenty of life stories to make interesting to read as well as learning a lot about Jeremy McGrath. This book tells you that there is much more to your typical motocross athlete. It has become a full time job and career for most of these guys carrying over into life after motocross.

[Tallon Dalbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do"- Jermey McGrath. Jermey McGrath is one of the most known people in the sport bike riding ever. Jermey McGrath started riding when he was 8 years old and his dream was to become a pro motocross and supercross racer. He thought that he would never make it because his parents didn't have enough money to support his racing career and, no companies wanted to support him. Jermey and his family had a really good relationship and were always there for him as well as his sister. It was a very rough road for success for Jermey but, biggest problem was money and Jeff Emig. Jeff Emig was looking to do the same thing as Jermey. This was the best biography I've ever read but probably the best book I've ever read. This book had a lot of ups and downs and zeros to hero's. I read this in 2 weeks at school. Through the book I felt bad for him sometimes but there was a lot of good things to. I would recommend this book to people who rides dirt bikes that are 10 and up because some of it gets confusing sometimes and some of the content. Jermey did a great job on the visuals, telling a career story while in a motocross themed book and tutorials on how to do things that are dirt bike related, which I thought was a great idea. In conclusion, Wide Open: A Life in Supercross is the ultimate motocross and supercross biography for the all dirt bike riders, the ages 10 and up, and dirt bike lovers in general.

[Ariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

So at about age 10, Jeremy was consistantly riding at many motorcross events with all of his friends, and was trying to find a way to become better and eventually get sponsored like most of his friends were. As he would later become really fast, he would finally get sponsored at age 14, by Team Honda. He continued to ride, after being sponsored but seemed to find it hard to win in the top spots at each competiton he entered and raced in.
After always riding and having fun with his friends in motorcross, he decided to turn to BMX later on and then turned back to motorcross, where he used his skills from BMX and put them into his motorcross skills and soon would become really good and a champion in supercross & motorcross. During his career, Jeremy won many championships and titles from Motorcross & Supercross. After a close friend retired, Jeremy soon would become the #1 champion in Motorcross history. When Jeremy encountered problems financially with Team Honda, his sponsor, he ended up turning to Suzuki and then Yamaha. In the end he ended up retiring under the Team of Yamaha.After ending in the Motorcross/Supercross industry for over 20 something years, Jeremy had finally decided to move on and possibly start a family with a close girlfriend, Kim.

[Steven]

This book is one of my all time favorites, I have always looked up to Jeremy McGrath as an idol. The goals he had accomplished in his career are staggering. 72 career supercross wins and 7 AMA supercross championships he has elevated the sport. He has earned the nickname "the king of supercross". I would highly recommend this book to people looking for a great biography, although motocross may be a not so well known sport but it has a great story about a guy coming from a bmx background and dominating a sport.

[Cece · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! You can't like motocross/supercross and not thank MC for what he did for the sport. He really helped in making it main stream. I love this book because it let me do a project and talk about supercross in school! I also liked the tips and comments about racing scattered through the book. He really loved this sport and had a love for riding that made you wanna get out and ride with every page. It was a great book and it rocked!!!

[Chase Granlund]

I have read many books about Jeremy McGrath but this is my favorite one. It really talks about his entire carrer and all of the hard times he and his family went through to get him to the level of racing he was competed at. This book also talked about his life outside of racing. He partied a lot but knew when to get serious. Jeremy McGrath is one of my big ideals.

[Maxx Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest it wasn't the best book i ever read, but it was far from the worst! I really like how it talked about how he basically fought his way out of being poor into the most successful supercross rider in the world. i really enjoyed how he was able to find love, despite all of the jealouse women. i liked this book alot. Thats what i think of the Book Jeremt McGrath.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was the story of Jeremy McGrath's career. It started with his love for BMX and continued to his starred career in supercross. This book showed both triumph and heartbreak, injury and success. I not only learned a lot about one of my fave riders (yes I grew up watching him) but I learned a lot more about the sport itself. I am glad that I picked up this book.

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS AWSOME!IT SHOWS HOW A REALLY MXERS LIFE IS REALLY LIKE! IT WAS NICE OT HERE ABOUT HIS CAREER AND HOW IT CHANGED HIM AS A PERSON! I ALSO LIKE HOW THE STORY WAS TOLD!IT MADE FOR A VERY GOODREAD! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book for the reluctant readers in my class. I won cool points with the motocross seventh grade boys just for asking them what a Whoops is. I read it quickly, blacked out the swear words, shared a few highlights with the class, and there is now a waiting list for the book!!!!

[Robert Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good. I liked it alot. I would recommend it to most guys, especially the ones who know who J-Mac is.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is super duper cool.jeremy mcgrath is the best supercross rider of all time with 72 wins and 7 championships which are both records nobody will beat.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one that I read vicariously while lying next to my spouse in bed! Brett's favorite book of all time!!! I guess he would recommend to EVERYONE! Duh!

[Tj Rucker]

This book was pretty good. You should read this book if you are interested in dirt bikes or racing.

[Alex Rudder · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a contender for one of my favorite books of all time. It takes you into the heart of supercross, or other wise known as dirt bike racing. compelling and very discriptive and dramatic.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing cant think of supercross without mc. this book goes through of starting at the bottom on an old rm80 and rising to the top

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story of a regular guy who just happens to turn out to be the greatest motocross rider ever!