Book Description

On a hot summer morning, William Hallberg, author of The Rub of the Green, sets off on an odyssey across the United States to penetrate--and illuminate--the soul of golf. No course is too grand, no driving range too humble for a stop on Hallberg's unpredictable tour of America's verdant and not-so-verdant golf venues. He tackles Kiawah Island's diabolical and breathtaking Ocean Course with a party of well-heeled Southern gents. He tromps through sagebrush roughs and kikuyu bunkers in the Nevada outback. He encounters the ghost of a cherished golfing buddy during a memorable round in the Smokies. And between games he nurses his wounds, ponders his constantly mutating handicap, and commiserates with fellow golfers in dusky sports bars, greasy spoons, and rain-soaked motel parking lots.

No one writes about golf the way William Hallberg does. His zest, passion, and humor inform each page of this book, which, using golf as both its means and metaphor, explores what it is to be a man in America. The Soul of Golf will make you laugh out loud, swallow hard in the face of painful truths, and ultimately, head yet again for your favorite golf course where fate lies in ambush. Hallberg clearly had the time of his life working on this book. It's a privilege and a pleasure to come along for the ride. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A good read
This is an exceptionally well written enjoyable book to read on a rainy afternoon when you can't get out to the course. The only downer were periodic eruptions of Hallberg's boomer arrogance.Also disappointing was the fact he told all his golf partners that he was writing a book and he was going to put them in it!

Birdie on descriptions of golf, double bogey on the rest.
I looked so forward to reading this book after it was recommended by afriend, also an avid links lover. However, getting past the authors liberalgenre and his views towards certain people of the "christian"persuasion left me disappointed.As a Christian, I wish I could have readthe book without the typical liberal diatribe of"religion-bashing" and received more inspiration of how one canlearn of life through the study and playing of the game. Too much of aslice to the left side of center for me.Bill, just stick to the vivid andwell laid out descriptions of the course and leave the anti-christianprosletizing to someone else (that is, if you want to sell books.) Can Iget my money back?

insightful, evocative writing
This is my favorite golf book.Well, it's not really a "golf book" per se -- obviously, it revolves around a golf trip, but Hallberg's descriptions of the value of family, friends, and the kindnessof strangers are priceless.Contrary to what other reviewers have said, Ithink it's obvious that Hallberg cares deeply about his family -- abortinghis trip would have done nothing to cure their health problems; but itwould have deprived us of a beautiful, sensitive book.

While we're at it,I also liked his novel, "The Rub of the Green."Both it and thepresent volume are among that rare category of books that made me feel sadwhen I reached the end -- finishing the book is like taking leave of a goodfriend.

Well crafted prose reveals poor personal values.
William Hallberg brings us many insightful, poignant and well crafted passages about golf, companionship, and his personal biography. Unfortunately, his efforts get lost in what seems to be more a soulsearching than the soul of golf. While reading passages about a wide rangeof courses, companions and rounds of golf so well written that I felt Icould almost hear him speaking, I was, at the same time, deeply troubledthat what sounds like caring man would neglect meaningful, adultresponsibilities and relationships in favor of a traveling golf fantasy andpotential book sale earnings. Ultimately, for me the Soul of Golf becamemore a story of how a man with wonderful literary, golfing and, by his ownaccount, interpersonal skills bemoans his well earned guilt about leavingthe sufferings of several family members behind in pursuit of what is,after all, a game. Ultimately, I think it missed it's mark.

FOR A GUY TRAPPED IN THE FROZEN 1999 NORTH, A TREAURED READ.
I HAVE EVERY REASON TO EXPECT THAT WILLIAM HALLBERG WOULD BE A GREAT FRIEND HAD OUR PATHS CROSSED. HIS BOOK TRANSFORMED AN OTHERWISE DREARY WINTER WEEKEND AND MAGICALLY CARRIED ME BACK THROUGH MANY FANTASTIC MOMENTSIN MY OWN LIFE. GOLF IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT I TREASURE AND MR. HALLBERG HASCAPTURED THE MOMENT. IF ONE MUST LOOK BEYOND THE SIMPLE JOY OF STANDING ONA FIRST TEE FOR DEEPER MEANING, THEN I THINK THAT THEY MISS THE POINT OFTHIS ABSOLUTELY REFRESHING WORK. CONGRATULATIONS BILL. I ENVY YOUR TALENTBUT AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE SHARED SOME OF YOUR MOMENTS. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The only job in sports that seems crazier than hockey goalie is hockey goalie in the era before masks. That time is examined in A Breed Apart, an exuberant, photo-rich tribute to the game's last line of defense and most interesting personalities. The great goalies--from Vezina and Worters to Dryden and Roy--are profiled in detail, and there are smart era-by-era analyses of how the position's equipment and style of play have changed, and how each relates to the other. Ultimately, the players beneath the padding emerge as the unique sporting characters implied by the title. As Gerry Cheevers, famed for decorating his mask with the stitches it saved him from, observes, "We goaltenders, alone and unloved, tend to be very proud bastards." In A Breed Apart, they make the most of their chance to preen. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent book for the goaltending enthusiast!'
Those of us who play goal know what unique characters we are. This book highlights all the greats from the early days of the sport up to now. Pictures galore. Spreads of early equipment. Full head shots of masks, oldand new. Profiles of many of the greats to ever play the position. Theinnovators and the champions. A well rounded history of the insanely bravemen who guard the cages. I reccomend it to all into the sport or theposition.

Great book for anyone interested in goaltending
This is a fabulous and very detailed book about the history of goaltending.The book spans from the very first goaltenders all the way to today's goalies.The book has many great pictures along with stories and interesting facts.The book got me interested right away.It shows pictures all the way from before the 1900's and up to today.Famous goalies such as, Jaques Plante, Terry Sawchuck, and many others.I highly recoment this book for just about anyone.This would be a fabulous book for any goaltender currently playing on a team.The book is so well done and easy to read and follow it really brings you into the time of the earlier goaltenders.Just overall...a great book ... Read more

Reviews (1)

3 1/2 stars
The book gives very entertaining descriptions about events that occur in John's life, such as him getting drunk, and it also keeps your interest when it is explaining the tournaments he was in. But the book goes into much detail about boring details about John's coaches and friends. ... Read more

Book Description

Muhammad Ali has always been much more than a gifted boxer. A charismatic figure whose comical rhymes and controversial opinions have made headlines around the world for more than four decades, Ali has become the best-known person on the planet. USA Today and Sports Illustrated named him their "Athlete of the Century."To commemorate the 60th birthday of this living legend, author Karl Evanzz has compiled Ali's thoughts on everything from Aging to Women's Rights. Float Like a Butterfly . . . offers the most comprehensive collection of Ali's quotes to date. Combined with unforgettable black-and-white photographs, a brief biography, and other's views about him, Float Like a Butterfly . . . vividly illustrates why Ali has been such a phenomenal influence in national and international affairs.No athlete in history has had a more profound impact on American culture than Ali. As he once said of his unique qualities, "Ain't never been no nothing like me."

... Read more

Reviews (1)

BIG Thanks To The Bike Thief
I don't think that these are the best quotes from Muhammad Ali and there was 1 incorrect fact regarding Joe Martin - the police officer who introduced boxing to a young Cassius Clay.

I love that there is a book - this book - that give you the quotes from Muhammad Ali all in 1 place - and it was interesting to read others peoples quotes regarding him.

The book is layed out well - i.e. you read a Muhammad quote about Liston and then a Liston Quote about Ali. It's a small book - around 160 pages and is a great fit for my Muhammad Ali collection...anyones Muhammad Ali collection.

The introduction reminded me how the act of a bicycle thief set in motion the creation of one the Greatest boxers in history - gave Ali a platform to show his Greatness in and out of the ring - the introduction made me even less angry about my own red bike being stolen when I was 12 - the introduction made sit back, scratch my head and say a BIG thanks to the Bike Thief ... Read more

Book Description

In the tradition of David Halberstam’s bestseller Summer of ’49, Tour ’72 brings to life the events, personalities, and rivalries that made 1972 one of the most important years in modern golf.

The year 1972 was an incredible one for golf. The game’s traditional stateliness gave way to a fiercer and more exciting dynamic as Trevino, Palmer, Nicklaus, and Player dominated the course. Their intense competitiveness and unbelievable prowess paved the way for the likes of Tiger and Sergio, and shaped the game we know today.

Armed with a reporter’s perspective and a passionate golfer’s love of the game, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael D’Antonio offers a behind-the-scenes portrait of this extraordinary time. He details the most exciting British Open ever played; the best single shot ever made at the PGA Championship; and the division between the older champions and new prodigies. He reveals Lee Trevino’s near nervous breakdown and explores Jack Nicklaus’s evolution from arrogant youth to best golfer of his generation. At no other time would so many great players compete together at the height of their powers. Michael D’Antonio captures this pivotal year in all its glory in a book every golf fan will treasure. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Thumbnail Sketch of a Season on Tour
I won't flame the book quite as severely as others have, however, I can only mildly recommend it for several reasons. While the book is a nice, cursory overview of the four majors in 1972, it does not, due to its brevity, fully engage the reader ala "A Duel In The Sun" at any one location. Indeed, the PGA is basically an afterthought (covering about 20 pages at the end) due, presumably, to Nicklaus' failure to win at Muirfield.

There is a compelling story here, it is just not fully developed. Yes, there is poignancy to the rapid decline of Palmer; Yes, there is a strong central character in Nicklaus; Yes, Trevino leaps off the page as a charismatic, if troubled, star; Yes, Player is shown as a multi-dimensional man wrestling with the sins of his nation, but with a less than 300 page narrative, the book feels more like an appetizer than a main course.

I will say that in comparison to "The Majors", John Feinstein's book about the 4 majors in 1998, this author made a better choice. Feinstein threw a dart at the wall, essentially hoping that year's majors would offer compelling story lines (they basically did not. O'Meara's two wins .. feh. Vijah at Sahalee ..yawn), whereas this book is written retrospectively with the full knowledge that GREAT story lines existed.

Anyway, it's a shame the factual errors pointed out in other reviews were made (hopefully cleaned up for the paperback version), but otherwise, this is a good, quick read.

Poorly written.
There are many problems with this book.
1. Factual errors. Some have been pointed out by previous reviewers. Here are a couple more:
- the difference between par and bogey was described as a "margin of two shots".
- A player at the Masters was described as birdieing 14, 15, and then makings a putt for "his third birdie in a row on seventeen". Apparently he skipped 16.
That's only a couple of mistakes, but add them to others I noticed plus others noticed by the previous reviewer, and this is a sloppy book.
2. Redundancy. Twice we're told that Lee Elder expected an invitation to the Masters after winning the Nigerian Open. Twice we're given an account of Arnie blowing a 7-shot lead to Billy Casper at the '66 Open. I kept feeling that I'd lost my place in the book and accidentally started over on earlier pages. But it was just the author repeating himself for no apparent reason.
3. Failed attempts to put the story into some sort of larger social context. The reader is treated (or subjected) to an endless stream of data -- much of it trivial -- about the societal events, politics, popular culture, economics, and non-golf sporting events of the era. The problem is that very little of it had anything to do with Nicklaus' pursuit of the Grand Slam, Palmer's waning career, Trevino's exploits, etc. The problem seems to be that the author couldn't get a book-length story out of the golf alone, so he padded (and padded, and padded) with extraneous stuff that is irrelevant to the story he's trying to tell.
4. White liberal guilt. This is of course a virtual epidemic among sportswriters and other media types today. They pat themselves on the back, showing how unbiased they are by pointing out how biased other people are. So we find that Bobby Jones was racist, the Masters is racist, Gary Player was racist, Jack Nicklaus -- well, not sure about him but he was a privileged country club kid and that's pretty much the same as being racist. Again, little of this is relevant to the '72 season of Nicklaus, Trevino, et al, but by writing about it at length the author is able to show what a good, non-racist guy he is (and also pad the book some more to meet his word quota).
5. Unoriginality. Something occurred to me in reading this: I believe the author might have been able to write it without ever leaving his office. Most of the information in it can be "Googled". Most of the rest is author's musings or conclusions. It's hard to find evidence of much real research or subject interviewing. In other words, it may be somewhat more sophisticated than a student paper that just regurgitates facts found in encyclopedias and magazine articles -- but not by much.
Overall -- the book doesn't do justice to the players or the events of that great golf season.

The Boys of Summer Play Golf
What Roger Kahn did for the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers of the mid-1950s, Michael D'Antonio does for the heros and anti-heros of the 1972 PGA tour, a year as important in golf history as the days of Jackie Robinson were to the Dodgers.

Today, with the game, or at least media attention on the game, dominated by a single player, it's hard to imagine that there was a Tour of '72, dominated by Nicklaus, Palmer, Player and Trevino - all competing in a single season.

A writer who can find the excitement in any subject, from the sex life of mosquitos to the intricacies of a good backswing, D'Antonio's own passion for golf comes shinning through in the Tour '72 just as it did in his earlier Tin Cup Dreams.

Anyone who cares about the game of golf and the game's legendary players will want to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon with Tour '72 - and will re-read this gem again and again.

A must for anyone who loves golf
In spite of the few minor errors that exist in this book, as someone who has played the sport for twenty-plus years, I found it to be most fascinating.In an era when all we read about is Tiger Woods (don't get me wrong, he's fantastic, and worthy of all the attention), this book highlights one of the most exciting periods in this sport's history.If you're a fan of golf, or just know someone who is, I urge you to buy this terrific book.

Could have been so much better.....
I started reading this book with anticipation but it quickly became obvious it was a shallow (and over-priced!) effort with many mistakes that detracted from the story.Who did the proofreading anyway?Gene Littler did NOT win the US Open in 1960, Arnie did (p 136).Muirfield is 20 miles east of Edinburgh, NOT 20 miles west (p 187). Doug Sanders lost the British Open playoff to Jack in 1970 NOT 1971 (p 202), etc.Also, attempting to follow a golfer's progress through their rounds is very difficult as the narrative does not always equate to relation to over/under par.One of 4 main combatants, Arnold Palmer, is not even mentioned in the British Open summary until AFTER the tournament has ended (ie Palmer finished 8 strokes back).Gary Player is ignored quite a lot throughout the book also (I had to doublecheck to make sure he did play in the 1972 British Open)This book was obviously rushed to print - the writing style and accuracy level, or lack thereof, provide sufficient evidence of a lack of organization and lack of attention to detail.Overall, a very disappointing effort that had so much more potential. ... Read more

Book Description

The chronicle of the ups and downs of the amazing world of John Daly, now brought up to date to include all the latest details of Daly's career and family adventures - including the long-awaited comeback of the natural-born golfer with the 'killer swing', and the arrest of his ex-wife for drug-smuggling. ... Read more

Book Description

Peter Alliss is the 'voice of golf' for much of the English-speaking world and a regular broadcaster on ABC.This is a beautifuuly illustrated personal collection of the 26 golfing heroes who have stimulated his love-affair with the game for more than half a century.Embellished with fascinating insights and personal reminiscences, all the big names feature in Peter Alliss' Golf Heroes, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Billy Casper, Nancy Lopez and many more.A must for every golf fan. ... Read more

Book Description