An entertaining read for golf fans that sheds light on an important chapter in golf history.
Golf writer Sampson (Golf Dads: Fathers, Sons, and the Greatest Game, 2008, etc.) recounts the tale of the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, S.C., perhaps the most famous edition of the biennial contest.
The Ryder Cup began in 1927 as a competition between golfers from the United States and Britain and was dominated by the U.S. for the first 50 years of its existence. The tide began to shift, however, when, in 1979, the format changed to include players from the rest of Europe. By 1991, the European side had won three in a row, and there was no love lost between many of the players on both teams. The Kiawah Island “War by the Shore” had its share of controversy, including the continuance of a feud between Spanish star Seve Ballesteros and American Paul Azinger and accusations of jingoism after U.S. players Corey Pavin and Steve Pate wore camouflage hats with “Desert Storm” labels. But for all the controversy and nationalism, the tournament’s fame rests mainly on the excitement of the matches, a hard-fought competition that came down to a single putt on the final hole, an excruciating 6-foot miss by German Bernhard Langer. Sampson does a nice job recreating the frenzied atmosphere, with input from most of the major participants and a wealth of behind-the-scenes information that adds much to readers’ understanding of the events of that week. He should also be credited for avoiding the usual hushed, reverent tones of many sports historians, though some readers will be put off by the narrative style, which occasionally feels like being cornered at the 19th hole by the slightly drunk know-it-all who fancies himself a raconteur.
An entertaining read for golf fans that sheds light on an important chapter in golf history.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-592-40796-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Gotham Books
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Football star Joe Don Looney—an All-American running back in the early 1960's—had, according to Oklahoma attorney Clark, ``the tools to be the next Jim Brown.'' But as Clark shows in this smoothly written, riveting biography, Looney's brand of nonconformity and manic temperament was not readily accommodated 30 years ago. An early advocate of weightlifting and steroids for football training, Looney was also ahead of his time in his devotion to yoga and meditation. Even so, he indulged in drinking and brawling that, despite his prowess as a runner and punter, got him dismissed from several secondary schools. Arriving in 1962 at the University of Oklahoma, Looney—a ``fun-loving reckless hell-raiser'' who was also a ``melancholy existentialist''—clashed with Coach Bud Wilkinson, whose football program still ``had a distinctive military air to it.'' Looney's penchant for guns and fighting, his petulant refusals to practice, and his bridling against becoming ``a mindless grunt'' led to his dismissal from the team—but his extraordinary potential and on-field record convinced the New York Giants to draft him. Looney balked at the pro regimen, however, and was soon traded to the Baltimore Colts, where his ``performances were awesome.'' But after a series of disturbing incidents— including his arrest for kicking in a neighbor's door—he was traded again. Nagging injuries, lack of interest in playing, and further off-the-field difficulties pushed Looney out of football by 1967. A brief stint in Vietnam renewed his interest in Buddhism but also led him to marijuana and psychedelic drugs, and his life became one of messy relationships and marital problems, of drifting to India, Peru, and back to Texas—although, before his death in 1988 in a motorcycle accident, he found some peace as a disciple of the mystic Muktananda. A well-researched, in-depth study of a most unusual athlete: one of the best—and most fascinating—sports bios in years. (Sixteen-page photo insert—not seen)
Pub Date: Aug. 16, 1993
ISBN: 0-312-07870-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1993
An ambitious, remarkably frank, but overlong and digressive chronicle of the Philadelphia Eagles' 1992 season by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. Bowden begins and ends in the middle of the Eagles' dramatic come-from-behind playoff victory over New Orleans in January 1993. In between are 400 pages of reconstruction of behind-the-scenes goings-on, as well as highly personal profiles of the players, coaches, and owner Norman Braman. Just prior to the start of the football season, All-Pro defensive lineman Jerome Brown was killed in an auto accident. The talented, irrepressible Brown was mouthy and loud, often flabby from poor workout habits, and apparently determined to set an NFL record for paternity suits and speeding tickets. His locker became a shrine, and his loss helped bring to light the team's barely concealed divisions and animosities. Linebacker Seth Joyner became openly insulting to ``franchise quarterback'' Randall (Randoll, Joyner called him) Cunningham, accusing him publicly of consistently letting the team down in the clutch. Joyner and the rest of the defense were ``Buddy's Boys,'' hard-nosed athletes assembled by fiery, controversial Buddy Ryan, axed the previous year and replaced as head coach by the team's relatively inexperienced offensive coordinator, Rich Kotite—soon dubbed Coach Uptight by the press. As the season progressed and the team disintegrated, Bowden reenacts a wild fight in the stands between defensive back Wes Hopkins's wife and mistress and other fairly irrelevant outbursts. His recounting of the more pertinent football controversies, such as the debate over whether Cunningham or Jim McMahon should be quarterback, demonstrate the depth of the venomous feelings within the team. By midseason, even the press was urging the players to ``shut up and play football.'' Bowden's writing has an it's-all-so-amusing edge. As incident- laden and wacky as the season was, he's too long-winded to sustain interest. (16 pages photos, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-42841-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1994
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