eShop USA > Books > The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
List Price: $22.00Our Price: $14.96 You Save: $7.04 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.352092
EAN: 9780307266538
ISBN: 0307266532
Label: Knopf
Manufacturer: Knopf
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: May 06, 2008
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: May 06, 2008
Studio: Knopf
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:Ever wonder how to retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? Or which club in your bag is best suited for combat against a horde of rats? If these and other sporting questions are gnawing at you, The Downhill Lie, Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious confessional about returning to the fairways after a thirty-two-year absence, is definitely the book for you.Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl wisely quit golfing in 1973, when “Richard Nixon was hunkered down like a meth-crazed badger in the White House, Hank Aaron was one dinger shy of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and The Who had just released Quadrophenia.” But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years—and memories of shanked 7-irons—faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son—and also as a grandfather.“What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.”And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately—and foolishly—agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.”Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem—culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament—will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who has written an extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Most Enjoyable Book
I enjoyed reading this book more than I have enjoyed any book in the past several years.
Rating: - A fun read.
An easy reading, enjoyable book. I'm not in any way a golfer and I still liked it.
Rating: - Enjoyable even for a non-golfer!
Excellent book! Love the author's sense of humor. My husband's a long-tme golfer but I have no interest. Actually, the subject of golf is extremely boring to me. However, I purchased this audio-book for a car trip and both of us REALLY enjoyed it.
Rating:  - Funny, but true
Good idea of what it is like to try to get better at this game. Enjoyable read!
Rating:  - I'll stick with his novels...
Having enjoyed several of Hiaasen's novels, "Skin Tight" being my personal favorite, I had high hopes for this book. Although there are several funny segments, the overall tone of whininess and self-flagellation got tiresome after a while. Golf is hard & frustrating, eh? Who knew?
Related Categories:
| |
 |
