Golf in the Kingdom (Audio Literature Presents)

Rating:
Summary: Transcends the golf-book genre
Review: Michael Murphy is not simply a golfer, or golf writer, but a philosopher, co-founder of Esalen Institute and a thinker who has boldly gone where no other has before him -- or certainly not with such dash and wit. Shivas Irons is one of the great creations of golf literature or any other. I've read this book six or seven times, always captivated by the prose and the tale-spinning. I believe it every time! And the gems tucked in here: the dinner in which Shivas speaks in praise of golf is lifted from Plato's "Symposium," complete with the drunken intervention of Evan Tyrhee (Alcibiades to Shivas' Socrates) to make his speech in praise of his mentor. Excellent on every count, worth a read and a re-read every year.

Rating:
Summary: Great Travel Reading
Review: This book is great for the golfer and non-golfer alike. I read this book while traveling from Washington, DC to Chicago and needed something to read through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Murphy weaves a masterful tale of his round of golf with Shivas Irons, a mythical caddie/coach and through this experience Shivas helps him understand more about himself, his swing, and his life, and his place in the universe. While this book is a bit out there compared to your run of the mill golf book, it is entertaining and thought provoking in a way not seen in many books about sport. This book has soul-not many do.