The Greatest Player Who Never Lived

Rating:
Summary: Simply Wonderful!!
Review: I am a more recent golf fan and not a player, but I devoured this book from page one and loved it. The author fills in wonderful details of Bobby Jones' legendary life and career (what a marvelous man he must have been), as well as telling a gripping story of a mythical relationship between him and the young player whose own meteor never had a chance to streak across the sky. Naturally golf lovers will love it, but that said, I think anyone who enjoys a good sports story or a story about great relationships tested in tough times will also love it. It's a jewel of a book -- don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: A Spectacular Read
Review: I am so impressed! What a terrific book! Mr. Veron brought Beau Stedman to life and made Bobby Jones alive once more. I don't think I can come up with enough superlatives for this book. It was great in every way. The writing was superb; the plot-line kept you going until the end; the descriptiveness of the golf courses made you feel as though you were there. I had to continually remind myself that this was, in fact, fiction as I felt myself wanting to look up information about Beau Stedman to find out more about him. I know Mr. Veron is a lawyer but I think he has a great career ahead of him as a writer. I highly recommend this book and look forward to his next book.

Rating:
Summary: Mildly entertaining, but mostly disappointing
Review: I generally like golf fiction, but this novel was not one of my favorites.

The book involves a first year law student who is spending his summer interning at the law firm where Bobby Jones had worked. He is assigned the task of organizing and cataloging Bobby Jones' old files. During the summer, he discovers notes and correspondence about a mysterious golfer/client named Beau Stedman. According to the story, Beau Stedman had been quite the young phenom golfer prior to being accused of murder.

Set against this backdrop, the story becomes part John Grisham novel and part "Bagger Vance." Unfortunately, it doesn't do either well. There is not enough intrigue to keep you in suspense and not enough "magic" or "mysticism" to keep you amused.

Having said all of that, the book is still mildly entertaining. For a more enjoyable read within this genre, I would recommend "The Legend of Bagger Vance", "Golf in the Kingdom" or "Miracle on the 17th Green."

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant mixture of golf fantasy & legal practice
Review: If you have any appreciation of golf history - especially that involving Bobby Jones, Augusta National, and The Masters - then this is the book for you. And if you're a lawyer to boot, then welcome to nirvana.

In reading various reviews, I was expecting a book with jawdropping twists and turns. It's simply not so...the plot twists are more accurately 'swerves' and are about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Moreover, the reader can go 25 - 30 pages without a significant event transpiring. [Most notably in the author's shot-by-shot, interminable rendering of his (er, I mean, Charley Hunter's) fantasy round at Augusta.]

Not that this makes a bad book. Bobby Jones was a giant of American Sport, and although a work of fiction, Veron's work really nails the spirit of a sportsman with a supreme intellect. Jones led a full life as a practicing attorney, and Veron's take - done in sublime fashion - is that the full measure of the man must take into account both his sporting and legal accomplishments. This aspect of the book alone makes the "The Greatest Player..." a very worthwhile read & certainly worth the 2 - 3 evenings it will take to blitz through this sweet tale.

Rating:
Summary: I AGREE WITH THE NEW YORK TIMES
Review: So many times golf books, and especially golf novels are just something that you get as a gift and never read, never like and never want. Over the years, there are a few exceptions, Hogan's Five Lesson's, Dead Solid Perfect, The Little Red Book, Augusta National & The Masters: A Photographer's Scrapbook. The New York Times exclaimed this weekend that THE GREATEST PLAYER WHO NEVER LIVED is GOLF's LITERARY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, and after not being able to put it down for two days, twisting and turning with every page, I agree that this, too, should be added to the list. Veron's refreshing style is hard to describe. Not Feinstein; closer to Grisham's earlier work. It is so wonderfully simple, yet complex and spellbinding. This isn't just a golf book, though all hardcores will love it, too...this is a book for all lovers of fiction. I can't wait for the movie !