The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail, Set [UNABRIDGED]

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What Does It Take to win a major championship and reach the absolute pinnacle of golf? Through a season of the four tournaments known collectively as the majors -- the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship -- John Feinstein takes us where the television cameras never go, both off the links and "inside the ropes," as he reveals the special challenges and rituals, the frustrations and exhilaration, that mark the lives and careers of the world's greatest golfers.

SYNOPSIS

John Feinstein, author of the massive bestseller A Good Walk Spoiled, takes readers through a year behind the scenes at the Masters, the British Open, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. Full of Feinstein's always insightful commentary,The Majors delves into the significance of the great tournaments as well as the players who excelled in them, interspersing the origins and history of the events with a chronicle of the 1998 competitions. Feinstein also intelligently explores many aspects of golf culture as a whole, from legends of the game to player-sponsor relationships and what they mean to what it's like to be a pro on the other end of the table from those who win these tournaments. A fascinating read from start to finish, The Majors is the most anxiously awaited golf book of the year—a perfect gift for Father's Day.

FROM THE CRITICS

Mike Snider - USA Today

In The Majors, John Feinstein sets a historical stage, then takes readers inside the ropes of last year's competitions.... The Majors offers a refresher course in preparation for this year's season.

Washington Post

We can almost imagine Feinstein, like Shakespeare's Henry V, making his rounds from camp to camp. The author's interest is...with the human stories that surround these championships and give them meaning.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A wonderful follow-up to his bestselling A Good Walk Spoiled.

Library Journal

Feinstein first went behind the scenes of professional golf in A Good Walk Spoiled (LJ 5/15/95), his best-selling account of a year on the Professional Golf Association (PGA) tour. In The Majors, he returns to the fairways and roughs of big-time golf, this time focusing on the games major championships. As in A Good Walk Spoiled, Feinsteins close-up portraits of the greats and near-greats as they compete in the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship are what make this account so absorbing. Along with penetrating profiles of the key playersDaley, Montgomery, Leonard, WoodsFeinstein also spotlights the lesser-known contenders, for whom victory in a major would be a career breakthrough. Feinstein once again manages to get inside the head of the competitor and depict the athlete as a multidimensional human being. He also includes the history of how each tournament became the prominent event it is today. Recommended for all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/98.]Peter Ward, Lindenhurst Memorial Lib., NY

Dave Anderson - The New York Times Book Review