To the Linksland (30th Anniversary Edition)

by Michael Bamberger Narrated by Michael Bamberger

Overview

One of the greatest and most beloved golf books ever written is now available on audio-“a cause for celebration” (The Wall Street Journal)-with a new introduction by Golf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy, and a new afterword.

Thirty years (and counting!) after publication, To the Linksland still enthralls readers who pick it up for the first time-or return to the book for the sheer pleasure of it.

In 1991, Michael Bamberger, a newspaper sportswriter, gave up his apartment, took a leave of absence from his job and his life, and, joined by his newlywed wife, set off to explore the wide world of golf. Bamberger's first step in this madcap golfing adventure was to become a caddie on the European golf tour, where he encountered the game's most dynamic players up close and personal, including golf's greatest artist, Seve Ballesteros. Crisscrossing the Continent with his bride, Bamberger caddied for a true original, Peter Teravainen, a Yale-educated golfer with a workingman's spirit and a knack for making brilliant, on-the-spot observations about the game (“Good shots must come in groups of two”). Over the course of one unforgettable year, Bamberger caddied in the national championships of Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, and, finally, Scotland, golf's ancestral home. Once there, Bamberger fell under the spell of one of golf's great teachers and thinkers, John Stark.

To the Linksland is the captivating memoir of Bamberger's golfing pilgrimage/extended honeymoon. From an all-night caddie bus on the back roads of southern Europe to Stark's secret six-hole course in the Scottish Highlands, Bamberger takes you on a journey into the heart of golf. This thirtieth-anniversary edition of Bamberger's classic, lyrical tale of discovery is bookended with a new introduction by Michael Murphy and a new afterword by Bamberger. To the Linksland is a “great book for your golfing soul” (Golf Monthly).

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Since its publication in 1992, Michael Bamberger’s To the Linksland has enjoyed a cult status among golfers. This new edition—with a foreword by Golf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy, an afterword by Mr. Bamberger, and (for the first time) photographs—is a cause for celebration. . . . To read the book again, or for the first time, is to be reminded of what the game offers beyond numbers on a scorecard.” —John Paul Newport, Wall Street Journal

“This is one of those golf books that you have to read. It’ll put you under its spell, draw you into its world, and rekindle your enthusiasm for the game. It’s been doing that for the past three decades for readers, and I’m sure it will continue to do it for many more decades. . . . I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy.”
—Garrett Morrison, The Fried Egg podcast

“One of the best golf travel books ever written . . . The book reminds us that the game of golf has many treasures yet to be discovered.”
—Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom

“Lyrical and inspired . . . A lovely book that will stand with the classics of the game.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“For those who like golf, this adventure may bring happy tears to their eyes. Bamberger’s a great partner throughout an incredible tour.”
—The Seattle Times

“His was a marvelous journey, and we are privileged to share it. . . . [The book] deserves not only recognition but sustained praise.”
—The Sporting News

“There are writers who reduce ideas and there are writers who expand them. [Bamberger] is one of the latter.”
—Golf Digest

“Enormously appealing . . . a diamond.”
—The Madison Courier (Wisconsin)

“A great book for your golfing soul from a journalist who remains at the top of his game to this day.”
—Golf Monthly

“Reading Michael Bamberger’s To the Linksland was gloriously refreshing and joyously reflective of why and how we play the game of golf. If one cannot journey to the Fountainhead—the links of Scotland themselves—then absorb the true and happy golf experience through this book.”
—Ben Crenshaw

PRAISE FOR OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL BAMBERGER

* The Ball in the Air *

“I just finished this one from Michael Bamberger in a day, and it’s a work of art. My love for golf comes from the challenge of playing as an amateur, not from winning tournaments or collecting prize money. 99% of you have this same relationship with the game. That’s who this book is for.”
—Tom Brady on Instagram

“The Ball in the Air tells the golf-related tales of three decidedly non-high-profile figures . . . Linking these tales is Mr. Bamberger’s own story and his conviction that golf has much to teach when we open ourselves to the game’s deepest, most subtle nature—the unexpected emotions, the ‘odd and beautiful playing fields,’ the intimate bonds that form among both friends and strangers. The pleasure of The Ball in the Air is like that of an ordinary golf round. . . . Mr. Bamberger’s abiding love is for golf as it is experienced by everyday people.”
—John Paul Newport, Wall Street Journal

* The Second Life of Tiger Woods *

“Reading The Second Life of Tiger Woods is like playing a great golf course without prior knowledge of the holes that lie ahead. You know they’re going to be good, and in the end, they add up to something special. To the extent that it’s possible to know what’s in Tiger’s mind, Bamberger delivers. . . . A terrific book.”
—Gary D'Amato, Wisconsin Golf

“This may be the most insightful and evenhanded book written yet about one of the signature athletes of the last twenty-five years.”
—Booklist (starred review)

* Men in Green *

“Maybe the best golf book I’ve ever read.”
—Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal

“I wish Men in Green were about four hundred pages longer than it is.”
—Jeffrey Toobin, New York Times Book Review

* The Swinger *

“An entertaining, revealing, thought-provoking, and cautionary tale . . . It provides invaluable insight into the life and times of Woods.”
—Bill Pennington, The New York Times

* This Golfing Life *

“The ultimate insider’s view [from] one of the modern game’s brightest observers and finest writers.”
—Geoff Shackelford, Golf Observer

Library Journal

05/01/2024

This handsome 30th-anniversary edition of a much-loved golf classic captures both the reality and romance of the game. In the first section, sports writer Bamberger peels back the sport's mystique with a colorful, unromantic account of his sabbatical season caddying for Peter Teravainen, a journeyman golfer gutting it out in match after match to earn a middling livelihood on the European pro tour. Having captured the grit and grind of these club-wielding road warriors, Bamberger pivots, devoting the book's back nine to golf's legend, lore, and history as he plays the great courses of Scotland from St. Andrews to Dornoch in search of the soul of the game. His Yoda is John Stark, a hipshot sage of the auld school whose wise counsel restores the cadence of the author's swing, and his Brigadoon turns out to be Machrihanish, a remote and windswept natural links full of bewitching quirks. VERDICT Although much detail and jargon will be lost on non-golfers, Bamberger's rich descriptions and sincere, straight-ahead account of striving and self-mastery hold plenty to interest all readers.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159391186
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,039,649

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