The Book Depository Slaying the Tiger by Shane Ryan
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Price: £18.00
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Slaying the Tiger : Paperback : Random House USA Inc : 9780553390681 : 0553390686 : 05 Apr 2016 : Taking readers through the 2014 season, an up-and-coming sportswriter reports on the new talents arriving on the green to dethrone golf's recognized kings and reshape the traditionally old-fashioned sport for a new generation, --Novelist. The Book Depository Slaying the Tiger by Shane Ryan - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780553390681
MPN: 0553390686
GTIN: 9780553390681
Author: Peter Compton
Rating: 5
Review: A few years ago, I read and hugely enjoyed "A Good Walk Spoiled" by John Feinstein, which took the reader through a year on the PGA Tour from an "inside the ropes" perspective. That book gave me a completely new perspective on the world of professional golf and in particular on the world of pro golfers, and was generally very sympathetic to them. "Slaying the Tiger" is in some ways very derivative, in that it has a very similar approach and format (and I was pleased to see that Feinstein is clearly mentioned as an inspiration in the acknowledgements). However, Shane Ryan's book is much less hagiographical than Feinstein and generally paints a less sympathetic picture of the golfers in question. Maybe this is because golfers as a "breed" have fundamentally changed over the last twenty years, and have become far more self-centred (which may be true to an extent) or maybe it is because Feinstein was more prepared to gloss over some of the more disagreeable aspects of their personalities. What comes out is that modern golfers are generally very driven, self-centred individuals, who don't appreciate the media at all, and who don't interact very well with each other or with anyone else. There are exceptions but that is the general picture that emerges, and maybe we should not be surprised at this, given how individualistic golfers need to be to succeed. The two chapters that will live in my memory are the one about Augusta and the one about the 2014 Ryder Cup. Ryan argues very convincingly that Augusta National, which owns the Masters tournament, is a very powerful organisation with its own laws, written and unwritten, and that anyone who infringes them can expect swift and unforgiving retribution. A very interesting perspective and one that is entirely different from the romantic image that we are usually presented with by the media. The chapter about the Ryder Cup is even more interesting. It focuses on the differences between the respective captains, McGinley, victorious and assured for Europe, and Watson, floundering, egotistical and losing the support of his own team. I had never really bought into the idea that the RC captain was a very decisive factor in the team's performance but Ryan makes a very convincing case for this at least in the context of the 2014 competition. All in all, if you like watching professional golf, you should read this book. You may not like it all or agree with it all, but it is a well researched, thoughtful and necessary addition to golf literature.
Author: Amazon Customer
Rating: 4
Review: Tremendous read, read it over the holidays and was difficult to put down once I'd started it. The approach he takes is interesting and is well suited to the game that he's covering - he really gets inside the Tour and into the minds of the players and the efforts he goes to uncover their back stories is worthwhile and interesting. He's also not afraid to slaughter a few sacred cows - his skewering of the pedantry surrounding the Masters is refreshing. Regarding the style and tone of the book the author obviously owes a lot to John Feinstein. Having read and loved 'A Good Walk Spoiled' almost 20 years ago it was great to get another warts and all inside view of the Tour.
