Promotional Information

Mythic novel about golf and the game of life by the author of the bestselling Gates of Fire.

About the Author

Steven Pressfield is the author of the novels The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of War and Last of the Amazons. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

'Good stuff...a philosophical fantasy imagined on a golf course, heavy with fog, storm, fireworks and the howling winds of supernatural forces'
*New York Times Book Review*

'Golf and mysticism...a dazzler and a thought-provoker'
*Los Angeles Times*

'A marvellous, life-affirming book'
*Sports Illustrated*

'Memorable...a page-turner...golf played a foot or so from Alice's looking glass, with mystical realms poised to engulf the reader at every turn'

The message of this parable is that golf is like life and that both can be inspired by New Age beliefs about man and the cosmos. The incarnation of divine knowledge, black, middle-aged Bagger Vance, is the caddie and mentor of war hero and former champion amateur golfer, Rannulph Junah. The year is 1931, and, as a publicity stunt for the opening of a new Savannah golf course, Junah tees off against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in an exhibition match. Junah plays poorly during the first few holes, but under Vance's tutelage he changes his game and his life. This first novel is saved from pretentiousness by the engaging voice of its narrator, an old man who was with Vance and Junah on that memorable day and who is now recalling what happened as he tries to convince a young friend to remain in medical school. His voice not only coaxes the reader into suspending disbelief but also transforms the game of golf into an exciting adventure. For most popular collections.-Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.

Improbable as it may sound, this allegorical first novel by an L.A. screenwriter reads like an F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar reciting a medley culled from the Bhagavadgita, Huck Finn and The Tempest: it has gray-flannel charm, a thick vein of mysticism, homespun homilies and an encroaching storm. In 1931, a mythical golf match is arranged between the legendary Bobby Jones and the fabled Walter Hagen to promote-amid the deprivation of the Depression-a luxurious golf resort on an island near Savannah, Ga. To rally financial support from the hard-hit local money boys, former hometown golf champ Rannulph Junah, agrees to participate in the match. A somewhat degenerate aristocrat, Junah has been traveling the world in search of meaning ever since his experience in the Great War. The man whom Junah calls ``my mentor and boon companion'' is Bagger Vance, a charismatic Eastern mystic, who is black. The tournament attracts a multitude of celebrities from all over the world; it's a heroic 36-hole battle of the titans that takes place during the course of one fateful, stormy day. For Junah, the struggle is not to conquer his opponents, the elements or the daunting golf links-the conflict resides within himself. Vance helps him find his Authentic Swing-which is, of course, a metaphor for self-discovery. The novel is given the feel of a teaching by its frame, in which the wizened narrator-a septuagenarian surgeon and former golf champ who, as a 10-year-old caddy, witnessed the event-relates the tale to a burnt-out medical student in order to pass on the wisdom of Bagger Vance. Although the prose occasionally strays into the rough, this is a thoroughly beguiling little fable. 50,000 first printing; $60,000 ad/promo; film rights to Jake Eberts. (May)

'Good stuff...a philosophical fantasy imagined on a golf course, heavy with fog, storm, fireworks and the howling winds of supernatural forces' * New York Times Book Review *
'Golf and mysticism...a dazzler and a thought-provoker' * Los Angeles Times *
'A marvellous, life-affirming book' -- Mark McCormack * Sports Illustrated *
'Memorable...a page-turner...golf played a foot or so from Alice's looking glass, with mystical realms poised to engulf the reader at every turn'