Books like The Ball in the Air

Bamberger is a terrific golf writer and what made me love this book is the fact that it’s a 30th-anniversary edition! Michael wrote this book in the early 1990s when golf—and the golf world—was in a far different place. Think about it: this was before Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

It is Michael’s own story and is one I found myself living through his words: giving up his job and his apartment, going on a European sojourn with his new wife to experience caddying, and meeting some of the world’s best players.

I had read this book before, and it enthralled me reading it once again.

In my own way, I lived this book. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, I chronicled the early beginnings of LIV Golf, the tension it brought to the PGA Tour, the defections of some of its top players to this upstart league that was paying huge sums and leading to disruption that still exists.

I appreciate the way Shipnuck handled this story. There is no agenda. He was critical of both sides, yet fair to both sides, trying to understand the motives. I appreciate this because the issue has been so toxic and so polarizing. It is a terrific read to understand where we are in the world of golf today.

Mark Frost is another favorite author, and he kills it in this book about Bobby Jones and the Grand Slam. I love golf and its history and to go back in time to when Jones ruled – as an amateur – is a true pleasure.

Frost’s reporting is exceptional, and he brings to life those days when Jones sought the Holy Grail – winning the Open and Amateur titles of Britain and the United States. To win the U.S. Open and British Open in 1930, he had to compete against the day’s top pros.

I particularly enjoyed the detail, the effort to recreate how it was, and the deep dive into Jones.

I have a recurring dream about living in St. Andrews. Sean Zak did so for a summer, and it was glorious.

To get to spend time at the Home of Golf is special, something I’ve done on several occasions. But always as part of work and never for an extended period of time. Zak lived there for months and brings to life all the things about the ancient town that are special beyond the golf.

I especially enjoyed the backstories, the people of the town, the explanation of links golf, all of it. He shows a nice curiosity, an American seeking answers in a foreign country that I felt particularly enlightening.

There was probably no man better at his sport than Tiger Woods was with golf. Sure there were others who dominated their sports too, but few like he did. And for so long. And yet again, we find that those that seem perfect, are actually far from it. This book looks at that dark side. I don’t know about you, but I am always more compelled and intrigued by learning the non-perfect side of people or things. Perfection is boring. Flaws are intriguing. And why not? I am full of flaws and that’s what makes me real. A book like this makes Tiger more realistic than just a tournament and majors-winning machine. Interestingly, Tiger said that Moe Norman was the best ball-striker ever.

When I was in graduate school, I watched the movie Awakenings with Robin Williams playing the role of Dr. Oliver Sacks. Having really enjoyed the movie, I went to a bookstore and picked this book up and could not put it down.

Sacks, more than any author I have read, captures the perspectives, struggles, triumphs, feelings, and diversity of people dealing with various psychological and neurological conditions.

At the time, studying psychology, I was reading books, listening to lectures, and watching videos about effective listening practices. Sacks made me understand seeing the person—observing and identifying subtleties, idiosyncrasies, and proclivities—was part of being an effective observer and that listening was only possible if we use our eyes as well. 

GQ writer Flynn and his wife and two kids are minding their own business on their surburban Durham “faux farm” when a friend calls to ask if they want to add a peacock to the two chickens that wander their yard. They end up with three of the kaleidoscopic birds, and Flynn’s chronicle of the family’s first year with Carl, Ethel, and Mr. Pickle takes readers on an implausibly relatable journey from the bird’s place in history, culture, and myth through its evolutionary biology and breeding habits to its endangered status in the wild, offering sardonically hilarious and harrowingly poignant life lessons along the way.

I love Sack’s empathy toward his patients and his commitment to telling a different and highly unique narrative about the human experience. His classic collection of essays is not about intelligence, but each patient he writes about knows and understands the world differently than what is considered normal.

Sacks makes room for the challenges and brilliance of all ways of being in the world.

I saw my first raven near Mount Rainier. The bird looked me in the eye, hopped to the left, sized me up, and continued his business. The advancing Russian army drove Bernd Heinrich and his family into the forest near Hahnheide, Germany, where they lived in a small hut for five years.

There, he began his lifelong quest to connect with insects (especially bees), owls, trees, antelope (he runs ultramarathons), geese...and ravens. The mind of the Raven is a deep, scientific meditation on the intersection between being human and raven. It concludes that “ultimately [our differences are] less a matter of consciousness than of culture” (342).

I wonder how culture has dulled my imagination, a struggle Heinrich clearly has fought more successfully than I have.

Far from being depressing, I found great perverse enjoyment in reading about the disasters that befell others. It is a treasure trove of well-written tales that I found hard to put down. I found the contents to be an absolute treasure-chest of absorbing, beautifully written stories.

If ever I was feeling down, this volume always lifted my spirits, knowing that my day could be a lot worse.