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The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport |  | Author: Carl Hiaasen
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy Used: $0.01
as of 7/29/2010 20:59 PDT details
You Save: $21.99 (100%)
New (53) Collectible (16) from $0.80
Seller: atlanta-book-company
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 81411
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0307266532
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.352092
EAN: 9780307266538
ASIN: 0307266532
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Ever wonder how to retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? Or which club in your bag is best suited for combat against a horde of rats? If these and other sporting questions are gnawing at you, The Downhill Lie, Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious confessional about returning to the fairways after a thirty-two-year absence, is definitely the book for you.
Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl wisely quit golfing in 1973, when “Richard Nixon was hunkered down like a meth-crazed badger in the White House, Hank Aaron was one dinger shy of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and The Who had just released Quadrophenia.” But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years—and memories of shanked 7-irons—faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son—and also as a grandfather.
“What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.”
And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately—and foolishly—agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.”
Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem—culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament—will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who has written an extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
 The Downhill Slide: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport March 25, 2010
Rebecca Loehr (CLAYTON, MISSOURI, US)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was thinking I was getting one of Carl Hiaasen's great books of the past. I'm not a golfer and don't understand the terms for golf. He can sometime's be a very complex writter, in this one he truly is. I wish I would have gotten a different book.
 Just what a golf addict needed February 22, 2010
J. H. Erdsneker (Ossining, NY)
Mr. Hiaasen hit the tee-shot straight up the fairway with this book. It was a great read and just what I needed in the middle of winter to rekindle my golf itch.
The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport February 3, 2010
B. Fyfe
If you love golf you will love this story. Full of good humor and full of golf.
 Golf Read January 14, 2010
L. Meeker
I got this book for my Dad for Christmas. He picked up the game of golf soon after he retired. He's never read Carl Hiasson, before, but he is one of our favorite authors. I love his quirky style. My Dad enjoyed the book, and sent it on to share with his twin brother.
Even golf is a good story in Hiaasen's hands! December 10, 2009
D. Lucchi (Michigan)
Craving a recent book by Hiaasen and finding none but The Downhill Lie, I eschewed my disdain of most things sport and checked out the audio book from my library. The real bonus to the audio book is that it's read by the author. (I'm certain I would not have finished the book had I been reading it myself - golf, enough said.) My growing concern about Hiassen's ability to reconcile playing golf - a game which greedily levels vast acres of wilderness and continually dumps pollutants into the planet - with his staunch advocacy against the reckless development of Florida, was surprisingly allayed. Turns out Hiaasen can golf and still respect the environment. With Hiaasen in great voice and clever wit, I laughed continuously and learned a thing or two about the game and myself. The loyal Hiaasen fan, the obsessed golfer, and the ardent environmentalist can all find something in this book. Enjoy!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 73
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