The Leaderboard: Conversations on Golf and Life by Amy Alcott with Don Wade06/23/2009 11:44:16 PMLocation : Cleveland, OH
Amy Alcott joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1975 at the age of 19. During her career, she won five majors and a total of twenty-nine Tour victories. It is safe to say that she knows golf, competition, and what it takes to win on the highest levels. Even with the assistance of Don Wade, former senior editor at Golf Digest and the author or co-author of twenty books, I am saddened to report that with The Leaderboard: Conversations on Golf and Life, Amy does not know how to craft an engaging and interesting book on golf and some of the people that play the game.
Contents: Foreword by Jim Nantz; Preface; Jane Blalock; Bill Clinton; Ben Crenshaw; Kenny G.; Dennis Hopper; Steve Kroft; Leslie Moonves; Jim Nantz; Jack Nicholson; Lorena Ochoa; Don Ohlmeyer; Donna Orender; Dottie Pepper; Kyra Phillips; Rex Pickett; Dennis Quaid; Pam Shriver; Annika Sorenstam; Ken Venturi; Robert Wagner; Karrie Webb; Sandy Weill; Jerry Weintraub; Tom Werner; Jerry West; Jack Whitaker; John Williams; Acknowledgements
Using the premise that every golfer has a story, Amy Alcott mines her Rolodex to bring you stories from her many friends; fellow golfers on the PGA and LPGA Tours, politicians, titans of industry, and celebrities. Amy introduces each with a personal note and closes with her thoughts on the individual as well as what she took away from the interview. Most of the chapters are but a few pages (roughly 10), little time to actually get to know the person or care about their inclusion. However, Amy makes it easy on the reader by closing each chapter with her personal insights into the subject and the key to their philosophy; in golf as well as in life.
It was a struggle to get through this short (224 pages) book. Never did I connect with any of the subjects or care about them. Some were hardly worth Amy's time or mine - for example Sandy Weill, former CEO of Citigroup, only gave her an hour of his time. It is evident that Amy has no time to really probe his best golf stories or life lessons. But we do get a feel for all of the pictures in his office, pictures of Sandy with heads of state, political and civic leaders, and other framed proclamations and letters. Amy put too much importance on the "ego wall" and not enough on the person behind the desk. It is an example of how I felt cheated as I read this book. And how little I cared about any of the subjects. If you are interested in a mini inventory of a wealthy person's home, or the commanding views from their corner offices, with a little conversation thrown in, this is the book for you. There is, however, a really good idea for a book in here; this one just wasn't presented properly.
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