Title/Author:
“The Second Life of
Tiger Woods” by Michael Bamberger
Tags:
Golf, biography,
history, professional
Publish date:
March 31, 2020
Length:
272 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
One aspect of the manner in which America
views its celebrities is that everyone loves a great comeback story. When Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters golf
tournament, that was one more celebrity comeback that was well-celebrated by
Americans, whether they were golf fans or not. This is especially true as Woods
is one of those athletes who transcends his or her sport. This balanced and interesting look at Tiger
Woods since 2017 written by veteran sportswriter Michael Bamberger is a fascinating
look at the “comeback” of Woods.
Bamberger uses the incident on
Memorial Day 2017 when Woods was parked on the road near his home in Jupiter,
Florida and he was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. In stark contrast to the usual combative,
competitive and aloof nature Woods usually displays, Bamberger writes of a man
who knows he was having troubles in life.
He was very cooperative with police, was not jailed and was given the
usual fines and mandatory rehab assignments that any person would receive as a
first time offender. Just that part of
the book, which was the beginning, will grab the reader’s attention as it will
show that this book will deal with Tiger Woods the man as much as Tiger Woods
the golfer or Tiger Woods the celebrity.
Tiger Woods the golfer is certainly
covered in this book. It does not cover each of his fifteen major tournament
victories or cover his career in a chronological manner, but throughout the
book, readers will get a lot of information on certain aspects of his game
(Bamberger writes about how good Woods hits his iron shots), the mentality of
Tiger during a round and of course his championships, from the US Amateur
titles in the mid-1990’s to the 2019 Masters.
One quote about his mental toughness on the course caught my attention
on how Woods’ character helped his golf:
“He was coldhearted. He had me-me-me
in his bones. Whatever character defects he might have had, they were
useful on Sunday afternoons.”
The “character defects” are not a
major part of the book as while Bamberger certainly writes much about Woods
away from the course, he does so in a fair and balanced manner. The book doesn’t treat Woods as a deity, but
it is far from a character assassination as many aspects of Woods’ life is
explored. There isn’t a lot about his
failed marriage and the subsequent revelations about his sex life as that occurred
prior to the DUI charges. The most
interesting aspect discussed here, and with a very fair and open agenda, is the
possibility of Woods using performance enhancement drugs and that he possibly
obtained them from the same people who supplied them to Alex Rodriguez, a
friend of Woods. The author did interview Tony Bosch on this topic to obtain
more information, but there is no specific transaction, no “smoking gun” to prove
or disprove this theory.
The final act in the book (the
chapters are divided into Acts) talks mostly about the 2019 Masters, but also
the transformation of Woods’ personality and his accessibility. Bamberger talks
about how Woods now will talk highly about young and upcoming players, how he
enjoys the Championship Dinner for all living Masters champions much more than
previously and his humility during his speech when accepting a recent award
from a golf writers association. This illustrates what makes this book as
interesting as its subject – there are so many parts to Woods that make up the
complete person he is and this book covers them all in an excellent manner.
I wish to thank Avid Reader Press
for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest
review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
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