As one who enjoys reading John Feinstein's work, especially books on golf or college basketball, I was surprised to see this one. One, I didn't know he wrote another golf book and two, I had never heard of David Feherty until seeing this book in my local library. So I gave it a shot and it was good. Here is my review of "Feherty"
Title/Author: “Feherty:
The Remarkably Funny and Tragic Journey of Golf's David Feherty” by John
Feinstein
Rating: 4 of 5
stars (very good)
Review: Sometimes the life of a
celebrity, even those who were very popular in their media shows such as television
or movies, is not well known. David
Feherty could be considered to be one of those celebrities and this book by best
selling sports author John Feinstein uncovers many aspects of the life of this
golfer and television personality.
The overriding theme of the book is Feherty’s humor. Whether it was from his popular show on the Golf
Channel (abruptly cancelled in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic) or
from family members such as his second wife Anita, readers will not only learn
about his funny side but will be laughing at his many jokes. A reader will also learn why Feherty uses his
humor as he does and what makes him a person that so many will learn to overlook
his shortcomings.
Wanting to become a professional golfer even though he was
at best good, but not excellent, at the game as a youth, Feherty nonetheless achieved
that goal and also had a small amount of success, but where he really made a
name for himself in the sport was on television. Whether it was the aforementioned talk show,
his reporting either on the ground with golfers or up in a tower or even as the
subject of an interview himself, the personality of Feherty shines through in
the book.
While I am a big fan of Feinstein’s books, this one didn’t quite
have the same level of excellence that one finds in his other works, especially
his golf books. While it is very good as a way for a reader to learn about Feherty,
especially those who may not know much about him (as this reviewer), it gets
repetitious at times and also seems to throw out opinions at inopportune
times. This isn’t to say that there
shouldn’t be any political or social commentary or opinions – they are just
shown at some awkward times. This is not
to take away from the overall enjoyment one gets from reading the book, just
that this one wasn’t up the usual very high standards of a Feinstein book on golf.
Whether or not one watched his show, is a fan of golf, or
just wants to read about a very interesting character, this book is one to pick
up.
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