The Eternal Summer - by Curt Sampson (Paperback)

About the Book

From the bestselling author of "Hogan" and "The Masters" comes an entertaining and perceptive exploration of the golf's golden year of 1960 and the personalities who raised the game to new heights in America's consciousness: Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus.

Book Synopsis

Was there ever a year in golf like 1960?

It was the year that the sport and its vivid personalities exploded on the consciousness of the nation, when the past, present, and future of the sport collided. Here was Arnold Palmer, the workingman's hero, "sweating, chain-smoking, shirt-tail flying"; Ben Hogan, the greatest player of the fifties, a perfectionist battling twin demons of age and nerves; and, making his big-time debut, a crew-cut college kid who seemed to have the makings of a champion: twenty-year-old Jack Nicklaus.

And of course, the rest: Ken Venturi, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Doug Sanders, Gary Player, and the many other colorful characters who chased around a little white ball--and a dream.

Would Palmer win the mythical Grand Slam of golf? Could Hogan win one more major tournament? Was Nicklaus the real thing? Even more than an intimate portrait of these men and their exciting times, The Eternal Summer is also an entertaining, perceptive, and hypnotically readable exploration of professional golf in America.

Review Quotes

"Moving, vivid, and funny . . . never a dull moment . . . The Eternal Summer is the most enjoyable book on any subject I've read in a long time." --Jack Purcell, Jr., publisher, Southern Links

"This book should be in every golfer's library."--Ben Wright, CBS-TV

About the Author

Curt Sampson, a former professional golfer, is the author of six other books, including Hogan, Full Court Pressure, The Masters, and Royal and Ancient. Sampson lives in Bristol, Texas, with his wife and two children.