From Publishers Weekly
Sportswriter Feinstein (Open; The Majors) delivers another solid look at the world of golf and its many interesting personalities, and this newest is his most intimate work so far. His subject is Bruce Edwards, who has been known within golf's tight-knit world as the caddy for over 40 years for legendary pro Tom Watson. Edwards's life story is a microcosm of the changes in modern professional golfing, and this book will thoroughly entertain golf fans. The personal edge in Feinstein's writing comes from the fact-acknowledged immediately in the book's introduction-that Edwards was diagnosed in 2003 with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and that he found this out only 15 days after proposing to the longtime love of his life. Fortunately, Feinstein is skilled at looking at Edwards's professional and personal challenges without becoming mawkish and delivers a solid testament to a life well led. Feinstein nicely captures how Edwards, by caddying for Watson, "became the public face of those changes"-from Edwards's teenage years, working only at individual clubs for small change with a range of golfers competing for purses that were one-thirtieth of what they are now, to today, when a caddy can make an annual income well into six figures working for a successful player. The book, in effect, also offers a fine bio of Watson, as Feinstein recounts in energetic detail the many important tournaments that Watson won with Edwards's assistance. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From AudioFile
A testimonial to the goodness and courage of those men and women whose human concerns surpass the game of professional golf is read with admirable sensitivity and control by the author. This account of the long partnership/friendship of pro golfer Tom Watson and caddy extraordinaire Bruce Edwards, who was fatally stricken with ALS ("Lou Gehrig's disease"), holds your attention as it quietly breaks your heart. If you've never quite understood the allure of a sometimes irrational sport, this inspiring saga of grace under pressure-on and off the course-is also a basic instructional about why this game seduces and retains its many admirers and devotees. L.C. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
More than a factotum who lugs clubs, a professional caddy has to mesh psychologically with his boss. This ineffable necessity comes out in Feinstein's biography of a caddy who is well-known in golfing circles through his employment since 1973 by a top name in the sport, Tom Watson. Feinstein recounts on-course anecdotes that illustrate Edwards and Watson's working manner. Their relationship dwells in the average golf fan's memory thanks to a video clip, infinitely relooped during the U.S. Open every year, of Watson celebrating with Edwards after holing an impossible chip to defeat Jack Nicklaus at the 1982 Open. But the reason television loved that loop in 2003 was not joyous; it was valedictory, for Edwards had been diagnosed with a fatal affliction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Asked by Edwards to write his life story, Feinstein has done so with thoroughness and insight into the itinerant world of caddies and how they make it on tour, and, when the news arrived of Edwards' bad break, with subdued frankness about the tears and anger such news provokes. Feinstein's golf books--lately, Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black [BKL My 1 03]--are highly popular with fans, and Edwards' tragedy is bound to widen readership to those involved with ALS. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Beyond Golf's polished surface, there lies a world not often seen by the average fan. The caddy sees everything- the ambition, the strategy, the rivalries, the jealousies-that occurs behind the scenes. And now for the first time, along with America's favorite sportswriter, one of golf's legendary caddies will reveal the secrets behind one of our most popular sports.


From the Publisher
America's favorite sportswriter, John Feinstein, tells the inspirational story of Bruce Edwards, the most famous caddy in professional golf and the unexpected star of the 2003 U.S. Open.


About the Author
John Feinstein is the author of bestselling sports books including The Open, The Punch,A Good Walk Spoiled, The Majors, and The Last Amateurs.

ANNOTATION

Bruce Edwards died on April 8, 2004 -- opening day of the Masters.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

America's favorite sportswriter, John Feinstein, tells the inspirational story of Bruce Edwards, the most famous caddy in professional golf and the unexpected star of the 2003 U.S. Open.

Beyond golf's polished surface, there lies a world not often seen by the average fan. The caddy sees everything—the ambition, the strategy, the rivalries, the jealousies—that occurs behind the scenes. And now, for the first time, along with America's favorite sportswriter, one of golf's legendary caddies will reveal the secrets behind the most popular sport of our time.

Bruce Edwards dominated coverage of the 2003 U.S. Open. This is a position not usually bestowed on a caddy, but Edwards is no ordinary caddy. In 1973, after forgoing college, Edwards walked on the course behind a young Tom Watson and has not looked back since. Watson would go on to win eight major titles, and Bruce Edwards was by his side throughout it all.

Now, even as Lou Gehrig's disease encroaches on his physical capabilities, Edwards continues to do the job he's dedicated more than half his life to. Watson will enter the Masters tournament in April 2004 in what will surely be an emotional outpouring of support for Edwards. This will be a moving, dramatic, and thoughtful book about a life devoted to sports.

John Feinstein is the author of bestselling sports books including Open, The Punch, A Good Walk Spoiled, The Majors, and The Last Amateurs. He writes for Golf Magazine and is a regular commentator on NPR and CBS. He lives in Maryland and New York.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Sportswriter Feinstein (Open; The Majors) delivers another solid look at the world of golf and its many interesting personalities, and this newest is his most intimate work so far. His subject is Bruce Edwards, who has been known within golf's tight-knit world as the caddy for over 40 years for legendary pro Tom Watson. Edwards's life story is a microcosm of the changes in modern professional golfing, and this book will thoroughly entertain golf fans. The personal edge in Feinstein's writing comes from the fact-acknowledged immediately in the book's introduction-that Edwards was diagnosed in 2003 with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, and that he found this out only 15 days after proposing to the longtime love of his life. Fortunately, Feinstein is skilled at looking at Edwards's professional and personal challenges without becoming mawkish and delivers a solid testament to a life well led. Feinstein nicely captures how Edwards, by caddying for Watson, "became the public face of those changes"-from Edwards's teenage years, working only at individual clubs for small change with a range of golfers competing for purses that were one-thirtieth of what they are now, to today, when a caddy can make an annual income well into six figures working for a successful player. The book, in effect, also offers a fine bio of Watson, as Feinstein recounts in energetic detail the many important tournaments that Watson won with Edwards's assistance. Agent, Esther Newberg. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal