The Second Life of Tiger Woods

by Michael Bamberger Narrated by David Morse

Overview

It's one of the greatest comebacks of all time. And for Tiger Woods, getting back to the winner's circle was only half the story. Written by a New York Times bestselling author and reporter who “knows the world of professional golf...like few others” (The Wall Street Journal) comes “the most insightful and evenhanded book written yet about one of the signature athletes of the last twenty-five years” (Booklist, starred review).

Tiger Woods's long descent into a personal and professional hell reached bottom in the early hours of Memorial Day in 2017. Woods's DUI arrest that night came on the heels of a desperate spinal surgery, just weeks after he told close friends he might never play tournament golf again. His mug shot and alarming arrest video were painful to look at and, for Woods, a deep humiliation. The former paragon of discipline now found himself hopelessly lost and out of control, exposed for all the world to see. That episode could have marked the beginning of Tiger's end. It proved to be the opposite.

Instead of sinking beneath the public disgrace of drug abuse and the private despair of a battered and ailing body, Woods embarked on the long road to redeeming himself. In The Second Life of Tiger Woods, Michael Bamberger, who has covered Woods since the golfer was an amateur, draws upon his deep network of sources inside locker rooms, caddie yards, clubhouses, fitness trailers, and back offices to tell the true and inspiring story of the legend's return. Packed with new information and graced by insight, Bamberger's story reveals how this iconic athlete clawed his way back to the top.

This is a “gripping” (Kirkus Reviews) and intimate portrait of a man who has spent his life in front of the camera but has done his best to make sure he was never really known. Here is Tiger, barefoot, in handcuffs, showing a police officer a witty and self-deprecating side of himself that the public never sees. Here is Tiger on the verge of tears with his children at the British Open. Here is Tiger trying to express his gratitude to his mother at a ceremony at the Rose Garden. In these pages, Tiger is funny, cold, generous, self-absorbed, inspiring-and real.

The Second Life of Tiger Woods is not only the saga of an exceptional man but also a celebration of second chances. Bamberger's bracingly honest book is about what Tiger Woods did, and about what any of us can do, when we face our demons head-on.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Thoughtful . . . Readers will find fascinating gems . . . Mr. Bamberger goes out of his way to be fair, clearly distinguishing between what we can know and what we will probably never know. His speculations about the private Woods, always labeled as such, are informed by his more than three decades of golf reporting and five previous books about golf, including one about caddying for a tour pro. He knows the world of professional golf, and the pressures it exacts, like few others.”
—John Paul Newport, The Wall Street Journal

“A sensational read . . . [Bamberger is] an outstanding reporter. . . . The number of insights, stories and well-labeled legends of hazy lineage are all presented in Bamberger’s inimitable style . . . The ride is filled with plenty of stellar anecdotes for lovers of all things golf. . . . Since we have no 2020 Masters to watch, reliving everything leading up to Tiger’s fifth title is well worth the ride, even if the road was bumpier than we’d prefer to recall.”
—Geoff Shackelford

“Insightful and entertaining . . . When it comes to golf writing, Michael Bamberger is akin to a feel player. The longtime Sports Illustrated and current Golf Magazine scribe relies on a keen eye for detail, instincts developed over decades around the game and innate writing gifts.”
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel

“Love Tiger Woods? Loathe him? There’s something in this book for everyone. . . . Bamberger is unafraid to look into some of the darker corners of Woods’ life, including his rumored PED use. The book ends on a high note, though, with Woods’ unforgettable win in last year’s Masters Tournament. Bamberger’s writing style is easygoing and loose-limbed, as smooth and natural-feeling as Freddie Couples’ swing.”
—Monte Burke, Forbes

“Reading The Second Life of Tiger Woods is like playing a great golf course without prior knowledge of the holes that lie ahead. You know they’re going to be good, and in the end, they add up to something special. To the extent that it’s possible to know what’s in Tiger’s mind, Bamberger delivers. . . . A terrific book.”
—Gary D'Amato, Wisconsin Golf

“A fantastic book . . . Bamberger takes a look at Woods’ recent years with a discerning but empathetic eye and teaches us new ways to see his most recent journey.”
—Dylan Dethier, Golf.com

“This may be the most insightful and evenhanded book written yet about one of the signature athletes of the last twenty-five years.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“Gripping . . . Even non-Tiger fans might find this amazing comeback story appealing.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Michael Bamberger is the quiet man of golf journalism. He arrives at scenes, a notebook stuck in his back pocket; he watches, listens, writes and then departs. Players talk to him and he stores it away and the reader should be grateful that he does because there is so much in this book that most people don’t know about Woods, about golf, about the pro game in the US, about Woods’s victory in last year’s Masters. Bamberger has a painter’s eye for detail and a journalist’s ear for a phrase. The story he tells so elegantly here is packed with detail.”
—The Times (London)

“With compassion and honesty, this book enthrallingly illuminates the extraordinary yet enigmatic comeback of Tiger Woods. Bamberger is a wise and resourceful reporter with an unsurpassed knowledge of the professional game, and he moves effortlessly between inside-the-ropes stories and human insight. I raced through this book joyfully, in about the time it takes to play a round of golf.”
—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland

“The consummate Tour insider . . . Bamberger has written a thoughtful, conscientious, and shrewd assessment of the life of Tiger Woods. . . . Lively, astute, and vigorously reported.”
—John Strawn, author of Driving the Green

PRAISE FOR OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL BAMBERGER

* Men in Green *

“Maybe the best golf book I’ve ever read.”
—Bill Reynolds, Providence Journal

“I wish Men in Green were about four hundred pages longer than it is.”
—Jeffrey Toobin, New York Times Book Review

* The Swinger *

“An entertaining, revealing, thought-provoking, and cautionary tale . . . It provides invaluable insight into the life and times of Woods.”
—Bill Pennington, The New York Times

* To The Linksland *

“One of the best golf travel books ever written . . . The book reminds us that the game of golf has many treasures yet to be discovered.”
—Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom

* This Golfing Life *

“The ultimate insider’s view [from] one of the modern game’s brightest observers and finest writers.”
—Geoff Shackelford, Golf Observer

Library Journal

04/01/2020

Sportswriter Bamberger (Men in Green) aims to shed new insight into the life of championship golfer Tiger Woods, who has made headlines for years, both for his long winning streak and for less laudable personal reasons: a failed marriage, an arrest in 2017, followed by a raft of physical injuries. While he might still be playing, his future was all but written off. In this book, Bamberger examines the golfer's fall from grace, his penance, and his road to redemption, examining Woods through the lens of golf as a sport that sustains the legacy of its forebears. Similar ground is covered in Curt Sampson's Roaring Back (2019). Here, Bamberger also focuses on Woods as he works to resolve personal struggles and open himself up in the process. Perhaps his only significant flaw is the inability to forgive those who, at least in Woods's mind, broke his trust. What Bamberger has done well is show how parents shape their children, in public and private. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Roaring Back as well as Tiger Woods (2019) by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian will appreciate the insight here.—Steven Silkunas, Fernandina Beach, FL

Kirkus Reviews

2020-03-19
The gripping story of the fall and rise of one of golf’s greatest players.

This isGOLF magazine senior writer Bamberger’s second book about a famous golfer whose career was damaged by a sex scandal.The Swingerwas a co-authored novel; this is real. As Bamberger tells it, Tiger Woods just didn’t fall; he crashed and burned, emotionally and physically. The author describes him as “an inherently private person who leads a massively public life.” At a time when “interest in him was almost insatiable” and news of a sex scandal broke on Nov. 25, 2009, the “National Enquirer was treating him as if he were Gary Hart seeking the presidency.” Two days later, he crashed his car into a fire hydrant. His wife, Elin, divorced him, taking his two children with her. Woods went into rehab for sex, alcohol, and drug addiction. He lost sponsors and his longtime caddie, Steve Williams. Bamberger offers up two overly long digressions on whether Woods had gotten away with rules infractions in some tournaments and the “messy” topic of whether or not he was taking performance-enhancing drugs. The author suggests readers can jump ahead if the second isn’t of interest. He chronicles, in less detail, Woods’ many injuries and surgeries. In 2016, Woods sat out the entire golf year, and he started to feel better. Then came May 29, 2017, when a Jupiter, Florida, police officer came up to a vehicle in the dark off the side of the road with two flat tires. In the driver’s seat was Woods, clearly impaired, and he was arrested. Woods “had been exposed as never before.” Bamberger is at his best recounting in detail Woods’ redemptive victory at the Masters in 2019. He thoroughly lays out Woods’ faults, but he is still clearly in awe of the “best player in history.”

Even non-Tiger fans might find this amazing comeback story appealing.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173466983
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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