Kindle Price:	$1.99
Sold by:	Simon and Schuster Digital Sales LLC Price set by seller.

Promotions apply when you purchase

Add an

audiobook with Audible narration for $12.99

Audiobook Price: $17.05

Save: $4.06 (24%)

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Michael Bamberger

+ Follow

More books from this author

The Ball in the Air: A Golfing Adventure Kindle Edition

by Michael Bamberger (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 323 ratings

See all formats and editions

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

After a lifetime of writing about the professional sport, Michael Bamberger, “the poet laureate of golf” (GOLF magazine), delivers an exhilarating love letter to the amateur game as it’s played—and lived—by the rest of us.

Over Michael Bamberger’s celebrated writing career, he has written a handful of books and hundreds of Sports Illustrated stories about professional golf and those who play it—that is, the .001 percent. Now, Bamberger trains his eye on the rest of us. In his most personal book yet, Bamberger takes the lid off a game that is both quasi-religious and a nonstop party, posing an age-old question that is answered over its pages: Why does the game cast such a spell on us?

Here is the story of modern golf that is not on TV. This is our story, we who pay to play, who can’t wait to get another crack at the game, even when golf doesn’t love us back. And just as every round is an adventure, every life in golf is, too. The golfers Michael Bamberger introduces will leave you inspired and moved. You’ll meet Sam Reeves, a golf-loving US Army soldier who becomes captivated by a fellow soldier, Cliff Harrington, a gifted Black golfer who’s cruelly robbed of the chance to show the world all he can do. You’ll meet Ryan French, who plays on a college golf team out of Animal House. You’ll get to know Pratima Sherpa, who grew up in a maintenance shed at the Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu and took up the game with a stick whittled by her father.

The Ball in the Air is reported with Bamberger’s you-are-there intimacy and captures the sweep of time. Pratima finds her way from Nepal to a university golf team in Southern California. Ryan and his father caddie in minor-league events while sleeping in tents, a preamble to Ryan’s becoming the godfather of the popular Monday Qualifier Twitter feed. Sam Reeves, born in rural Georgia during the Depression, becomes a cotton king, the oldest amateur to make the cut at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and the ultimate man for all seasons.

And there are Bamberger sightings, too, as he finds his own path in the game. You’ll make joyful side trips with the author, who’s spent more than forty years exploring golfers and golf, a way of life that captivates him down to his bones. You’ll visit the golf course at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and compete with Bamberger and other purists at the National Hickory Championship in rural Pennsylvania. At St. Andrews, you’ll get up close and personal with Lee Trevino, one of the few professionals in these pages, because Trevino, when you really get to the core of the man, is one of us. He can’t get enough of it.

The Ball in the Air is Bamberger’s valentine to golf. The modern world, obsessed with fame and fortune, has infiltrated professional golf—but it hasn’t infiltrated golf. Bamberger is here to highlight the distinction and to celebrate the game and all who play it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I just finished this one from Michael Bamberger in a day, and it’s a work of art. My love for golf comes from the challenge of playing as an amateur, not from winning tournaments or collecting prize money. 99% of you have this same relationship with the game. That’s who this book is for.”
—Tom Brady on Instagram

“An excellent golf book that captured me because it’s about three average people—plus Bamberger—who are passionate about the sport and the purity of golf. . . . Bamberger writes artfully. That’s part of the joy of this book. . . . What a good read.”
—Peter King, NBC Sports

“The Ball in the Air tells the golf-related tales of three decidedly non-high-profile figures . . . Linking these tales is Mr. Bamberger’s own story and his conviction that golf has much to teach when we open ourselves to the game’s deepest, most subtle nature—the unexpected emotions, the ‘odd and beautiful playing fields,’ the intimate bonds that form among both friends and strangers. The pleasure of The Ball in the Air is like that of an ordinary golf round. . . . Mr. Bamberger’s abiding love is for golf as it is experienced by everyday people.”
—John Paul Newport, Wall Street Journal

“I’ve devoured most everything from award-winning golf writer Michael Bamberger, including his previous seven books, and his latest offering may be his finest yet. The Ball in the Air is an engrossing ode to the game of golf. . . . A true feast for any golf lover.”
—Les Schupak, The Met Golfer

“It’s a joy to read Michael Bamberger’s latest book, maybe because it was such an obvious joy for Bamberger to write it. . . . All his previous golf writings, which are flavored by his love and respect for the game, led him to this place. It’s the book he was meant to write.”
—David Westin, The Augusta Chronicle

“The Ball in the Air is not your typical golf book. It doesn’t revolve around tour players, exotic trips to majestic courses, or the majors. Instead, Michael Bamberger introduces us to three individuals who love playing golf for the joy it brings them. . . . You don’t need to love the sport to be drawn to the characters who come to life on the pages of this enthralling book.”
—Bookreporter

“Bamberger knits together his subjects’ golfing and life stories, showing how each found the game and their accomplishments and adventures. . . . Sparkling with details . . . The stories are heartwarming and affecting.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“As beautiful as golf is on the outside, it’s even better on the inside. In The Ball in the Air, Michael Bamberger intimately weaves four profoundly personal journeys with mesmerizing skill and leaves us with a deeper understanding of our own.”
—Jaime Diaz, Golf Channel commentator and #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor (with Hank Haney) of The Big Miss

PRAISE FOR OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL BAMBERGER

* The Second Life of Tiger Woods *

“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)

* 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

“An excellent golf book that captured me because it’s about three average people—plus Bamberger—who are passionate about the sport and the purity of golf. . . . Bamberger writes artfully. That’s part of the joy of this book. . . . What a good read.”
—Peter King, NBC Sports

“Bamberger has written countless great reports, features, columns, and books for numerous publications/publishers during his 40 years behind a keyboard, but he is at his most enjoyable when rooting out stories and characters we had no idea we wanted or needed to know but which become something special. Is there a golf writer whose words leave us quite so satisfied?”
—Links Magazine

About the Author

Michael Bamberger was born in Patchogue, New York, in 1960. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982, he worked as a newspaper reporter, first for the (Martha’s) Vineyard Gazette, later for The Philadelphia Inquirer. After twenty-two years at Sports Illustrated, he is now a senior writer at Golf.com. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Christine.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B3Y76DGJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster (March 28, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 28, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 9901 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 269 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #64,587 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2 in Sociology of Sports (Kindle Store)
- #13 in Golf (Kindle Store)
- #14 in History of Sports

Customer Reviews:
4.3 323 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Michael Bamberger

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

323 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

J V.

Fun Read

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024

Verified Purchase

Really enjoyed the book great mix of ordinary people and the well known. Michael is an engaging writer and thus book reads easy. Makes me pumped up to get back out on the course again for that long-awaited breakthrough. Please stop snowing!

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

I learned a lot about golf and the lessons that golf teaches us about life. The golf world is full of interesting people, different, but the same. I loved hearing about all the golfers who love the game, some professional golfers, some caddies, amateurs, club pros, and the occasional golfer like me who just can’t give it up. Fun book, but I didn’t give it five stars, because parts got a little long with too much detail and jumping back and forth from one person to another was confusing.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Stephen J. Romaine

nostalgia

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

Golf and personal history through the eyes and lives of many golf-related friends of the author, famous and not so famous. Very enjoyable especially on winter afternoons.

Helpful

Richard Kind

a book about the love and respect for the game

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023

Verified Purchase

No one writes about the love, joy, and respect for the great game like Michael Bamberger. His prose is so easy and natural, like Fred Couples’ swing. It’s a fun, contemplative read. Full of humanity. Where humanity intersects with golf. That’s what this book does.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

michaelb1968

Could have been great

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

Michael Bamberger is a legendary golf writer of immense talent. I have always enjoyed his books and this is no exception. He skillfully weaves 3 stories together of 3 unique individuals, all around golf and life, and these tales sit among his best work.

Unfortunately, his under par round took a nasty turn with double bogeys coming fast and furious on the back nine.

The major missteps are the awkward autobiography thrown into the middle and the total loss of continuity at the end. Not only was the autobiography awkward and out of place in this potential masterpiece, but it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from reading his other books. It was unnecessary for me. Then the last third was just uneven and a tad egotistical. Nobody cares about your game, Michael! We wanted to keep reading about Ryan, Sam, and Pratima.

This book started out so great. I recommended it to everyone. If only you stayed on track....

One person found this helpful

Helpful

meixe

Golf as a life lesson

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

People come to life in this book, and you feel as if you know them by the end. I have golfed since my early 30's, and am now in my 70's, still playing golf. Thru the years, I have made friends and saw people's best and worse moments on the course. The people whose stories were told in this book are true to life.

Helpful

John

Heartfelt, Honest and Inspiring

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

I just finished reading this book while on vacation in Florida.

I am a late-comer to golf not picking the game up until a few years after watching the 1986 Masters and Jack in his yellow sweater winning his sixth Masters

I just want to thank you for your honest and heartfelt journey with golf and the stories of Sam, Ryan and Pratima (and the other tidbits, stories and connections among the pros and non-pros and their love of this crazy game). Truly inspiring.

I'm going to tell all my golfing friends about it.

And it has inspired me even more so to introduce my 2 1/2 years old grandson Everett to the game soon (later this year during Father's Day weekend and the US Open). God willing I'll have many years to be a positive male influence for him with golf as a way to teach him what - it seems - much of the world is lacking.

Thank you

Helpful

jon day

A wonderful book about some fascinating / resilient people and golf, in that order.

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

Pratima Sherpa, Ryan French, and Sam Reeves stories' were all very special in their own right and they make up my latest dream foursome. Can you imagine 18 holes with that group? I also enjoyed learning more about Michael Bamberger's life and history with the game which is quite interesting.

The book reads like many conversations I used to have with my late father. When I would visit him we would sit down, with a golf telecast on in the background (ironically Dad never swung a club), and our conversations usually had 3 or 4 topics running simultaneously. Mr. Bamberger's writing style really brought back those comfortable memories to me.

In short, it's a great book for golfers as well as those who have never played the game but enjoy great stories about some amazingly resilient people.

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

The Ball in the Air: A Golfing Adventure Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Michael Bamberger

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.