Flatbellies

Rating:
Summary: Hole in One
Review: I bought this book because I am a golfer, but the memories it stirred up of the glory days of high school in a small town are what kept me from putting it down. Hollingsworth developes the characters so vividly that you feel like you know, or know someone like each one of them. Golfer or not, you will love this book. The stories of the coming of age of the "Flatbellies" are something in which everyone can relate. This book is "Stand By Me" and "Hoosiers" rolled into one. "Great job Alan." I hope to see more from this guy.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars does not do it justice
Review: I have never golfed, nor have I any interest in the sport. However I must say this is one of the best books I have ever read. It truely is a timeless classic. The book is a comming of age story loosely based on the author's own childhood. It has very well developed characters that just about anyone can relate to. I absolutely loved it. 5 stars does not do it justice.

Rating:
Summary: Golf IS about life
Review: What a great weekend read! The struggles of golf do recapitulate the struggles of life, so in slight contradistinction to the subtitle, this book is about golf AND it's is about life. Reminiscent of Dan Jenkins' Baja Oklahoma, but somehow with a more poignant side, A. B. Hollingsworth spins a great story about a small town Oklahoma high school golf team set in in the 1960's. For me the book evokes memories of the hormones, the love, cockiness and the fear that surrounded adolescence. Perhaps it is solely because I grew up in small town America during that era; perhaps because I can identify with several of the characters, but its pages held me close. At times it made me laugh, and at times made me stare right into a passing rain storm. Any book that can do that is wonderful. If A. B. Hollingsworth can find more stories to tell, I'll find time to read them.