Synopses & Reviews
A revealing and intimate biography of the man who influenced Tiger Woods the most-his father, Earl Woods Tiger Woods has been with us since he appeared on "The Mike Douglas Show" as a two-year-old, hitting golf balls for Bob Hope. In the three decades since, he established himself as the most dominant golfer of all time and became the wealthiest athlete on the planet. And beside him was his father and best friend, Earl Woods.
In His Father's Son, bestselling author Tom Callahan recounts the life of Earl Dennison Woods and his son. Callahan recounts Earl's boyhood in Manhattan, Kansas, his days as a star baseball player at Kansas State, and his military career with the special forces. He details Earl's final tour in Vietnam, where he became close friends with a South Vietnamese operative named Tiger Phong. Earl picked up golf after his retirement from the military, and when he became a father for the last time, his son-another Tiger-would watch him hit balls from his high chair. As soon as Tiger could stand, he was swinging a golf club. Under Earl's tutelage, he went on to the most storied amateur career in golf history. He was a millionaire the day he announced he was going pro.
Callahan follows Tiger through every one of his major championship wins, discussing his complex and ever-changing relationship with his father. He places Tiger into the context of golf history, detailing his chase of Nicklaus's records and his interactions with fellow pros. He reveals that Tiger stepped away from golf after his father's death, and examines Tiger's recent troubles in light of his father's own womanizing.
Written in lyric prose and based on interviews with Earl, Tiger, and dozens of insiders, Callahan reveals in His Father's Son the man who made Tiger who he is.
Review
"It's always rewarding when a masterful writer digs deeply into a tough subject and comes closer to the truth than anyone else. Tom Callahan not only does this in
His Father's Son, he entertains along the way."
-Dan Jenkins, author of Dead Solid Perfect and Fairways and Greens
Praise for Tom Callahan:
"Tom Callahan does to words what Tiger Woods does to golf balls. Under his spell, they soar, spin, and do the samba on the head of a matchstick. There's nobody better."
-Rick Reilly, ESPN
"Tom knows the game of golf as well as anyone in the business."
-Jack Nicklaus
"Callahan could make a book about agricultural reform in mid-Wales in the 13th century sing and dance."
-John Hopkins, The Times of London
"When I was just starting out, before I played in either a Masters or a U.S. Open, I played with Tom Callahan in Pretoria. So, we go back a ways, twenty years. To me, he's the Jack Nicklaus of the golf writers."
-Ernie Els
"Tom Callahan writing about anything is like Julia Child saying, 'If you don't have any plans, stick around and I'll make you dinner.'"
-Tony Kornheiser, ESPN's Pardon The Interruption
Review
"Tom knows the game of golf as well as anyone in the business."
-Jack Nicklaus
"Tom Callahan does to words what Tiger Woods does to golf balls. Under his spell, they soar, spin, and do the samba on the head of a matchstick. There's nobody better."
-Rick Reilly, ESPN The Magazine
Synopsis
A revealing and intimate biography of the man who influenced Tiger Woods the most-his father, Earl Woods.
From the time he entered the public consciousness as a two-year-old golf prodigy on The Mike Douglas Show, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods has often seemed to be not much more than a ball-striking machine- reinforced by his carefully guarded image and emotionless persona. Even after his recent bombshell adultery scandal, the public still knows very little about the man behind the golf clubs and multimillion-dollar endorsement deals. But one thing is certain: Earl Woods, Tiger's beloved and now deceased father, knew him better and influenced his life more than anyone.
In His Father's Son, Tom Callahan offers a full-blown biography of earl Dennison Woods, the Vietnam War veteran who raised the golf phenomenon and, in turn, a full-blown biography of Tiger. With exclusive access to and interviews with Earl, Tiger, and a host of other key figures, Callahan provides an unprecedented look into their lives and the remarkably close relationship they had. With unparalleled insight into the man who made Tiger Woods the person that he is, His Father's Son is part biography and part father-and-son love story.
Synopsis
Callahan presents a revealing and intimate biography of the man who influenced Tiger Woods the most--his father, Earl Woods. With unparalleled insight into the man who made Tiger Woods the person that he is, "His Father's Son" is part biography and part father-and-son love story.
About the Author
Tom Callahan is a former senior writer for Time magazine and columnist for The Washington Post. He is the author of New York Times bestseller Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas, Around the World in Eighteen Holes, The GM, and The Bases Were Loaded (as So Was I). He lives in Florida.