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The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport Audiobook
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(3.01) - 885 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl Hiaasen wisely quit golfing in 1973. But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years–and memories of shanked 7-irons faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son–and also as a grandfather. “What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.” And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately–and foolishly–agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.” Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem–culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament–will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who offers an extraordinary audiobook for the ordinary hacker.
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"For me, this was one of the best Hiaasen's ever! I laughed and then laughed again, feeling like he hit a major homerun with this one. Great characters that you can see perfectly and a story that is probably more true than many of today's so called "stars" would want to admit. "
— Trish (5 out of 5 stars)
The Downhill Lie Listener Reviews
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" If you like Hiassen's fiction books and you are a golfer, you will love this book. He is a wonderful writer "
— Mark, 2/18/2014 -
" Failed to be interesting. "
— Avis, 2/14/2014 -
" Very entertaining. It will make me think twice about buying stuff to improve my game....though God know I need something! "
— Judi, 2/5/2014 -
" Really funny - love Carl! "
— KA, 2/4/2014 -
" This book kept me laughing the whole way through! It is about golfing and I could imagine myself in every situation he got himself into. Loved it!Every golfer must read. "
— Betty, 2/3/2014 -
" A humorous The Old Man and the Sea for golfers. I should be more entertained by his amusing anecdotes, but it's hard to muster sympathy for a 50-year old guy who, after taking the game after 30 years, already has a lower handicap than me after 6 months. Cry me a river. "
— doug, 2/1/2014 -
" If you read the first 30 pages you have read the whole book. Although it had a couple humorous parts it was very reptitive and very boring. "
— Marc, 1/20/2014 -
" This was an amusing look at a newly-returned-to-the-sport, middle-aged golfer in Florida. Since I don't golf it was less informative than it might be to others, but still very entertaining. I got a little education about golf and the Florida links, and chuckled along the way. "
— Maggie, 1/8/2014 -
" Fun book, eventhough I am not a golfer. "
— doug, 12/29/2013 -
" Mostly for the golf lingo. "
— Karen, 12/28/2013 -
" Even if you don't care about golf, this is a fine book; it's fun to hang out with Hiaasen as he walks you through the pastime and its strange connotations. "
— Pete, 12/3/2013 -
" Hiaasen kvetches about his travails. It's amusing, but doesn't really have enough "plot" to make it a compelling read. "
— Karen, 11/11/2013 -
" Laughed my butt off! "
— Jo, 8/25/2013 -
" Hiaasen is probably my favorite author, but this isn't my favorite book. Basically his personal story of picking up the game of golf after a 30 year absence from the game. As always, he is hilarious, but this book is missing much of the satire that makes me love his writing. "
— Jay, 4/29/2013 -
" A golfer returns to the sport after a 30 year hiatus and documents his journey to trying to become better. "
— Monte, 1/5/2013 -
" The frog golf was unbelievible "
— James, 10/27/2012 -
" A good little memoir about a sport that drives all us fans crazy. Hiaasen hits all the right notes regarding the love/hate/love relationship all us duffers go through. Makes me wanna get out to Cog and play a round before the snows hit "
— J.C., 9/22/2012 -
" A fantastically funny book. "
— Mike, 7/12/2012 -
" Entertaining read for anyone who has ever played golf. "
— Patrick, 4/11/2012 -
" Carl Hiaasen's story of his return to the game of golf after 3 decades away from the links. If you really like golf, you would enjoy this book. If you don't like golf or are not an avid player, you would probably be bored. "
— Steve, 3/31/2012 -
" a great read for a golfer. Lots of father/son golf reminisce passages and loads of golf nomemclature....so if you do not golf, do not readmthis book. a fair bit of blue language, but hey, that is golf. "
— Mr., 3/25/2012 -
" This had me bursting with laughter throughout. "
— Liz, 3/24/2012 -
" Still working this one. With very short and humorous chapters, this is more of a filler book for me. I'll finish it someday but for now just light reading when the mood strikes, usually before or after playing tiger woods golf on the wii. "
— Sean, 2/15/2012 -
" It was a cute silly story but lost my interest around pg220. Too many side stories that weren't that fun.<br/>I stopped reading it about 3/4 way through. "
— Courtney, 6/28/2011 -
" Not near as good as some of his others. "
— Karen, 6/22/2011 -
" Crazy characters and lots of fun... Good beach read. "
— Heather, 6/19/2011 -
" I've read lots of Carl Hiaasen's books. He's laugh-out-loud funny. This one was decent, but it didn't hold my attention as much as some of his others. The best part might have had to do with a cattle prod. Naturally. "
— Kristen, 6/15/2011 -
" Really funny. I loved the torture dished out by Skink, it would be a great way to punish pedophiles. "
— Cyd, 6/13/2011 -
" a fun read, but not one of his best "
— Suzanne, 6/13/2011 -
" I love Carl Hiaasen's offbeat sense of humor. The novel got off to a great start <br/>but fizzled out a bit later. "
— Jacqueline, 6/9/2011 -
" how does he make up this stuff? you will laugh til you hurt. "
— bobby, 6/8/2011 -
" Amusing, but not his best stuff. "
— Jackie, 6/7/2011 -
" Slick, but not really my cup of tea. "
— Voracious, 6/4/2011 -
" not his best, but funny and quirky, as only CH can be "
— Cynthia, 5/27/2011
About Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen is a successful journalist and novelist. He is a writer and investigative reporter for the Miami Herald, and his work has appeared in Time, Life, Esquire, Playboy, Gourmet, and Sports Illustrated. His earliest novels—Powder Burn, Trap Line, and A Death In China—were cowritten with fellow journalist Bill Montalbano. Since then, he has written books in a variety of genres. His novel Strip Tease was made into a movie in 1996, and his young adult novel Hoot, a Newbery honoree, was made into a movie in May 2006. A number of Hiassen’s works have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, including Star Island, Chomp, Sick Puppy, and Scat. In addition to being a writer, Hiassen is also a public speaker. He lives in Florida with his family.