The Putt at the End of the World

May 1, 2000
Regrouping a few of Standiford's Naked Came the Manatee gang, this outrageously funny, multi-authored novel by (in order of tee times) Standiford, Ridley Pearson, Tami Hoag, Lee K. Abbott, Tim O'Brien, Richard Bausch, Dave Barry, James W. Hall and James Crumley is a treasure. The world's richest man, computer czar Phillip Bates, invites three exceptional but going-downhill golfers to play a celebrity pro-am on his brand-new course at ancient Rathgarve castle in Scotland. Lured by the serious cash Bates delivers, aging, vision-impaired senior tour member Alfonso Zamora; the incorrigible Rita Shaughnessy, a debauched, long-driving amazon from the LPGA; and Billy Sprague, an amateur champ with a gambling problem all fly to Scotland. Joining the trio is an impressive assortment of world leaders, celebrities and hotshots, but only Bates knows the reason for the decadent, mysterious tournament. Add to the mix an FBI agent who joins operatives in London to stop a terrorist with 20 kilos of Semtex explosive, and all manner of zany things start to happen. The plot to save the world meshes with the plan to party like crazy at the Bates castle, where Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Tony Blair, Al Gore, Mu'ammar Qaddafi, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Madonna, Bob Hope, the pope, Sean Connery, Dan Quayle and other celebs are on hand to witness an exhibition of carnal swing mechanics unrivaled since the orgy scene from Caligula. This droll, absurd fable is just mainstream enough to keep even the nongolfing masses, who don't know a mashie from a niblick, guffawing out loud.

May 1, 2000
If nothing else, this book demonstrates that the authors--eight men and one woman--can keep nonsense spinning and accumulating as each piggybacks on chapters written by another (the inspiration is obviously Carl Hiaasen and others' Naked Came the Manatee). Stripped of its many involutions, the story is that of Phillip Bates, the world's richest man and owner of Macrodyne Software, who assembles, for reasons none of them understands, several golf pros and assorted political and entertainment celebrities to participate in a tournament on his enormous, newly constructed golf course in Scotland. Viewed as a whole, the book emerges as an unsteady entertainment with no very discernible intent, theme, or goal but with a modest fund of humor and suspense. This is a case of flimsy whimsy that will prove satisfactory to readers wanting offerings that do not tax their mental powers. In other words, it's a harmless way of killing time. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/00.]--A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2000
Get a bunch of big-name writers to write a book, chapter by chapter, creating the plot on the fly. A publishing gimmick, certainly, but one that occasionally delivers an entertaining-enough product. This time an impressive gang of writers (including James Crumley, Tim O'Brien, and Dave Barry) have produced a slapstick thriller with a golf theme. The world's richest man, software wizard Phillip Bates, has built himself a golf course in Scotland and invited everybody who is anybody (from Madonna to the Pope) to his inaugural tournament. Also on hand is a terrorist aiming to blow up all the heads of state. A bumbling FBI agent and three down-on-their-luck golfers are left to save the world. It's a totally over-the-top farce--equal parts "Caddyshack," "The Pink Panther," and "Airplane"but golfers with a silly streak will get a kick out of it. Remarkably, Crumley--the most unlikely of the nine authors to turn up anywhere near a golf course--delivers the funniest chapter. ((Reviewed March 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)