Review
“Murphy’s book is going to alter many visions. He’s written a mystical tale capable of winning a constituency. I totally believed it and loved it.” —Nancy Weber, The New York Times Book Review “Golf in the Kingdom is a fascination . . . [Murphy has] put a lot of fine thoughts together here, most gracefully, and the book should have a long and prosperous life.”—Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces “Golf a mere game? A mirror of life? Something metaphysical and/or mystical? All of the above? Shivas Irons, a magical Scottish golf professional, puts those questions to all of us. Superb.” —C. Grant Spaeth, former President, United States Golf Association
From the Publisher
A classic tale of sport and mysticism, here in a brand new audio production."Michael Murphy was on his way from California to India when he met Shivas Irons on a golfing links he calls Burningbush, in Scotland. They played 18 holes together and had a second go at the devilish 13th hole in the middle of a wild whiskey night--a mythic round that profoundly altered Murphy's game and his vision. . . Murphy's book is going to alter many visions. He's written a mystical tale capable of winning a constituency. I totally believed it and loved it."
--Nancy Weber, The New York Times Book Review
"Golf in the Kingdom is a fascination...[Murphy has] put a lot of fine thoughts together here, most gracefully, and the book should have a long and prosperous life."
--Joseph Campbell
"Golf a mere game? A mirror of life? Something metaphysical and/or mystical? All of the above? Shivas Irons, a magical Scottish golf professional, puts those questions to all of us. Superb."
--C. Grant Spaeth, President, United States Golf Association
From the Inside Flap
lly bestselling golf title, Golf in the Kingdom, hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as the "masterpiece on the mysticism of golf," is a wonderfully told romp through the Scottish links, the most beautiful and challenging golf courses in the world where, truly, anything is possible. This audio discusses the essential deep truths about the game of golf and also expands on some new and extremely unique approaches to golf instruction.
John Hannah, an accomplished stage actor, has appeared on television and in the films Madagascar Skin, The Final Cut and Four Weddings and a Funeral. He has performed the audio production of Michael Murphy's The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, also available from BDD Audio.
From the Back Cover
When a young man en route to India stops in Scotland to play at the legendary Burningbush golf club, his life is transformed. Paired with a mysterious teacher named Shivas Irons, he is led through a round of phenomenal golf, swept into a world where extraordinary powers are unleashed in a backswing governed by "true gravity". A night of adventure and revelation follows, and leads to a glimpse of Seamus MacDuff, the holy man who haunts a ravine off Burningbush's thirteenth fairway - the one they call Lucifer's Rug.
About the Author
Bestselling author Michael Murphy (b. 1930) has been called the father of the human potential movement, one of the most influential movements in twentieth-century American culture. His bestselling book Golf in the Kingdom (1972) inspired the creation of the Shivas Irons Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to finding beauty and discovery through the game of golf, and has recently been adapted into a movie starring Malcolm McDowell (2010). His other books include Jacob Atabet (1977), An End to Ordinary History (1982), In the Zone (1995), and The Kingdom of Shivas Irons (1997). He lives in California.
This book, fiction disguised as memoir, has something for everybodyÐmind fodder for the credulous, high satire for the skeptical, palliative for golfers, Scots travelogue for armchair travelers. Echoing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and the bestselling hoaxes of Carlos Castaneda, Michael Murphy seeks nirvana on the golf courses of Scotland. His quest involves a hodgepodge of Eastern mysticism, ersatz Platonic philosophy, spiritualism, white magic, hauntings and ESP. Oh, yes! Golf, too! Murphy admits poking a little fun at duffers, but his mind-expanding passages seem to send-up the whole Esalen human growth potential movement, which he helped found. Is he trying to be funny? Narrator John Hannah takes him at face value. He plays it straightÐand adeptlyÐin authentic Scottish tones, giving us all the drama and epiphany of Murphy's striving while letting the humor, intentional or otherwise, fall where it may. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
