Tom Clavin is the author of 12 books, including the New York Times bestseller Halsey's Typhoon. He writes for Golf, Golf Journal, Men's Journal, and has been a contributor to the New York Times for 15 years.
Chronicling the unforgettable and improbable triumph of Jack Nicklaus in the 1986 Masters, this celebration recounts how the tarnished “Golden Bear,” with his eldest son Jackie as his caddy, won the most prestigious golf tournament for the sixth time at the astonishing age of 46. Though he was not a favorite to win—ranked 160th on the PGA Tour money list and six years without a win at a major championship—Nicklaus found redemption in competition and reasserted his golf legacy with an inspiring win that many still regard as the most exciting Masters ever. Hanging on for the first three rounds of the tournament, Nicklaus charged ahead in the final round, securing a heart-pounding and history-making victory. This book is full of details about the crowning achievement of Nicklaus’s career, the Masters championship itself, and profiles of some of the finest golf players in the sport at the peak of their careers, such as Seve Ballesteros, Tom Kite, and Greg Norman.
Both a love story and a tribute to the entertainment mecca, this exploration shines a spotlight on one of the hottest acts in Las Vegas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The illuminating depiction showcases the unlikely duo—a grizzled, veteran trumpeter and vocalist molded by Louis Armstrong and a meek singer in the church choir—who went on to invent “The Wildest.” Bringing together broad comedy and finger-snapping, foot-stomping music that included early forays into rock and roll, Prima and Smith’s act became wildly popular and attracted all kinds of star-studded attention. In addition to chronicling their relationships with Ed Sullivan, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, and other well-known entertainers of the day—and their performance of “That Old Black Magic” at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration—the narrative also examines the couple’s ongoing influence in the entertainment world. Running concurrent with their personal tale is their role in transforming Las Vegas from a small resort town in the desert to a booming city where the biggest stars were paid tons of money to become even bigger stars on stage and television.
