Hogan: A Biography

Excellent. Really enjoyed this book

I bought this book for a good friend. I have had my copy for 60 years and read it regularly - marvelous stuff!

This is a remarkably honest account of perhaps the most hard-working golfer of all time. The book reveals the truth about one of the most secretive and unapproachable golfers of the 20th century. Sampson's prose explains the possible causes of Hogan's strange but successful life and charts the rise of Hogan through the early years and his recovery after his car crash. The book contains untold interviews with Hogan and uses interviews Niklaus, Palmer, Nelson and Snead to gain a broad persective of Hogan. This is the only book I know which contains enough information about Hogan to be classed as a biography. But don't take it from me; an out-of-form Steve Jones was given this book in 1996 and was so engrossed that he read it all in one night. The next week, he won the US Open. Enough said.

worth reading

Very expensive (£13.95) for actual depth of read

I am a fan of golf but only knew Ben Hogan by name and by some of his feats. I wanted to learn more about him after I stumbled across something someone said about him putting his hands in prickle brine to toughen up his skin.It's an excellent read. It wasn't a dry biography, and I really did feel like I knew his character and who he was after I read the book.What really surprised me was how many years he spent failing before he won. It's a true rag-to-riches story built upon Ben Hogan's back and his perseverance. His life is an amazing story.

Anyone who follows golf at all knows that Hogan was one of the best ever, but you really need to read this book to understand how he got there. Sampson explains both the character and life events that produced one of the greats of all time, in a way that is informative, complete and enjoyable to read. If the car accident of 1948 had never happened, who knows how much higher Hogan's star would have risen!

This being my first biography of Nelson, the picture of him that is painted by the author is one of a man who is a driven, somewhat introverted man who seems to fear failure, is full of pride, has very little patience for people and is always this close to being just plain rude. If this is all there is to Hogan, then his popularity is surprising to me. That being said, it is a great, quick read and the author does a good job of weaving in the personal anecdotes from Hogan's peers in the painting of his picture.

I was twelve years old when Ben Hogan was badly injured in a car crash. I was so pleased when a movie was made about his life. It is titled Follow the Sun. The book helped me to learn about Hogan and his different kind of personality. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to find out more about the exemplary life he led. His dedication to his craft is illuminated in the book and is probably a good read for anyone wanting to improve in a sport.Dr. Norman Jones author of Growing Up in Indiana: The Culture & Hoosier Hysteria Revisited

This gives an insight as to what the man went through and what the tour was back then