First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters, from Taft to Bush

by Don Van Natta Jr.

Book Overview

Some students of the presidency say that we can learn the most about the men who've occupied the Oval Office by studying their ideology. Others say political savvy or family background or regional... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586480081
• ISBN13: 9781586480080
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Fore!

Interesting angle. Using the sport and gameof golf as the foundation to add insights and discuss the Presidents who played it. Author Van Natta Jr. brought forth an original avenue to bring a topic that is commonly written about (presidents) to light. Golf, the ever-increasing mainstream sport to the American public, is no longer stereotyped (falsely) that it's an elitist sport to play. In "First Off The Tee," there are many interesting facts about the habits of some of the commanders-in-chiefs that hit the greens.Bill Clinton took so many mulligan's the author calledthem "Billigans." He scored himself in the low 80s, similar to his idol JFK, but he literally took over 200 swings. Clinton played loosely with the rules, at times bending them to conform to his ends. Can the phenomena of how a person plays golf be taken and applied to political and administrative behaviour? Psycho-social analysis? Perhaps a dissertation has started somewhere regarding this. One President drank booze while golfing during prohibition. He also gambled on a every game. John F. Kennedy was an avid golpher, and fairly decent one at that,getting scores in the low 80s. But he did keep the fact that heplayed the game secret from the public.Gerald Ford played amateur tourneys and pinged thebystanders in the crowd from time to time. The author played with the likes of Clinton and George W.Bush. G. W. Bush could play through 18 holes in an hourand a half, while Clinton took six hours. (He likedto talk a lot more.)In the past, Presidents didnt' want to bephotographed on the greens. Today it's acceptable, andperhaps even expected. 14 mini-biographies highlighting the lighter side of the Execs as men and the sport of golf. Very interesting.

the real deal

This book is superb and here's why: Because no matter what the form -- novel, poetry, essays, history -- a successful piece of writing must tell you something new. As an avid reader of history and presidential biography, I subconsciously felt I had the 20th century's presidents nailed: Wilson was a tragically lofty prig, FDR a crippled Machiavelli, Nixon a man woefully uncomfortable in his own skin. But what Van Natta does, through golf of all things (and I'm no golf nut) is revitalize these men, bring them back alive through their comical passion for the little white ball. Wilson played EVERY day, rain, snow or shine? FDR designed dozens of golf courses? Taft blew off diplomatic appointments for his putter? Powered by Van Natta's adrenalized prose and exhaustive research, this finely-woven narrative gives an entirely fresh look at these men. And then it does more.The book's most publicized gotcha! is Van Natta's round with a cheatin' Bill Clinton, which, naturally, serves the purpose of right-wingers everywhere. Less noticed, though, is the insight Van Natta provides in the most revealing portrayal of Clinton yet. By showing Clinton's loosey-goose attitude toward the rules -- and the way he charms those around him into helping out with the bending -- Van Natta offers not only a subtle metaphor for Slick Willie's mindset during the Lewinsky mess. He also shows us why Clinton's approval ratings remained high throughout that mess, why as he puts it, "it's impossible to dislike the guy" even as Clinton is cheating you to your face, why the American public liked him in spite of -- or maybe even because of -- his peccadillos. It's a rare thing to get all this out of a sports book, but then again, we are a differnt nation now, a place where only a fool pays his rightful share of taxes -- and Billigans rule.

Who says you can't investigate and entertain

For years I have reached for the New York Times whenever I saw Don Van Natta's byline. As one of the nation's top investigative reporters, his stories were always incrediblly well written and chock full of insider information that most of the times his subjects would rather not reveal. He found out and reported facts but never forgot the importance of color and detail and good old fashioned story telling. First off the Tee combines these traits into a highly entertaining book that brings these Presidents and the pasttime they share with millions of Americans to life. I gave it to my husband for his birthday and he read it in a weekend but not until I had finished it. I work in politics and he loves golf and we both loved the book. You can't do better than that.

A great read

I read this book in two days and couldn't put it down. Even if you are not a big golf fan, you will really enjoy this book because it deals with personalities. The fact that these personalities happen to be Presidents of the United States makes it that much more interesting. I highly recommend First Off the Tee.

A Hole in One

This book represents a great idea, perfectly executed. Analyzing presidential personalities and styles through the game of golf is a novel, intelligent approach: it provides a tidy, concise method for making observations about the presidents, and it allows the author to deliver insights and information in an incredibly entertaining way. You don't have to know a lot about golf to find this well-written, well-organized book entertaining; you just have to have some curiosity about the men who have led the United States. Many of them, Van Natta smartly realized, liked their time on the fairway, and so he visits them there, and golf becomes the metaphor for so much more.