The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

"The Legend of Bagger Vance" is a retelling of this epic, and a summary of the Bhagavad Gita, in a wonderful golf story. In the Mahabharata, Arjuna must fight a war against his step-brothers and cousins over possession of the kingdom. It is a righteous war, for he and his brothers are the heirs. But he refuses to fight, saying that war is futile and that it would be better to die than to fight one's family. So his charioteer, Lord Krishna, an incarnation of God, has to park the chariot and give him a really long lecture about why he should put aside his doubts, do his duty, and fight. Of course, it takes him the whole Bhagavad Gita to explain why this is a good thing to do, and it involves helping Arjuna understand who he really is, who God is, and what the nature of reality is. Along the way, he explains how to find peace in the midst of action, and to discover our true nature.

The Bhagavad Gita explains how to find union with God in the midst of daily life, and "The Legend of Bagger Vance" gives a very readable restatement of how to live a truly authentic life (and play great "golf" - whatever your form of "golf" is).

In "Legend," our hero, Rannulph Junah (R.Junah for those who like things spelled out) is a world-weary war veteran who is asked to play a game of golf with Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones. He reluctantly agrees, then tries to withdraw, saying that in a world torn apart by conflict and the Depression, it was futile, senseless, stupid, and insulting to hit a small dimpled ball around a course in yet one more form of combat. His caddy, Bagger Vance (Bhagavan, an honorific title for the Lord or for a spiritual master), then spends the rest of the story talking him through the 36-hole tournament, stripping away his confusion and delusion to help him find the truth of his Authentic Stroke and see the value of doing our inborn duty that life presents to us.

Does he succeed? Can we? Read this fun story and find out!

Afterwards, get Kamala Subramaniam's version of the "Mahabharata" and enjoy an even more interesting story.

The basic premise: can a golfer return to the game after a long absence, guided by a mystical caddie, to compete with a couple of the world's best competitors? As a golfer, I say no. When I haven't been playing for a while, it takes a lot more than my mental approach to get my game back on track.

This story takes you on a mystical journey on e legendary golf course on a foggy, windy island of the coast of Savannah. I always enjoy stories that take me to a different time using some actual characters of the day. The setting is one of the strong points of the book. This author does an excellent job describing the golf world in the early 1930s.

The real strength of the book is the mysterious Bagger Vance who encourages the lead character to transcend the physical world to overcome his golfing challenges. We all know how much golf is a mental game. This book takes it a step further. Forget about keeping your left arm straight, your head down, and your wrists firm, this book will remind you that there are "other" elements at play in the game of golf.

Three and a half hours later, I set the book down, sweat pouring down my face, hands numbly releasing the pages. "The Legend of Bagger Vance" is the most daring book I have ever read. In it, the entire face of reality is questioned, and cataclysmic issues are reopened over what appears to be a simple game of golf.

The plot is unimportant. What matters is the tone of the book. And believe me, it has tone.