Walking with Jack

January 1, 2014

Having already written about his mother's backstory in Of Time and Memory, Snyder now turns his attention to bonding with his son, who is trying to realize their shared dream of playing professional golf. In an attempt to help Jack onto the PGA tour while getting to know the young man better, the author follows him to tournaments and, in the book's longest and most captivating section, travels to St. Andrews, Scotland, to learn from experienced and entertaining golfers how to be a better caddie for his son. This candid, poignant, and often funny memoir describes the lengths to which a father will go to support his child. The hole-by-hole details of Jack's tournaments can be a grind, especially for those not as enthralled by or knowledgeable about golf as Snyder clearly is, but the short chapters allow for easy skipping through the uninteresting parts. Narrator Graham Rowat convincingly conveys the author's wide range of emotions, sounding just like a sensitive and supportive dad. VERDICT Recommended for fathers, golfers, and especially fathers who play golf.--Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia

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