Product Description

When he died in a bizarre plane crash in 1999, U.S. Open golf champion Payne Stewart became a sports icon. Already famous for his colorful knickers and charming cockiness, Stewart had parlayed his golfing talent into a brilliant career. The tragic timing of his death at the height of his career focused the spotlight on him even more. In The Payne Stewart Story, author Larry Guest covers the golfing great's career, from his start as an unpopular player dubbed "Tinkerbelle" to his standing as one of golf's most respected professionals. For this book, Guest drew on his 20-year friendship with Stewart and more than 100 hours of taped interviews with some 30 people, including Payne's wife, Tracey, and his friend and fellow PGA Tour player Larry Rinker. Full of surprises, the book details Payne's harmonica playing, his standing as the life of the party, and his quiet spiritual growth. The Payne Stewart Story is funny and sad, triumphant and tragic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1426801 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
An award-winning sports columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, Larry Guest covered Payne Stewart's career for more than two decades. Author of four other books, including Arnie: Inside the Legend, Larry was voted the Best Sports Writer in Florida three times by his peers.

Customer Reviews

Where were you?
If old enough, you remember where you were when President Kennedy was assassinated. If a golf fan, you remember where you were when Payne Stewart died. I was in a restaurant having lunch with a couple of other guys. We paid only occasional attention to reports on the television behind the bar. A Lear jet was off course and expected to crash. Sadly, we soon would learn its occupants. If you read no other chapter in this excellent account of Payne Stewart's life, read the one detailing how the golfer's friends and associates learned the bad news. It's a dramatic piece of writing by Larry Guest. And it creates a bond between any reader who remembers that day and the golfer's friends in the book who talk about it. In another memorable chapter, Guest's detailed reporting makes you feel as if you're right in the aircraft during its deadly, and as yet unexplained, flight from Florida to a midwestern cornfield. This book would be a good read even for people who are not golf fans. If you do follow golf, it's a must read. If you were a Payne Stewart fan, you should have already read it.

Finally, a Sports Biography Hole in One!
Reading sports biographies is what I like to do. I have read tons -- from all sports, both genders. Frankly, the literary quality of sports biographies usually is low. So you read to pick up a thing or two you didn't know. Either that, or you're a sports nut like me.

This certainly is not the case with "The Payne Stewart Story" by Larry Guest. I bought the book for three reasons: 1. Wow! The cover just blew me away. I must have stared at it for five minutes. 2. I particularly like golf as a sport to read about. 3. I had bought the book by Payne Stewart's wife and was so disappointed I had to force myself to finish it. Strictly commercial, more important for what it didn't say. I was looking for who Payne Stewart was, not empty words that left me hungry and unsatisfied.

Guest's book grabbed me from the first sentence. Riveting, I think is the right word. Classy. Intelligent. The chapter on the plane crash takes your breath away. I was struck the by the amazing amount of detail. For a moment, I felt like I was there. Guest is someone who cares about detail, and so many sports authors don't.

There is nearly a whole chapter is Guest's book on why Payne wore Knickers. I always wondered about that. It was as fascinating as it was funny.

Guest handles the story of Stewart's maturation -- his spiritual growth, his growth as a Tour golfer, as a husband and father, as a citizen, as a man. Like the rest of us, Stewart was flawed, and Guest deals with the flaws directly but with tenderness. I really liked the way he handled that. It made the book wonderful for me.

This is truly a great sports biography, five stars, very different in a way I can't explain. I just could not put it down for its honesty and its humor and its unique format. I had read 50 pages before leaving the store and taking the book home with me. This is hard for me to say, but I'm sure this is the best sports biography I have ever read. There are bigger stars, but I cannot think of a better book. "The Payne Stewart Story" informs, entertains, enlightens, inspires. Although a tragedy, the book made me feel better about things.

good book
I'm in the middle of the book--haven't finished it yet--but I really like the way it's done. The question and answer sections make this less a touchy-feely memoir than an in-depth, up-to-date account of part of Payne's life. Also, the first section dealing with the plane crash and how it happened--flew on autopilot from Florida to South Dakota before crashing into a field at 600 miles per hour--is spectacular. The author did a great job of tracking down details you'll want to know. Then, just in case you're interested, he also talks about golf, Payne's tough journey to the top of the field, and his family and friends. Great job, and thanks for writing the book.