Golf Ball

Name: Golf Ball
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9781628921380
Price: 21.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Dr. Harry Brown

Series: Object Lessons

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3.77

( 31 ratings, 3 reviews)

Summary

Golf Ball by Dr. Harry Brown delves into the unseen life of golf balls, exploring their composition, history, and enduring existence that can outlast even their players by centuries. Brown examines how golf balls symbolise humanity's desire to control the environment—whether a golf course or the Moon—but also highlights their unpredictable nature, which often defies human intent. This concise study, part of the Object Lessons series, reveals broader truths about technology, control, and human ambition.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$21⁹⁹

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Golf Ball

$21⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book will appeal to readers interested in cultural history, philosophy, and those curious about the deeper stories behind everyday objects. Golf enthusiasts and fans of reflective, interdisciplinary nonfiction will find it particularly engaging.

"Golf balls embody the complex human relation to the natural world, a will to control nature, but the action of balls in play reveals the futility of the endeavor"--

Golf balls embody the complex human relation to the natural world, a will to control nature, but the action of balls in play reveals the futility of the endeavor.

Description

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Dr. Harry Brown delves into the composition, history, kinetic life, and long deterioration of golf balls, which may outlive their hitters by a thousand years, in places far beyond our reach. Golf balls embody our efforts to impose our will on the land, whether the local golf course or the Moon, but their unpredictable spin, bounce, and roll often defy our control.

Despite their considerable technical refinements, golf balls reveal the futility of control. They inevitably disappear in plain sight and find their way into hazards. Golf balls, quite amusingly, play with people.

Golf Ball, Dr. Harry Brown's short treatise on the subject, serves up surprising lessons about the human desire to tame and control the landscape through technology.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

Series: Object Lessons

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Golf Ball has been described as a funny, smart, and charming meditation, blending cultural history, philosophy, and physics. Orin Starn praises it as essential reading for both curious golfers and cultural critics. Tom Chiarella highlights its entertaining and detailed exploration of golf’s history, while the book is noted for mixing history, personal anecdote, and philosophy to engage readers across disciplines.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781628921380

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 January 2015

Country: United States

Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 118.0mm

Height: 164.0mm

Weight: 153g

Pages: 160

Collections

Dr. Harry Brown Education & Reference Golf Non-Fiction Series: Object Lessons Sports

About the Author

Harry Brown is Associate Professor of English at DePauw University, USA. He is the author of Injun Joe’s Ghost (University of Missouri, 2004) and Videogames and Education (M.E. Sharpe, 2008). He has published articles on American literature and culture in The Journal of American and Comparative Culture, Studies in Medievalism, and Paradoxa, as well as original fiction in Blueline and The Mississippi Review.