Are You Kidding Me?: The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open

My husband and I were there. It was a beautiful, glorious day at Torrey Pines Golf Club. Our son played there many times as a Junior Golfer (The Junior World's)several times and I fell in love with the course immediately! Tiger also played with our son (they're the same age), so our son never won.... but what a lot of fantastic experiences. This wonderful book just brought it all back in living color. We were on the 18th green when Tiger's put went in to cause the playoff! How incredible is that??? You do not need to be a golf fan to love this book. You need to be a fan of the human spirit and the "need to succeed". Rocco is such a super person all around and his thoughts and words are just fantastic to "watch". I loved this book!!!

It's a great story. Tiger with a broken leg and Rocco with age and a bad back holding him back. And yet the battled over the course of 91 holes to an unbelievable finish. The best part of the book was the previously untapped (at least to me) history of Mediate. I didn't know, for example, that he nearly had to give up the game or that he is a huge Rush fan. Feinstein has set the bar high over the years and some of his other books I found a little more riveting--e.g., Next Man Up. Perhaps this is because I knew how "Are You Kidding Me?" ends. A good read about perhaps the most compelling event that I've ever seen.

From a golfer persepctive, this is very good read. I enjoyed it enough to buy 3 as gifts for my golfing buddies, and they enjoyed it as I did. First 2/3 is Rocco. Last 1/3 if the U.S. Open. The review that complains about Rocco's personal life is mis-placed, IMO. Even though some of the personal aspects were given short thrift, they need to be touched upon, or it wouldn't be much of a biography. Simply put... fun read (especially for golfers)

Having read several books by Feinstein this book delivers about the same amount of humor, seriousness and detail as one would expect. It is obvious John did a great deal of research as he quotes and uses information from many different people. If you enjoy golf books and hearing how sports stars think about playing golf and competing you will like this book. There is a good amount of quotes from various golfers regarding their life at the US Open and the trials and tribulations an athlete goes through during their life. The story about Rocco is intriguing and in many cases sad. It is great hearing about his background, how he came about playing golf, his relationship with various people close to him as well as he thought process regarding golf and life. As a point of personal conflict I was disappointed in the lack of discussion regarding his family later in the book. In the early parts of the book it was nice to read about how he was feeling and how his son's and wife were feeling as it gave perspective from both sides. However as Rocco's life changed so did the amount of information we received about his family. Maybe this was intentional due to the struggles he was experiencing but it made for a lack of perspective. All in all the book was a good read.

I've been critical of many of John Feinstein's recent efforts, which is why I was so pleased to see that he has almost regained that mid-90's form with his latest book. Are You Kidding Me chronicles the historic battle between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate for the 2008 U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines, already considered by many to be one of the most exciting Major Championships ever contested. The first half of the book is a Mediate Biography, but it's the second half of the book where Feinstein really shines. He takes the reader inside the ropes as only he can, describing the action in a way that will keep you on the edge of your seat, even though you already know the outcome. I did find errors, and I felt that Feinstein glossed over Rocco's relationship with his therapist, but otherwise this is a solid effort. I also wish that he didn't feel the need to continually remind us that the majority of PGA Tour Pro's are Republicans. I, for one, like my sports books free of political statements. Are You Kidding Me is a fast(I read it in 3 days) fun Summer read, and a must for Golf fans.