Shanks for Nothing

Rick Reilly is just too funny for words, he creates so many images that will last forever in my mind. The characters in this novel are wonderful and the mix of personalities is perfect. A must read for anyone that loves to laugh out loud and especially if you love the game of golf like I do, read it.

Highly recomended. Must read Missing Links prior to get the history. I liked it a lot. ( 3 handicap ) Fiction YES. But, these situations could very much be daily happenings.

Reilly does it again with the lovable characters from "Missing Links" and the not so lovable golf course affectionately known as Ponky. The book picks up about 10 years later with the same hijinks and fun loving golf. A few new people are added in and they just make the group that much more colorful. Dom, "The World's Most Sexual Man", is hilarious in his attempts to get the new girl behind the counter at Ponky. The gambling is at the forefront again and our hero, Ray Hart, has to face some past demons as well as some current sticky situations. Well worth the read, great humor and just plain fun. Please make sure not to pull a Kathy Bates/Misery on Reilly so he will continue the series after reading this one.

Although Rick Reilly's "Shanks for Nothing" is a billed as a sequel to his earlier hit "Missing Links," you can start right in on page one here without missing a beat or feeling lost. This book stands on its own. Reilly's two completed works about Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli draw their inspiration from an article he wrote in Sports Illustrated about a trip he took to Canton, Massachusetts to the Ponkapoag Golf Course. I met Mr. Reilly on his book tour and asked him about that article and he said that his editors at SI asked him to "go out and identify the worst course in America." And, while 'Ponky' isn't the course of the greatest character, it does have great characters. Reilly was smitten by the host of regulars there, real working-class Bostonians with no airs or pretensions. The camaraderie he saw there is reflected in care he shows in writing about *his* Ponky regulars Ray, Two Down, Cementhead, Hoover, Dom and Blind Bob. 'Shanks' isn't going to win a Pulitzer (whatever, the dude's basically retired the Sportswriter of the Year award), but it's an enjoyable read. You don't even have to be a golf nut to appreciate the obvious relish with which Reilly builds his tale. The book reads like it was written by a guy who's been cribbing all the great golf jokes he's heard over the last decade.

Reilly's sequel to Missing Links exceeded my expectations. As soon as I was finshed I wanted to start it all over again. I laughed so hard my stomach felt like I did 1,000 sit ups. Hilarious! Way to go Rick!!!!