The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year

My son is 16 years old is an avid golfer and despises reading and sitting still. He has a little trouble with a reading handicap, but eventually gets through reading materials for our homeschooling. I had no idea how he would respond to this book but decided to give it a shot. He was fascinated by the historical notes that set the stage for the book and discussed several points with me. Then he got into the chapters. To my amazement, every single day he came to me with another exciting tidbit. I have even caught him curled up on the couch with a blanket and this book. The first time it happened I mistakenly thought he was my other son, a bookworm, but got a good laugh when I realized it was my son who swore he would never like a book! So while he's getting his school reading done, he's also learning about the ups and downs of some of the golfing greats in their historical context.

A good solid overview of the era, the personalities, the issues... not as robust as The Greatest Game Ever Played in terms of broader social history, but for a fan of the PNH trio and era, it definitely is a worthy read.

A knack for the right words to make the imagery real. He uses quoted works to good effect, supplementing his own descriptions with balancing posts.

Curt and I worked togehter back in the days when he was selling "widgets". He was always a great guy to work with, and it was a pleasure to finally read one of his many well written books. I had heard from the guys that his books were good, but just never took the time to experience it myself. What a joy it was to be able to look back and know all of the goings on behind the scenes, and to gain a better understanding of the larger than life personalities of the time. It was an easy read, and a very thorough and comprehensive piece of work. I can't wait to start reading "Hogan". Well done Curt !!!

Quite a year for golf. Very interesting history of golf - Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and more. Could have provided more of the bask stories and details. Enjoyable read.

THE ETERNAL SUMMER, the story of the hard-fought 1960 season. I was lucky to read MASTERS and SUMMER in that order. MASTERS is a slanted but colorful and enjoyable piece of work. I was pumped for more Sampson and got my wish. SUMMER is one of the best golf history books ever written, and I have read most of them; period. Leap at any opportunity to read SUMMER. It is a top-drawer treatment of 1960's events.

I was so excited to read this book. It seemed like the perfect year to read about the drama of Ben Hogan's last hurrah, the beginning of the upstart Jack Nicklaus, and the coming of age of Palmer. Despite the obvious excitement of the topic, particularly the US Open, Curt Sampson does not due a good job of building the drama. I must compare it to Mark Frost's the Grand Slam. Obviously any golf fan knows that Jones accomplished his feat, but the sense of drama Frost unfolds had me on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, Sampson does not build the same sense of drama. He does a nice job of describing the way Hogan truly struggled to even strike a short putt, but even Arnie's drive of the green at Cherry Hills is anti-climactic. I did learn a few new facts about some of the protagonists, but I couldn't wait for this book to be over. If you are a golf nut, then go ahead and take a look, but don't expect the same drama that you will get out of any of Frost's books. I know I'll be looking for a different author when I pick up a biography of Hogan, since there are several to choose from.

I really enjoy reading golf history books on the greats, and this is very typical of Curt's work - great writing, very easy to read, every page interesting and very hard to put down.One of the combatants, Kel Nagle, is still alive in Sydney as at December 2013. I read he's now the oldest living British Open Champ.......Cheers, Simon

For me, this book was a revisiting of my youth. The first year I took an interest in professional tournament golf was 1960, and the first event I watched was the Masters. I can still remember Arnold's birdies on the 17th and 18th. My only complaint about the book is that I finished it too soon. Maybe I'll reread it next year.

this book is well worth the time taken to read it, excellent.

An interesting read, with great detail regarding the majors of 1960·Very good profiles of all the players of the era.

Quick delivery and product as described

Held my attention and gave a good insight into the exiting era of Palmer and Nicklaus and the end of the Hogan era