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 enlarge | Author: Leigh Montville
Brand: Booklegger
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $7.65
You Save: $18.35 (71%)
New (34) Used (23) Collectible (1) from $7.65
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 30838
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0385520336
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.352092
EAN: 9780385520331
ASIN: 0385520336
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Excellent condition. Clean cover and crisp, unmarked pages. Ship with delivery confirmation within one business day of receiving payment.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
 Links Braggart Laid Low June 25, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
LaVerne Moore was one of the more colorful figures in the world of golf in the 1930's and Leigh Montville tells his tale in all its boisterous glory in The Mysterious Montague, A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery.
John Montague, as Moore was better known, was a trick shot artist who could chip a ball into a highball glass or under the sash of a partially-opened window across the room. He reputedly knocked a bird off a power line from 170 yards and consistently drove the ball over 300 yards with a specially-made oversized driver the weighed twice as much as the standard club of its time. Most famously, he once beat Bing Crosby while playing only with a rake, a shovel, and a baseball bat.
Montague had a secret, though. It was why he never allowed himself to be photographed and reputedly why he never entered any professional events. When that secret was revealed, it led to a sensational trial in upstate New York that turned into a celebrity-laden media fest. The secret is told in the first chapter of the book: Montague was wanted under his real name, LaVerne Moore, for the armed robbery of a roadside restaurant in the Adirondacks in 1930. The trial and its aftermath is an interesting window into the media world of the time.
Montville entertains the reader with tales of Montague's prowess, although it's obvious many of them grew to legendary status mainly through the re-telling such feats engender. He also gives us a good look at the celebrities who flocked to Montague's cause. Babe Ruth, Bing Crosby, Oliver Hardy, W.C. Fields, Howard Hughes, Babe Didrickson Zaharias, and many more were tied to Montague one way or another. Sportswriter Grantland Rice was his biggest fan.
The end of the book, which chronicles Montague's late-in-life attempt to break into the ranks of professional tournament golf, may be of the greatest interest to players of the game. Weakened by too many years of Hollywood parties and lack of practice, Montague was a miserable failure in his attempts to compete with PGA stars, who had disdained him from the start.
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo
 "The Mysterious Montague" June 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the fascinating, intriguing tale of a man who changed identities to start a new life in Hollywood and leave a criminal past behind - or so he hoped. It's one of those "only in America" stories - featuring golf and Hollywood celebrities such as Bing Crosby - with a surprise ending that actually seems fitting although justice isn't done, strictly speaaking.
Mason's Mom June 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good read, with an entertaining view of a time gone by that we have only read and heard about. John Montague is larger than life but stuck with the human flaws that the rest of us have. You don't have to know golf to enjoy this as Montville makes it a story for every one.
Fascinating!! May 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The book brings to life of an man, whom I was unfamiliar with, and brought to live America before World War II. The story is a fascinating journey that causes the reader to wonder what is true and what is legend. The stories will amaze you and the people who surrounds the man are legendary.
Before there was Tin Cup.. there was Montague. (after reading, I realize that Tin Cup was a rip off of this great story!)
The Mysterious Montague - An Enjoyable Book May 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The title of Leigh Montville's new book tells you a lot about the story without ever having to read a page. John Montague played golf and schmoozed with some of the most famous of the 1930's Hollywood celebrities. However, something in his personal life would eventually turn his world totally around. This book will probably not win any literary awards, but it is entertaining, amusing, and at times quite unbelievable. Golfers will love it, non-golfers will enjoy it.
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