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The Nine Tenths Rule (A Bainbridge Diaries golf themed legal mystery novel)

by Stephen E Mitchell

Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Original story; Interesting Characters

The Nine Tenth’s Rule’s title refers to the legal principle that “possession is nine tenths of the law.”  That maxim is at the core of Stephen Mitchell’s debut novel, which revolves around a mad bet between two wealthy Englishmen, and an Old Tom Morris putter.

The main characters in the story are the third generation descendants of two eccentric English lords who bet their entire estates on the final outcome of an annual golf match. The bet had long been forgotten, but when an estate sale unearths the pact, the search is on for the putter—the possessor of which secures both estates.

Working out the legal aspects of this bizarre bet is Maurice Bainbridge, principal of the firm of Bainbridge and Bainbridge. Maruice’s grandfather Edward had worked out the original paperwork on the bet, and now it’s up to him to work out the original intent and see justice done with the heirs.

Mitchell has more Bainbridge novels in mind, for a substantial subplot revolves around the discovery by solicitor Maurice Bainbridge of his grandfather’s diaries. Those diaries apparently contain many more mysteries to be solved. There’s no indication of whether any of those will involve golf.

In tone, The Nine Tenth’s Rule reminds me of the work of PG Wodehouse. The setting is upper crust England, the characters quirky, and the humor sly. The Nine Tenth’s Rule is not a “funny” book, but it’s much lighter than the usual legal fare of Grisham, Turow, or Connelley.

The novel is well written, aside from a few editing errors, such as “... their contest—one embarked upon in a fit of peak in the summer of 1921.” That should be “pique.” There were a few others that I caught—and probably a few that I didn’t.

In all, though, I enjoyed the book. Recommended

More evidence of the way things are changing; Kindle Textbook Rental

When I was in college (many years ago), we got a list of required textbooks at registration, and then headed down to one of the two campus bookstores. There, we had two choices: buy a new book at an exorbitant price, or get a used book at a slightly less exorbitant price. We spent what seemed like hours looking through books, trying to find the ones that were the least highlighted and marked up from previous semesters.

Funny. One of my friends actually wanted the ones that had margin notes and highlights. He figured that meant someone had already done a bunch of the work for him.

When the semester was over, we returned to the same bookstores and sold the books back for pennies on the dollar. The store then turned around, jacked the price back up and sold the used book to the next semester’s suckers. I wonder how many times they were able to turn the same books over and what their profit margin was. It was a license to print money.

“Renting” an ebook strikes me as a great idea.

How Fantasy Sports Explains the World: What Pujols and Peyton Can Teach Us About Wookiees and Wall Street

by AJ Mass

Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: disjointed and random; entertaining nonetheless

How Fantasy Sports Explains The World is disjointed, random and full of non sequiturs. That said, I enjoyed it immensely.

Author AJ Mass is a “professional Fantasy Sports Analyst” (only in America in the 21st century could such a thing be a profession) who works for ESPN. Although I’m a dedicated fantasy footballer, I’ve never paid any attention to him in past. Maybe I should. If the book is any indication, he’s a statistics nut and not afraid to think out of the box—exactly my kind of guy.

One thing needs to made clear at the outset, though: reading this book will get you only marginally closer winning your fantasy league—if at all. While Mass tries to draw conclusions from his stream-of-consciousness stories, they’re of the most trivial sort.

Rather, the book is entertaining as a look inside the mind of an obsessed fantasy sports guy. Mass takes apparently unconnected incidents—such as his career as a card dealer, astronomers’ search for Planet X and the trial of the West Memphis Three—and connects them (sometimes tenuously) to the world of (fantasy) sports. It’s sort of like the fantasy sports version of that old television series Connections, or of Freakonomics, which has chapters that posit questions such as “How Is A Beauty Queen Like A Crack Dealer?”

In one chapter, Mass digresses to the subject of Ghost Hunters, and a demon he may or may not have encountered in his college dorm room. He then uses this as a launchpad for a brief discussion of how confirmation bias can affect your fantasy sports analysis. In another, he discusses the Founding Fathers, the Electoral College and how Fantasy Owners may use their trade veto power to their own advantage. Thinking about the Star Wars films leads him to believe that in fantasy sports, sort term gain may come at the expense of long term progress.

I found “How Fantasy Sports” to be an entertaining read, but your mileage will vary. If you enjoy fantasy sports, or quirky out of the box thinking, I think you’ll enjoy this book. People looking for a more traditional “sports” title should stay away.

Deals on the Green: Lessons on Business and Golf from America’s Top Executives

by David Ryncki

Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: Eighteen nice little essays on the intersection of golf and business

Deals on The Green originally was published in 2007, and now is out in a paperback edition with a new preface and chapters. This is a review of the 2011 paperback.

The most distinguishing feature of Deals on the Green is what it is not: it’s not a book about how to do business on the green. It doesn’t tell you how to seal a deal, or on what hole to bring up a touchy subject. You’re not going to land a big contract as a result of reading it.

Instead, Deals on the Green offers narratives about the intersection of golf and business. In 18 chapters (really 17—the last one actually is practical advice), Ryncki points out that many of the skills needed to succeed in business are the same as those required for success in golf. Each chapter begins with a bit of general wisdom: “Be Yourself,” or “Success is About the Intangibles” and then proceeds with an illustration of how it applies to both golf and business. Most feature a story about a CEO who has used golf to achieve business success.

Much of the emphasis in the book is on what serious golfers already know: that you can tell an awful lot about a person’s character from the way they behave on the course. Someone who cheats at golf will cheat at life. A person who plays sideways out of a hazard is off the course a different sort of chap than the one who tries to squeeze a shot through the narrow gap between two tree trunks. And courtesy on the golf course often translates into a gentleman off it.

Deals On The Green is a breezy little book that can easily be devoured in a single sitting. I found it quite enjoyable and at times even inspiring. I don’t know that you could call this a “must read” for all golfers, but if you’re interested in both golf and business it should be on your list.

The Caddie Who Won The Masters

by John Coyne

Grade: A
Teachers’ Comments: A good fantasy read, even if there are a couple of holes

(Alert: Spoilers throughout)

Bobby Jones once said that his greatest wish was that an amateur would win The Masters. While in reality that’s not going to happen, John Coyne imagines an amateur’s supernatural Master’s victory in The Caddie Who Won The Masters (I suppose that it is not too much of a spoiler to reveal that he wins the tournament, given the book’s title.)

Tim Alexander is an English professor at a small midwestern college who earns a spot at the Masters thanks to his US Mid Amateur title. He’s conflicted about his appearance, though, as his wife is battling cancer and may indeed be in mortal danger.

While practicing at the Amen Corner before the tournament, Alexander encounters the ghost of Clifford Roberts, the legendary Chairman of Augusta National. Roberts’ soul is trapped at Augusta (thanks to his suicide there), and he can’t be released until Bobby Jones’ wish is fulfilled and an amateur wins The Masters. Alexander, Roberts says, has been chosen for the job. To sweeten the deal, Roberts promises to cure Alexander’s wife in exchange for a victory.

Alexander doubts both the existence of the ghost and the possibility of winning, but he goes along with the scheme. Roberts promises additional supernatural help to ensure the victory.

Thus, as the tournament progresses, Alexander is visited by the ghosts of Ben Hogan, Bobby Locke, Byron Nelson, Bobby Jones and others who help him through rough spots in his game. At critical junctures, the shades appear and taking their advice, Alexander makes the shots.

A sub plot involves Alexander’s caddy, a course rat whose caddy father recently died in the line of duty. This, I suppose is where the “Caddy Who” part of the title comes from, but that’s a pretty big stretch.

As a whole, I think the novel is quite enjoyable. The characters are well drawn, the “action” tense and the ending, while unrealistic, make sense within the supernatural fantasy framework.

The best part of the book, however, are the descriptions of the holes at Augusta. After reading the novel, I felt as though I’d attended a seminar on the course. (I assume it’s all accurate).

Finally, to the holes:

One: I can’t figure out why its called the Caddie Who Won The Masters, when it’s an English Professor who does the honors. True, the caddie is integral, but not enough to warrant the title. I think it’s mostly that Coyne is trying to establish a golf novel brand—his previous novels were The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan and The Caddie Who Played with Hickory. A poor choice, in my mind. The Amateur Who Won The Masters is more like it.

Two: The story ends without letting us know if Roberts keeps his promise to heal Axexander’s wife. We do know that Roberts is released from Augusta, but that’s it. The story need a postscript or something.

Deals on the Green: Lessons on Business and Golf from America’s Top Executives

In the mailbox this week: Deals On The Green

Review on the way.