{"product_id":"the-battle-for-augusta-national-hootie-martha-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-9780743255011","title":"The Battle for Augusta National: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn unprecedented look behind the scenes at one of the most intriguing controversies in golf history, when a fascinating clash of values, tactics, and political power comes to a head during a fight over Augusta National.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe controversy began with a seemingly innocuous private letter, and spiraled into the biggest media event in golf history. The Augusta National membership dispute dominated headlines and watercooler conversation for nearly a year, propelled by twenty-first-century hot-button issues and a pair of perfectly drawn foils in Hootie Johnson and Martha Burk. But a year after Burk's messy Masters week protest, the meaning of the membership controversy remains elusive. Alan Shipnuck--who reinvented the PGA Tour narrative with the rollicking \u003ci\u003eBud, Sweat, \u0026amp; Tees--\u003c\/i\u003eprovides the definitive account of what really happened and why. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShipnuck chases the story from the chairman's office at Augusta National to the living room of the One Man Klan, along the way bringing to life a vivid cast of characters and revealing subplots aplenty. With meticulous reporting and penetrating insights, Shipnuck provides a nuanced look into the complex and contradictory worlds of Hootie and Martha, who were drawn together like moths to a flame; reveals Augusta National's secret plots to undermine the press and the accompanying turmoil at \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, \u003c\/i\u003e including an exclusive interview with the Times's disgraced executive editor, Howell Raines; and explores the Southern politics that led to Burk's Masters week banishment, drawing on Senate confirmation hearings and campaign contribution documents to link local politicians and a federal judge to Augusta National. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom Tiger Woods to Jack Welch, Sandra Day O'Connor to Bryant Gumbel, Treasury Secretary Snow to Jesse Jackson, the gang's all here in this withering look at a story that never stopped churning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlan Shipnuck is the author of nine books, including the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003ePhil\u003c\/i\u003e and the national bestsellers \u003ci\u003eBud, Sweat \u0026amp; Tees\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Swinger\u003c\/i\u003e (with Michael Bamberger). Shipnuck has received thirteen first-place awards from the Golf Writers Association of America, breaking the record of Dan Jenkins, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. After a quarter-century at \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGolf\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMagazine\u003c\/i\u003e, Shipnuck is now a partner and executive editor at the golf media company the Fire Pit Collective, where all his writing, podcasts, and video storytelling can be found. Shipnuck lives in Carmel, California.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50412942229778,"sku":"9780743255011","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c9185fa4-ebf1-4182-8f1f-9f7e4dfa25d7.jpg?v=1729335069","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-battle-for-augusta-national-hootie-martha-and-the-masters-of-the-universe-9780743255011","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}