Miracle on the 17th Green

by James Patterson, Peter de Jonge

Overview

Just when we need some magic in our lives, bestselling author James Patterson brings us a stirring tale of life, love, and the power of Christmas miracles.


Travis McKinley's life has drifted sideways. His job, his marriage, even his children all feel disconnected and distant. Has he really accomplished nothing of consequence in his life? One Christmas Day, Travis plays a round of golf and finds himself for the first time in the zone-playing like a pro. In astonishingly short order, Travis is catapulted into the PGA Senior Open at Pebble Beach, where he advances to the final round. And while his wife, his children, and a live television audience watch, a miracle takes place that changes Travis and his family forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316207119
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	05/15/2012
Series:	Travis McKinley Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	152,180
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 300 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

"A fast-moving golf fantasy."—Publishers Weekly

"Miracle on the 17th Green is...where miracles can happen to those who learn to dream again."—Chris Nelson, Calgary Sun

"There are many among us who see golf as a healer of the soul and Miracle on the 17th Green, is a wonderful example of how uplifting that belief can be."—John Feinstein, author of Are You Kidding Me?

"Even if you don't know a birdie from a putter you can still enjoy this sweet tale of a middle-aged golfer's extraordinary blossoming."—Nichol Ruth, The Evening Post (Wellington)

"This is a hopeful little gem, and you don't even have to like golf to enjoy it."—BookReporter.com

"Entertaining."—Kirkus Reviews

"A cross between It's a Wonderful Life and a masculine version of Sleeping Beauty."—Library Journal

"Patterson and coauthor de Jonge add a new twist by melding a golf story onto a sentimental Christmas fable. The resulting plot is sort of Rocky Does the Senior Tour with just a hint of It's a Wonderful Life."—Bill Ott, BookList

From the Publisher

"There are many among us who see golf as a healer of the soul and Miracle on the 17th Green, is a wonderful example of how uplifting that belief can be."

John Feinstein

While it isn't quite the literary equivalent of a hole-in-one, this fast-moving golf fantasy about an amateur golfer who decides to try out for the PGA Senior Tour has enough sweetness and humor to overcome its obvious plot clichs. Middle-aged and happily married, Travis McKinley does the unthinkable: he misses Christmas dinner after getting caught up in a divinely inspired streak of great putting during an outing on the country club course in Winnetka, Ill. As Travis's obsession with his newfound talent takes over his life, his obstetrician wife, Sarah, expresses increasing dismay over his inability to grow up, a domestic crisis that reaches a boiling point when Travis loses his job and journeys to Tallahassee, Fla., to try to qualify for the Senior Tour. Competing against overwhelming odds, Travis earns a place on the tour, only to have his dream spoiled when he learns that Sarah intends to file for divorce. As he continues to compete against the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, the victory that will fulfill Travis's dream and reunite him with his family is as improbable as it is inevitable. Plot issues aside, Patterson (whose newest thriller is Jack and Jill) and de Jonge succeed admirably in creating a winning character who is enough of a child to believe his dreams and is also mature enough to offer some gently humorous reflections on our national obsession with an engaging sport. Christmas shoppers take note: vigorous, straightforward prose and solid characterization put this second golf fable of the season in a far different league from the mystical, romantic The Legend of Tommy Morris.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Think of this short novel by best-selling thriller writer Patterson (Hide & Seek LJ 12/95) and journalist de Jonge as a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and a masculine version of Sleeping Beauty. On Christmas Day, Travis McKinley is playing golf when suddenly he acquires perfect vision for the putt. In a zone, he plays brilliant golf and misses Christmas dinner with his family, where things are already rocky. The wife he adores wants to leave him, and he doesn't know why, although it may be because working 30 years in an advertising job he hates has strangled his growth and enthusiasm. When he's fired, he is liberated to see whether he really can play professional golf. Travis qualifies for the Professional Golfers Association Senior Tour, and it changes him and his family forever. Buy this for all the middle-aged male golfers who still have the spark of a dream left in them, as well as for those who've given up.Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Iowa

Library Journal

"Patterson and coauthor de Jonge add a new twist by melding a golf story onto a sentimental Christmas fable. The resulting plot is sort of Rocky Does the Senior Tour with just a hint of It's a Wonderful Life."

Bill Ott - BookList

"This is a hopeful little gem, and you don't even have to like golf to enjoy it."

BookReporter.com

"Even if you don't know a birdie from a putter you can still enjoy this sweet tale of a middle-aged golfer's extraordinary blossoming."

Nichol Ruth - The Evening Post (Wellington)

"Miracle on the 17th Green is...where miracles can happen to those who learn to dream again."

Chris Nelson - Calgary Sun

Patterson and coauthor de Jonge add a new twist by melding a golf story onto a sentimental Christmas fable. The resulting plot is sort of Rocky Does the Senior Tour with just a hint of It's a Wonderful Life.
— BookList

Bill Ott

Even if you don't know a birdie from a putter you can still enjoy this sweet tale of a middle-aged golfer's extraordinary blossoming.
— The Evening Post (Wellington)

Nichol Ruth

Miracle on the 17th Green is...where miracles can happen to those who learn to dream again.
— Calgary Sun

Chris Nelson