Customer Reviews

The Kingdom of Shivas Irons

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Michael Murphy has reinvented Golf in the Kingdom and Shivas Irons in 1997, 25 years later, with another compelling novel, The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, that has provided greater understsnding of the mysteries of golf. While Golf in the Kingdom offered an alternativbe for enjoying and performing the game, The Kingdom of Shivas Irons tells us, within a story line that searches for Shivas Irons across Scottish and Russian geopgrapy, how we can practice what we have learned. About practice, Murphy in his enviable style, describes practice regimens reflecting upon his experiences with Shivas Irons at Seamus McDuff's exploratory performance laboratory somewhere in Scotland. He stated, " No matter how hard it tries, by spotlighting equipment technology and swings, the golf industry will not kill the inner game." Murphy continues, that golf as a sub-culture preoccupied with quick fixes and immediate gratification, golfers are suscceptable to constant equipmnet and swing changes as the path for improved play. Murphy suggested to explore the inner game, to develop the unconscious, imaginatve mind, is essential for performace of swing execustion. During practice sessions, Murphy recommended; The shot I'd just hit demands time for enjoyment......that simple resotorative attention develops with practice......or when we practice any skill, we store something away for times when our thought and feelings wander.......let go of ordinary feeling and thought and you are at once more self sufficient. It is must read for Kingdom lovers, golf teachers and all golfers who seek joy in thier rounds and consistent improvement. Buck, Nadia and Ziparelli are unforgetable characters who weave a tale of human potantial experiences in pursuit of self-disclosures and quality living while allowing an exploration of golf's mysteries its rightful place in the novel. The final chapters describe in detail for students of the inner game, an extraordinary 18 hole match between Murphy and John Stuart (have fun guessing who he is) at Pebble Beach. It is great fun.

Michael Murphy's 1972 novel "Golf In The Kingdom" deservedly became a cult classic in spite of some fairly dodgy attempts at portraying Scots dialect and culture. This was because he got it right with the golf while the mystical, metaphysical elements of the story added an extra angle of interest despite being a wee bit hokey in places.

This time out, with the sequel "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons", the golf seems to take a back seat to the metaphysical, New Age stuff, while his portrayal of the Scots comes across as patronising and ridiculous. Indeed, by halfway through the novel one begins to wonder whether Murphy has ever even been to Scotland and experienced anything of the people and culture besides spending time on the country's spectacular golf links.

Buy "Golf In The Kingdom" and enjoy. But beware of the sequel, "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons", which is unfortunately second-rate and adds nothing worthwhile to Murphy's original vision.

This follow-up to 1972's "Golf In the Kingdom" is, to say the least, a mixed bag.

On the positive side, Murphy's use of language to describe and evoke physical landscapes and the natural environment is, as in its predecessor, breathtaking. The novel's structure and pace are also sound.

On the negative side, some of the characters in "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons" ring false from the outset, to the point of being laughable. For example, the Scots physicist Buck Hannigan, one of the major characters: I would be surprised if there was a single person in Scotland named "Buck". Sure, this kind of Americanism is a minor detail, but it calls into question how much Murphy really knows about the land where golf was born and the nation of people who established it. Because of this, the storyteller's credibility is somewhat devalued.

Murphy's novel explores golf not as a mere game but as a sort of grand metaphysical experiment, dipping into a hodge-podge of New Age beliefs towards which the sceptical reader may sometimes wince. This aspect of the book reminded me that while open-mindedness is generally a virtue, there's also a saying that "An open mind may let in falsehoods as well as truths". "The Kingdom of Shivas Irons" contains some interesting ideas but a lot of utter nonsense and psychobabble as well.

Worthwhile reading, but only when taken with a pinch of salt beforehand.

While it's always difficult to follow-up a blockbuster novel, movie etc Michael Murphy has done so with remarkable style and panache. Although written almost 30 years after 'Golf in the Kingdom' first debuted, 'The Kingdom of Shivas Irons' is definitely worth the read. Murphy goes back to Scotland to try to track down the elusive and enlightened Shivas with mixed results. Several adventures along the way make the reader think about the true meanings of golf and life as metaphysical happenings deeper than what's on the surface. If you liked G.I.T.K, you will not be disappointed with this sequal. This book, like the first one is similar to an onion--- peeling off several layers of meaning only reveals to you several more. Digging into this book and it's liquid smooth plot make you feel like you're out on the course 170 yards from the hole with a five-iron in hand ready to go for broke over a pond. It draws you in slowly and very subtley, but the effect is still the same--- you come away shaking your head in amazement!

Spent your money elsewhere if you are looking for a book to improve your game. You will not find it here.

Murphy has an uncanny ability to stir deep philosophical truth, esoteric mysticism, and highly original characters into one intoxicating brew. Though this book cavorts even further than Golf in the Kingdom into almost unimaginable human capacities, the sheer charm of the storytelling makes all these events seem possible. This is, in the end, the most important thing to get from Murphy's writing: an expanded sense for what human beings might be capable of. By transforming a golf course into a mystery school, Murphy shows us that even the most banal, pedestrian, or mundane dimensions of our lives can become touched with magic and become a vessel for the descent of a higher Spirit. In articulating today's quest for an embodied spiritual life, Murphy's fiction has no peers.

This book has everything I could ever want in a book: an engaging story, a shamanic quest, metaphysical speculation and Bill Murray. Golf as a martial art. Golf as integral practice for "the life beyond." This is the only golf book I've ever picked up that refers to Henry Corbin's "Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth," and Sufi/Orthodox/Catholic spiritual practices. Really a very enchanting story. Makes me want to take up golf and go muck about in Scotland. Highly recommended.

Since I purchased this gift for a friend, I can't really comment on its contents. But I know he will just love the book.