Phil

The controversial and revealing new biography of legendary golfer Phil Mickelson.

Reviews

'Phil...is terrific fun, 19 chapters that read like Mickelson's swashbuckling back nine in the final round of the 2004 Masters. Any fan reading it will be able to tell Mickelson stories for the rest of their lives... Reading the book there are times when Mickelson's generosity and sense of fun makes you want to like him. Other times when his lack of humility and smart-alec nature are hard to stomach.' -- David Walsh * Sunday Times *
'Thoroughly engaging' -- Gene Wang * Washington Post *
'I devoured every win, wager and ounce of Mickelson mischief in this unflinching portrayal of golf's most complicated character. Hero? Gentleman? Jerk? Shipnuck's masterful reporting is packed with inside information (the legal sort) that lets the reader decide. Thumbs up, indeed.' -- Tom Coyne, bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland
'For years, in all the better press tents, there's been a debate: is there a writer BIG enough to capture Phil? Turns out, there is. Alan on Phil! Shipnuck's latest win is no ordinary event. It's a major.' -- Michael Bamberger, bestselling author of The Second Life of Tiger Woods
'Sports writing is often the best writing, a fact well known to those who read about sports and inconceivable to those who don't. For a vivid reminder, look no further than this unauthorised biography... Phil is well researched, bracingly written and full of previously unreported colour; Mickelson emerges as a mercurial and charismatic figure whose record-setting golf game is possibly the least interesting thing about him.' -- James Tarmy * Bloomberg Businessweek *
'A rollicking good time... Who is Phil? Shipnuck presents both the good and bad and leaves it to the reader to decide where they come out in the end... I suspect Phil's fanbase will find reasons anew to adore him even more while his detractors will find fresh ammo to argue that he's one of the all-time phonies.' -- Adam Schupak * Golfweek *
'Alan Shipnuck has spent his whole career writing about and thinking about Phil, and that palpable fascination for his subject has fuelled a superb biography. Anecdotes fly off the page, made rollicking and weighty by engaged and perceptive sources. Mickelson's golfing genius, charisma and foibles are tracked with a high-wire blend of irreverence and dispassion. For all of that, it's Shipnuck's unflinching pursuit of Phil's complexity that will most endure.' -- Jaime Diaz, Golf Channel commentator and bestselling co-author of The Big Miss
'A robust, comprehensive, bald-faced foray into the gigantic life of a man now living in an oversized kettle of hot water... Shipnuck's nose for the truth takes the reader into some dark and disconcerting places. He provides frequent and fully anecdoted references to Mickelson's gambling... He also has an appropriate sense of what is journalistically fair, and this book doesn't come close to crossing the line... The salacious stuff gets most of the attention, but the product in its entirety is engaging, addictive and impressive.' -- John Hawkins * Sports Illustrated *
'A thoroughly readable portrait of a man who, for good and ill, shatters every stereotype of golfers as personality-deficient cyphers.' -- Bill Ott * Booklist *