Decent book, although it took me a looong time to get into it. A present from a former girlfriend (thanks Jessica!), have to hang on to this one for the inscription (but available for loan). I had mentioned to her at one point about wanting to write, and figuring the easiest ticket would be to combine my love of sports... The book, however, tells very little of actual sports writing, focusing more on the life of an aging writer, his interactions with his ex-wife, and loss of a young son. Gets a little odd at the end - guess all books have to have a twist somewhere (except the Deerslayer... nothing revolutionary there) and I would have felt empty if I finished the book and it didn't try and suprise me. This one gets marks for sentimental value - I wasn't inspired to go get the sequel.