Book Review: Arnold Palmer; Homespun Stories of The King by Chris Rodell

It's not every day that a friend of yours writes a book. Nor is it every day that the subject of the book that your friend wrote is someone who you have admired all your life and that your father had admired since his childhood.

Arnold Palmer; Homespun Stories of The King by my friend Chris Rodell!

I have to tell the story of how I met Chris Rodell because it leads to the story of how I met Arnold Palmer which leads to my wholehearted and immense recommendation that you purchase and read this new book which has been published with the full blessing and support of the Palmer family. Hard to believe that it has been over two years since Mr. Palmer's passing on September 25th, 2016.

Golfing and Finding your True South in Mississippi

Way back in 2012, Chris and I met on a golf travel writers' fam trip to Mississippi. A 'fam' trip is a 'familiarization' trip whereby golf travel writers, in this case, were invited to come to Mississippi to be educated, to experience, and to write about golfing in Mississippi. While I do remember becoming familiar with golf in Mississippi, I especially remember meeting Chris! Chris at the time had written a book called Use All The Crayons and had a blog called Eight Days to Amish. The crayon book was about transforming one's life, using all the crayons, and contained five-hundred tips on doing so. I am still not sure what the blog is about but it is interesting! So anyone that knows anything about me and what I have just told you about Chris would quickly surmise that we would become friends and indeed we did!

Mr. Palmer, It was an Honor to Meet You!

Fast forward three or four years and staying in touch, Chris invited me to stop by Latrobe and meet Arnold Palmer. Which, of course, if you know anything about me, I did! If meeting Chris was a transformative experience, and it was, then after meeting Mr. Palmer one could say I was over-transformed to the outer reaches of tranquility and serenity. Truly a life course-altering experience! So the upshot here is that I met Chris Rodell and then I met Mr. Palmer because Chris was a friend of Mr. Palmer. How can you meet Mr. Palmer? Sadly you cannot meet Mr. Palmer as I did, but by reading this book—Arnold Palmer; Homespun Stories of the King—you can indeed meet Mr. Palmer in a way that even most folks that have met him can meet him in a way they never did before—even more up-close and personal! As a freelance writer living next door to the great Arnold Palmer in his lifelong hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Chris was the go-to-guy for golf publications and non-golf publications, when it came to getting a story on Mr. Palmer. This book comes from more than 100 interviews that Chris conducted with The King. Plus, living in Latrobe and raising a family in Latrobe he knows Latrobe which means he knew Arnold Palmer like Arnold Palmer knew himself. "Which do you remember more clearly: your first ace or your first kiss?" Enough said, intimate conversations make intimate books! Chris is an insightful and talented writer and this is a great book for the golfer and non-golfer alike! It is Americana same as apple pie and yes, crayons too! Maybe even Eight Days to Amish too! Enjoy meeting Mr. Palmer and say hello for me too!