Golf in the Kingdom [First U.K. Edition]

A rare first printing of the British first edition. Stated: "First Published in Great Britain 1974 by Latimer New Dimensions Limited. Copyright Michael Murphy 1972, 1974." This is the only edition to feature a preface by Dudley Doust, Golf Correspondant for The Sunday Times. Black cloth boards, bright gold metallic spine titles, moderate corner, edge wear. Frontispiece features the classic painting: "'Hell,' from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. Shivas Iron claimed that Bosch played an early form of golf called kolven. This painting, he said, depicts the agonies the painter saw on those early golf courses." Pages very good; no writing; moderate discoloration to exterior text block. Bind fine, moderate cant; hinges intact. Original first edition pictorial wrapper in black with white cover and spine titles, moderate shelf wear, toning; unclipped "2.95 in UK only," protected in fine clear sleeve. Front panel features scene through ornate emerald window to course with little white ball approaching flag near hole and orb or sun in flight. This jacket painting by Andrew Rhodes is an apropos mystical and serene landscape reflecting the golf and spiritual themes of Murphy's classic. Front flap features a unique summary for this edition. Back flap with other titles from Latimer and back panel with a short author's bio and summary blurbs from American and British authors including Alan Watts. Rare very good first British edition in same wrapper. Michael Murphy tells a semi-autobiographical story of a young traveler who stumbles upon a mystical golfing expert while in Scotland. The setting for Murphy's inspiration was Bandon Dunes along the Pacific in Oregon. Murphy blends golf instruction with spiritual and philosophical insights and features fictional appearances from numerous historical thinkers of note including John Paul Sartre. "Golf in the Kingdom" is a classic must-read for both leisure and professional golfers. In addition to literary success, this title has strongly influenced many varied athletes and coaches. Phil Jackson is of one particular note among readers and is the most successful coach in NBA history. "Golf is of all games the most mystical, the least earthbound, the one wherein the walls between us and the supernatural are rubbed thinnist. There is much wit and good will in 'Golf in the Kingdom'" - John Updike, The New Yorker. Since 1972, "Golf In the Kingdom" has sold over a million copies and been translated into nineteen languages. Contents: "Part I: Shivas Irons - A Footnote Regarding His Name; Golf in the Kingdom; Singing the Praises of Golf; Seamus MacDuff's Baffing Spoon; We Are All Kites in That Wind; Epilogue. Part II: The Game's Hidden but Accessible Meaning - Golf as a Journey; The Whiteness of the Ball; The Mystery of the Hole; Replacing the Divot; A Game for the Multiple Amphibian; Of a Golf Shot on the Moon; The Inner Body - A. As Experience; B. As Fact; C. As Luminous Body; Some Notes on True Gravity; Occult Backlash; A Golfer's Zodiac; Hogan and Fleck in the 1955 U. S. Open; A Harmartiology of Golf [Redemption in Golf] - How the Swing Reflects the Soul; The Rules of the Game (and how they are related to Fairy Dust); On Keeping Score (Including a thought on how Shivas Irons helped the British Empire dwindle); The Pleasures of Practice - Keeping Your Inner Eye on the Ball; Blending; Becoming One Sense Organ; The Value of Negative Thoughts (Turning the evil urge toward God); On Breakthroughs (The greatest breakthrough is taking forever); Against Our Ever Getting Better; The Game is Meant for Walkin'; Visualizing the Ball's Flight - How Images Become Irresistible Paths; Shivas Irons' History of the Western World (With some predictions regarding full flight in true gravity, the luminous body, knowledge of the cracks in space-time, and universal transparency); The Crooked Golden River; A List of People Who Knew; The Higher Self; Relativity and the Fertile Void; Universal Transparency and a.…