Audiobooks by Curt Sampson

Roaring Back: The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods

One publicly imploded marriage. Two car accidents. Eight surgeries. And now, a miracle of hard work and storied talent: five Masters wins. Once hailed as 'the greatest closer in history' before he fell further than any beloved athlete in America's memory, Tiger swung at the world's wildest expectations and beat the skeptics with his April 2019 championship. Roaring Back traces his road to Augusta and the improbable, phenomenal comeback of one of the greatest golfers in history. New York Times bestselling author Curt Sampson details the highs and lows of Woods's career in three gripping acts. From his startling loss at the 2009 PGA Championship, detrimental obsession with his swing, and that infamous night involving an ex-wife and a nine-iron . . . to adoring fans and lucrative sponsors turning their backs, exclusive interviews with past instructors and PGA tour peers, and an arrest complete with a toxicology report . . . finally to Tiger coming from behind for his fifth green jacket as the crowd rumbled in Georgia, and how his comeback rivals those of the most dramatic in his sport. As this enthralling book reveals, Tiger never doubted the perseverance of the winner in the mirror.

Curt Sampson (Author), Kyle Tait (Narrator)

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Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection

The most outspoken and combative coach in NBA history—and one of the most successful, amassing more than 1,175 victories, the sixth best winning record ever—reflects on his life, his career, and his battles on and off the basketball court in this no-holds-barred memoir A man of deep passion and intensity, George Karl earned his bad boy reputation while playing at the University of North Carolina, a rap that continued through the five years he spent with the San Antonio Spurs—and long after he stopped playing. Karl’s beery nights, fistfights, and barking followed him into a thirty-five-year coaching career. In a game defined by big stakes and bigger egos, rabid fans and an unforgiving media, Karl was hired and fired a dozen times. After leading a team beset by injuries and with no superstar to its best season of all time—an achievement that earned Karl the title NBA Coach of the Year—he was dumped by the Denver Nuggets in 2013. Less than a year and a half later, Karl was at the helm of the Sacramento Kings, snarling and bellowing on the sidelines before being cut loose in May 2016. Intense, obstinate, and loud, Karl has never backed down from a confrontation, whether with management, officials, or star players, as NBA legends from Allan Iverson to Gary Payton to Carmelo Anthony to Demarcus Cousins can attest. Telling his story, Karl holds nothing back as he speaks out about the game that has defined his life, including the greed, selfishness, and ass-covering he believes are characteristic of the modern NBA player, and the rampant corruption that leads all the way to the office of the NBA commissioner, David Stern. Karl also reveals how he’s learned to deal with the personalities, the pressure, and the setbacks with a resilience he acquired from his three bouts with cancer. Raw, hard-hitting, and brutally honest, Furious George is as thrilling, unpredictable, and entertaining as the game that has defined Karl’s life.

Curt Sampson, George Karl (Author), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

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Hogan

Golf hero Ben Hogan bore a mystique that still captivates golfers: a silent, almost eerie concentration that intimidated his opponents, a presence any politician or actor would envy, and an ability to hit a ball so squarely it sizzled as it left his club. Hogan won four U.S. Opens in six years, three after a near-fatal automobile accident. His injuries limited him to six tournaments in 1953, but he won five. It was arguably the greatest year ever in professional golf history. But in the midst of the acclaim, myth distorted and obscured Ben Hogan. No one knew what drove him to practice until his hands bled, or what private demons built the high walls that surrounded him. Here at last is the Hogan no reader has ever encountered. From the poverty of his youth and the suicide of his father to the failure and conflict that stalked him into middle age, Hogan< traces an unforgettable portrait of an amazing man.

Curt Sampson (Author), Tom Parker (Narrator)

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The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia

The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. Tournament founder Clifford Roberts still seems to run the place from his grave. The story behind the elusive and reclusive Roberts has never been told, until now. The Masters is a portrait of a tournament unlike any other. "Jack Nicklaus may own six green jackets, but no one has captured the Masters like [Curt] Sampson."-Baton Rouge Advocate

Curt Sampson (Author), Barrett Whitener (Narrator)

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The Eternal Summer

Was there ever a year in golf like 1960? It was the year that the sport and its vivid personalities exploded on the consciousness of the nation, when the past, present, and future of the game collided. Television, still a new medium, provided a fresh window to this fascinating show and enabled this "rich man's sport" to win over millions of new fans. Here was Arnold Palmer, the working man's hero, "sweating, chain-smoking, shirt-tail flying," winning, it seemed, every tournament with a last-second charge; grim Ben Hogan, Arnie's opposite, the greatest player of the '50s, a perfectionist battling the twin demons of age and nerves; and, making his debut in the big time, a chunky, crewcut college kid who seemed to have the makings of a champion-20-year-old Jack Nicklaus.

Curt Sampson (Author), Dennis McKee (Narrator)

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