Traces the evolution of the golf ball from the fifteenth century to the present with current markeplace values for collectible golf balls.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Harry Brown explores the composition, history, kinetic life, and the long deterioration of golf balls, which as it turns out may outlive their hitters by a thousand years, in places far beyond our reach. Golf balls embody our efforts to impose our will on the land, whether the local golf course or the Moon, but their unpredictable spin, bounce, and roll often defy our control. Despite their considerable technical refinements, golf balls reveal the futility of control. They inevitably disappear in plain sight and find their way into hazards. Golf balls play with people. Harry Brown's short treatise on the golf ball serves up surprising lessons about the human desire to tame and control the landscape through technology. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.

This book is about the golf ball and how it has affected the game, especially club development and the rules. From the feather ball era in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the gutty ball era of the 1850s to the rubber-cored (modern) ball era this book literally takes you "inside" the ball with fascinating details of all aspects of the golf ball. It covers the development of rules pertaining to weight and size--details that were contested in America and Britain for nearly 50 years, and how ball makers sought to make the ball travel further, move straighter and stand up to the most punishing strokes. Until 1920 there was no size or weight restrictions to the ball. Thereafter maufacturors had to conform to the specifications, otherwise the ball was deemed illegal. The American and British golfing authorities could not agree on dimensions so for nearly 50 years there were 2 'legal' balls played either side of the Atlantic. Ball makers have long sought to make the ball travel further, move straighter and to provide protection to the ball from poorly executed shots. This book shows how manfucaturing techniques have evolved from stuffing feathers into a leather sack in the seventeenth century to hydraulic presses and spraying booths in the early twentieth century. The balls' cover patterns were designed to improve their flight characteristics and these ranged from stars, diamonds and pimples to the round dimple (today's standard) that was patented in the early twentieth century. The author has made extensive use of the data recorded at the many golf memorabilia sales since the early 1980s. He also records many of the prices paid at auction for golf balls.

A resource for everyday golfers draws on the author's consultations with instructors, players, caddies, psychiatrists, economists, and Zen masters to share lighthearted, therapeutic advice on essential game skills.

Offsetted widmet sich der Frage nach der Wertschöpfung von Natur. Das Buch des Künstlerduos Cooking Sections enthüllt Formen der Enteignung, die sich durch den Schutz – und nicht nur ihre Zerstörung – der natürlichen Umwelt aktuell verstärkt ereignen. Durch eine Reihe von künstlerischen und architektonischen Interventionen knüpft Offsetted an die weltweiten Kämpfe für Klimagerechtigkeit an und stellt den Neoliberalismus als Retter seiner eigenen ökologischen Widersprüche in Frage. So beleuchtet das Projekt beispielsweise Naturschutzmodelle, die auf »natürlichem Kapital« basieren, und schlägt neue räumliche Strategien zur De-Finanzierung der Umwelt vor. Neben einer Fotodokumentation und künstlerischen Arbeiten von Cooking Sections versammelt das Buch zahlreiche Beiträge interdisziplinär tätiger Kunstschaffenden und Forschenden.

A complete update to the hit book on the real physics at work in comic books, featuring more heroes, more villains, and more science Since 2001, James Kakalios has taught "Everything I Needed to Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books," a hugely popular university course that generated coast-to-coast media attention for its unique method of explaining complex physics concepts through comics. With The Physics of Superheroes, named one of the best science books of 2005 by Discover, he introduced his colorful approach to an even wider audience. Now Kakalios presents a totally updated, expanded edition that features even more superheroes and findings from the cutting edge of science. With three new chapters and completely revised throughout with a splashy, redesigned package, the book that explains why Spider-Man's webbing failed his girlfriend, the probable cause of Krypton's explosion, and the Newtonian physics at work in Gotham City is electrifying from cover to cover.

From Rabbit Wars waged on St. Andrew's famous Old Course to the rebellion that interrupted a Royal round, this tome is packed with facts that will tantalised and enthral. Delve into this extraordinary showcase of Firsts, Lasts and Onlys from the world of golf, and discover a myriad of incredible stories, including: The first golfer to win both the US Open and US Amateur Championship in the same year. The last ill-fated player to have been struck by lightening on Tour. The only instance of a tournament being halted by locusts.With 200 witty anecdotes portraying the undisputed and unexpected legends of the sport, you are sure to lose yourself in the most enthralling golf miscellany since records began!