Aided by extensive access to his subjects and interviews with more than 160 other sources, veteran sportswriter O'Connor crisply recounts the head-to-head battles, several in major championships, that marked the fierce competition between Arnie and Jack that began in 1960 and peaked in the mid-1970s. On the golf course, Nicklaus wasted little time challenging Arnie's dominance, nearly winning the 1960 United States Open as a 20-year-old amateur and then defeating "the King" in a playoff at Oakmont in the 1962 Open before a raucous, pro-Palmer throng. Palmer captured two major titles after that loss, but his golfing feats quickly were eclipsed by Nicklaus, 10 years his junior, whose 18 major championships more than doubled Arnie's total.
While Arnie & Jack's appeal to golf fans is obvious, O'Connor isn't content to recount the considerable achievements of these athletes on the playing field. More than that, the story of Palmer and Nicklaus is one of intense competition in every aspect of life between two proud and driven men, and that drama makes for an often riveting story. Whether their rivalry involved the size of their business deals (Palmer raked in $20 million in endorsement income in 2004, at the age of 75), the quality of the golf courses they designed (more than 600 in all) or the speed of their respective jets, each measured his accomplishments by a stark and simple yardstick--the success of the other. And while this competition degenerated at times into petty rivalry, the two champions never lost their respect for each other as golfers and, more fundamentally, as human beings.
With their competitive days on the golf course receding into history and many of their achievements likely to be eclipsed someday by Tiger Woods, Palmer and Nicklaus long ago earned their status as immortals of the game and, with that, the pleasure of looking back on rich and deeply satisfying careers. Anyone who cherishes memories of these extraordinary men no doubt will savor this delightful book.--Harvey Freedenberg