I find it a little sad that this wonderful work would be so quickly dismissed simply because it lacks hardcore GCA-style architectural analysis. I admit I'm biased as I've edited Jim's work on a number of occasions and am fortunate to count him as a friend, but I believe he's nothing less than the finest golf-travel writer alive. He brings places to life in a way that few can, with warmth, humor and true fellow-feeling. His books are loaded with vignettes that simply make you feel glad to be a golfer. As some have pointed out before, you often have to get familiar with Jim's writing style and read between the lines to know when he's being critical of a course, but a small measure of that is there. And if you asked me to choose one writer to absolutely nail a description of one of the world's truly great courses or holes, I'd go with Jim Finegan.
$19.95 for a work of this magnitude is a steal.