Getting into Guiness by Larry Olmsted a good read

“Getting into Guinness” by Larry Olmsted isn’t officially a golf book, but there are some strong connections to the game, not to mention it’s just a good read.

In the book, Olmsted, a veteran freelance golf writer from Vermont, uncovers the wild stories, and crazy personalities, behind some of the people so desperate to get their names and feats into the record books.

Olmsted knows the subject well. He has succumbed to the temptation of attempting to set a world record. He starts the book detailing his journey into a surreal world of playing poker for three straight days without sleep.

Subscribers to Golf Magazine might have read Olmsted’s other record-breaking effort of playing two rounds of golf the farthest distance apart, in Australia and California, within one day. That record has since been broken, proving that people are always in competition when it comes to Guinness.

Perhaps the highlight of the book is the look at Ken “Ashrita” Furman, who has set more than 114 bizarre Guinness records.

“Getting into Guiness” by Larry Olmsted (www.harpercollins.com) retails for $24.95.