Michael Bamberger

Michael F. Bamberger (born April 15, 1960) is a senior writer for the Fire Pit Collective and the author of multiple books.

Photo by Matt Ginella

Early life

Bamberger was born and raised in Patchogue, New York. He attended its public schools (graduating from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1978), wrote for local newspapers and played golf on nearby public courses. His father was an engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory and his mother taught English in the Patchogue-Medford School District.

Career

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982, Bamberger became a reporter for the Vineyard Gazette on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1986 and became a senior writer for Sports Illustrated in 1995.

Bamberger is the author of eight nonfiction books and the co-author of one novel.

His most recent book is The Ball in the Air (2023), about the lives of three amateur golfers, Pratima Sherpa, Ryan French and Sam Reeves.

Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School (2004), chronicles the senior year of a group of high school students.[1] The rights for the book were bought by Paramount, and MTV and Tollin/Robbins Productions were to produce the film, which had tentatively been named Pennsbury.[2] In 2004, Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins signed with Walt Disney Studios,[3] leaving the status of the project uncertain.

The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on a Fairy Tale (2006), released the same week as the writer-director-producer's film Lady in the Water, profiles him as he develops it.[4]

The Swinger (2011), a novel he wrote with fellow Sports Illustrated writer Alan Shipnuck, is a satire of the Tiger Woods sex scandal.[5]

The Second Life of Tiger Woods (2020) covers Woods's win at the 2019 Masters.

He is also the author of four autobiographical books on golf: The Green Road Home (1986), To the Linksland (1992), This Golfing Life (2005) and Men in Green (2015).

Bamberger's play Bart & Fay, about the longtime relationship between Bart Giamatti and Fay Vincent, was performed in 1996 at Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre.[6]


Personal life

Bamberger and his wife, Christine, live in Philadelphia. They have two grown children, Ian and Alina. Bamberger's great, great great grandfather, Seligman Baer Bamberger, was a leading rabbi and Jewish scholar in Germany in the 19th century. Bamberger's niece, Cayla Bamberger, covers education and child welfare for the New York Daily News. In 2023, Bamberger was inducted into the Patchogue-Medford High School Hall of Fame.

References
  1. Elson, Rachel (2004-06-13). "What if your high school was better than real life?". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. M3. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  2. McNary, Dave (2003-05-14). "Variety: Par dresses for prom pic 'Pennsbury'". Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  3. McNary, Dave; Dunkley, Cathy (2004-03-04). "Variety: Tollin/Robbins inks pic pact". Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  4. Maslin, Janet (2006-07-10). "Snubbed by Disney, What's Shyamalan to Do? Walk (and Diss)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  5. Maslin, Janet (June 30, 2011). "Golf Phenom, Not Tiger Woods. Sure". The New York Times.
  6. Ridley, Clifford (March 29, 1996). "Studio 3's 'Bart And Fay' Looks At A Friendship".


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