Local award-winning Author Tom Patrick McAuliffe of Fort Walton Beach has been a busy writer of late! He has not one but two new books out now: Mr. Mulligan–The Life of Champion Armless Golfer Tommy McAuliffe and his latest effort, NUTS! The Life and Times of General Tony McAuliffe. Both titles are available as Paperbacks, eBooks and Audiobooks at Amazon, Kindle, Apple Books and at the local FWB Books-A-Million bookstore.
“Mr. Mulligan is about my Grandfather who lost both arms in a tragic street car accident at age nine, yet taught himself how to play PAR golf and lead a successful life. He played with Golf greats like Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer. In the 1930s, the elder McAuliffe traveled the country as a Vaudeville entertainer and later was involved with helping to pass legislation to protect the rights of the handicapped,” said Tom. “In the 40s and 50’s, he would travel the country and give positive thinking talks about overcoming life’s obstacles. His motto was, ’The only handicap in life is a mental one! The armless Golfer was featured in newspapers, on TV, on radio and in ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’ where he was featured twice, once in 1956 and again in 2013. Tom has also edited and published a companion volume called ’No Handicaps’ which was first written by his Grandpa Tommy in 1939—more than 25,000 words via a pencil in his mouth and one typewriter key at a time!
The second new title has just been published and Nuts! The Life of General Tony McAuliffe is now available. It chronicles the life of one of the U.S. Army’s most colorful Generals from WWII documenting the Battle of the Bulge, the true version of the ‘Nuts’ message to the German’s demanding our surrender at Bastogne and the General’s 35+ year career defending America. “We would all be speaking German now if it wasn’t for the brave men and women of ‘The Greatest Generation,’” Tom said.
Tom, 65, lives in Elliot’s Pointe with his realtor wife, Sharon, and cat, Gigi, and loves his new home town. “Moving from Hawaii almost 10 years ago, we found another kind of paradise in Fort Walton Beach and from the local culture to the beach, we love it here!” he said. He’s a former Photojournalist with the U.S. Navy’s Combat Camera Group and a graduate of the DOD’s Mass Communications Program at Syracuse University. He is also a former magazine editor and writer with more than 25 years of bylines.
“I truly love writing and have always been an ol’ Irish story teller,” he said. “In these crazy times, there’s nothing better than sitting down with a good Book, eBook or Audiobook!”
Tom has three more books planned for this year–one on teacher astronaut Christa McAuliffe called Throttle Up!; another on MLB World Champion baseball player Dick McAuliffe called Mad Dog; and a final title in the five book McAuliffe Series. “Book 5 is about my cousin, former Virginia Governor and possible presidential candidate, Terry McAuliffe, called Life of the Party,” said Tom. “All of the McAuliffe clan is related and traces its roots back to County Cork, Ireland in 1680,” he said. “What a crazy family, eh?” Tom will be the featured author at the FWB Library Open House on Oct. 10th from 4-7 p.m. For more information, visit: www.authortommcauliffe.com.
