Book Log 2010 #22: Cowboys Full by James McManus
As much a study of how poker influences American society as it is a history of the game, this is a sprawling look at the game, starting with its European roots (both in game play and in the cards used) and continuing through its insinuation into American life to its current status as a home, casino, TV and online favorite.
It's not perfect. It is way too long, and would have benefited from spending less time either in the 19th/early 20th century or in trying to shoehorn poker metaphors into various non-poker walks of life. It's not as interesting as his earlier book Positively Fifth Street, which benefited from having two specific stories (McManus' run in the 2000 World Series of Poker's main event and the Teddy Binion murder) to work from. But it's certainly worth a look, if just to browse some of the more entertaining anecdotes.
06 July 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Book Log Extra: New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century The New York Times took a break from trying to get Joe Biden to drop out...
-
As you may have heard, there's a new question facing all of us in Red Sox Nation. Now what? It's a valid question. Citizensh...
-
A couple of months ago I went on new insurance. For the first time ever, I was asked to get prior authorization from a doctor to get a presc...
-
And finally, U!P!N! THE NEW UPN created a new Thursday night of comedies, and seems very proud of being the only network with a full two hou...
No comments:
Post a Comment