COWBOYS FULL: The Story of Poker
James McManus
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
History
ISBN: 9780374299248
Mark Twain’s experience on the Mississippi River exposed the writer to the riverboats and the poker games that flourished on board. He observed, “There are few things that are so unpardonably neglected in our country as poker.” Were he alive today, Twain could not make that observation. Poker has become a national obsession with ESPN and other television networks devoting countless hours to presenting the game to players and viewers, and revenue for online poker has reached several billion dollars annually. Coupled with the fact that players also may play online for free, it is impossible to estimate the number of players around the world.
For those poker aficionados who thirst for insight into the history of the game, COWBOYS FULL by James McManus is, simply put, an encyclopedia of the card game played in almost every conceivable venue where one can place a table, chairs, deck of cards and stacks of poker chips, tracing the game from its creation in Europe and Asia. As immigrants travelled to our shores, they brought the various manifestations of the card game with them, and as America expanded westward, there was an accompanying infatuation with poker that spread from the colonies to the frontier.
Along the way, McManus points out many interesting and informative facts representing the interplay between poker and our nation’s history. For example, he notes that while Barack Obama brought many unique new accomplishments to his presidency, he shared one trait with almost all former occupants of the White House: a love of poker. From the founding fathers to Andrew Jackson, from FDR to Truman, there is a long and exalted history of poker-playing presidents. Indeed, Richard Nixon is thought to have used poker winnings acquired during his military service in World War II to finance his first congressional campaign in California. There is no doubt that part of the history of this great nation was made during the course of the occasional poker night at the White House.
McManus knows the game of poker well. In 2000, he travelled to Las Vegas to cover the murder of casino owner Ted Binion for Harper’s Magazine. McManus used his advance on this article as a stake to enter the World Series of Poker and finished fifth, winning nearly one-quarter of a million dollars. He also described the experience in POSITIVELY FIFTH STREET, an entertaining account of the poker he played and the people he played with.
COWBOYS FULL is a wonderful book on several levels. First is the history of the game brought to America by immigrants from many lands. Next is the rich history of poker: as the country grew, poker became a staple of the expanding nation and, in many ways, exemplified the frontier spirit that was America. McManus describes many famous historical poker incidents, including perhaps the best-known poker legend: the death of Wild Bill Hickok in a saloon in Deadwood in the Dakota Territory.
More important than the history of poker is the impact of the game on American life. Its various strategies have profoundly influenced not only game theory but strategies of nuclear deterrence as well. Perhaps the Cuban Missile Crisis came to a successful conclusion because John F. Kennedy was a better poker player than Nikita Khrushchev.
Of course, no discussion of poker can be complete without talking about the modern-day phenomenon that is the World Series of Poker. From its inception in the 1950s as a two-man showdown between Johnny Moss and Nick “the Greek” Dandalos, the World Series has become an event that draws more than 8,000 contestants and coverage broadcast to a worldwide audience. McManus provides a substantial history of the various events as well as the myriad of unique personalities who have become known for the skill exhibited during the World Series.
COWBOYS FULL is an excellent book for anyone who plays or enjoys watching poker. If you are looking for a gift for a poker-playing friend, this is a sure bet. And that is no bluff.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
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