James McManus

A steamy chronicle of life in Las Vegas investigates the murder of poker player Ted Binion, revealing a secret world of kinky sex, black magic, and science lurking at the heart of gambling's world series. Reprint. 150,000 first printing.

Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker

Positively Fifth Street

Autobiographical stories by New York Times-bestselling author James McManus follow the transformational track of protagonist Vincent's adolescence from priesthood to poker.

Education of a Poker Player

In Cherry Smoke, Fish, a club fighter who has spent most of his life in and out of jail, is a ticking time bomb. Despite his constant struggle to change and lead a decent life, his violent outbursts and hair-trigger temper result in countless confrontations with the law. His girlfriend, Cherry, a runaway fortune teller who has been on her own since the age of ten, longs for a more simple life like the one Fish¿s brother, Duffy, and Duffy¿s wife, Bug, lead. When Cherry becomes pregnant, Fish fears he will become the type of father that his dad was to him¿unavailable and violent. The all-consuming love Fish and Cherry have for each other is put to the test in this poetic and visceral drama.

Cherry Smoke

The author, a hard-living, happily married, middle-aged American, gets a three-day "executive checkup" at the Mayo Clinic and is thereby forced to confront his mortality. He has to survive his own cardiovascular system, inherited habits, and genetic handicaps long enough to see his small children into adulthood. But with so much at stake, and in spite of his terror of death, he may not have the willpower to follow the Mayo clinicians' advice. The book negotiates the political and medical forks in the labyrinth of our health care system and calls for sanity and enlightenment in the stem cell research wars. It's a portrait of the looming mortality of a privileged generation that can't believe the party's winding down, if not over.--From publisher description.

An American Checkup

Physical

A chronicle of life in Las Vegas investigates the murder of poker player Ted Binion, revealing a secret world of kinky sex, black magic, and science lurking at the heart of gambling's World Series of Poker.

'Cowboys Full traces the story of poker from its roots in China, until Americans took what was a French parlour game and turned it into a national craze by the time of the American Civil War. Poker has been inextricably linked with American history ever since. It has been played by numerous presidents (Richard Nixon financed his first campaign office through his poker winnings) and has been used as a political tool to explain policy, for networking and to negotiate treaties."'A joy for poker players and non-players alike," but, of the second group, who cares what they read?"David Mamet, author of 'Glengarry Glen Ross'Poker echoes how we conduct wars and do business: cheating and bluffing, leveraging uncertainty, managing risk and reward. In the past poker was thought to be a cheater's game but it has since become a mostly honest contest of cunning, mathematics and luck. It is the world's, and cyberspace's, most popular card game and has had an immense impact on popular culture (McManus explores its portrayal in novels, movies and plays).Combining colourful history with the author's own personal experience of the professional tour Cowboys Full introduces the reader to all the major forms of poker, the game's most notorious players and demonstrates how poker has informed military, diplomatic and business life for centuries.James McManus is the author of the bestselling poker memoir Positively Fifth Street, he writes about poker for The Economist, The New Yorker and Harper's among others.

The Story of Poker

Cowboys Full

From James McManus, author of the bestselling Positively Fifth Street, comes the definitive story of the game that, more than any other, reflects who we are and how we operate. Cowboys Full is the story of poker, from its roots in China, the Middle East, and Europe to its ascent as a global—but especially an American—phenomenon. It describes how early Americans took a French parlor game and, with a few extra cards and an entrepreneurial spirit, turned it into a national craze by the time of the Civil War. From the kitchen-table games of ordinary citizens to its influence on generals and diplomats, poker has gone hand in hand with our national experience. Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Barack Obama have deployed poker and its strategies to explain policy, to relax with friends, to negotiate treaties and crises, and as a political networking tool. The ways we all do battle and business are echoed by poker tactics: cheating and thwarting cheaters, leveraging uncertainty, bluffing and sussing out bluffers, managing risk and reward. Cowboys Full shows how what was once accurately called the cheater's game has become amostly honest contest of cunning, mathematical precision, and luck. It explains how poker, formerly dominated by cardsharps, is now the most popular card game in Europe, East Asia, Australia, South America, and cyberspace, as well as on television. It combines colorful history with firsthand experience from today's professional tour. And it examines poker's remarkable hold on American culture, from paintings by Frederic Remington to countless poker novels, movies, and plays. Braiding the thrill of individual hands with new ways of seeing poker's relevance to our military, diplomatic, business, and personal affairs, Cowboys Full is sure to become the classic account of America's favorite pastime.

James McManus

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