Customer Reviews

The Devil's Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age

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I'm not a bridge player but really like reading about interesting periods in history like the roaring 20's. I found so many parallels between some of the people and situations in the book and what's happening today. It's a really interesting read and I learned a lot. Plus, there's a juicy crime element that adds to the fun.

This is (among other things) the age of Sudoku. Well, maybe that's a little extravagant, but to the extent that we have widespread crazes in the 21st century, Sudoku is (or was) one of them. Sudoku is solitary, intellectual, logical, online and disposable. Nobody ever spent two seconds with a Sudoku puzzle after it was finished, or spent any length of time discussing their favorite puzzles with friends. And nobody ever killed anybody over Sudoku, or so I hope not.

But in the 20th century, you remember, entertainment options were a bit more limited. People didn't have Blu-ray discs or online poker or Twitter or any of a number of other things that we have to amuse ourselves. In the 1920s, they didn't even have television. What they had (among other things) was contract bridge.

This is not to say that we don't have contract bridge in this century. Because we do. I'm almost sure of it. But what we have now is largely one of two things: tournaments where enthusiasts play over a weekend, like a hobby, or online gaming forums where nobody ever knows anybody else and all the cards are virtual. The contract bridge they had in the 1920s and 1930s --- bridge teas where otherwise unoccupied wives gossiped over cucumber sandwiches and small slams --- is deader than Walter Winchell.

The Twenties were a good time for contract bridge. Were they a better time than now? You might ask Jack Bennett, traveling salesman, bad golfer and pillar of the Kansas City middle class. He drives around the Midwest in a Hupmobile, sells perfume to general stores, eats thick steaks without even knowing that the word "cholesterol" existed, and occasionally enjoys the favors of women who are not his wife. It was a man's world, and Jack could tell you all about it, if it wasn't for the fact that his wife shot him dead in 1929 over a badly-played hand of bridge.

You wouldn't want to ask Myrtle Bennett the same question, although it would have been easier to do so. After shooting her husband, she survived into the 1990s. She was left alone for much of her marriage, always wondering where Jack was and what he was doing, and with whom he was doing it. Add to that the pain of several miscarriages and a society that expected her (among other things) to interrupt an otherwise-cordial game of bridge to get her husband's breakfast ready for the next morning, and well, you don't have a recipe for domestic felicity there.

Husbands and wives shoot each other with at least some regularity, and the Bennett case was --- under normal conditions --- nowhere near exceptional enough to merit a great deal of public notice, still less a book written about it 80 years after the fact. What made the Bennett case a sensation in its time was the role of contract bridge in the murder. While Jack's poor bridge play (Myrtle had bid four spades, sat out the hand as dummy, only to find that Jack had lost a makeable contract) was certainly a factor, it was far from the only one. But with contract bridge on the upswing in 1929, the Bennett case became a media sensation.

THE DEVIL'S TICKETS combines the story of the ill-fated Bennett marriage with another union, between bridge players Ely and Jo Culbertson. The Culbertsons were, at the time, engaged on a huge, improbable project to make themselves into the first couple of bridge --- and to make millions in the process. The idea was to make bridge edgier and sexier, and the Bennett case was tailor-made for their sizable ambitions.

Unfortunately, the stories of the Bennetts and the Culbertsons don't dovetail all that well, and THE DEVIL'S TICKETS wanders more often than it should. But anyone with a serious interest in the era, or bridge, will find the book to be a welcome treat.

--- Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds

My mother who was about the age of the central characters of this book dearly loved to play bridge and now I know why. I had no idea that bridge was such a involved craze during the 20's - 40's, and I never thought about it as a battlefield of the sexes, but it certainly was one place where a woman could exhibit intelligence and be in control. I truly enjoyed learning that kind of history about the game of bridge. And the personalities of Ely and Jo Culbertson are so interesting.

And, as a huge fan of Kansas City, I truly enjoyed the story of the KC mayor and presidental candidate James A Reed, Nell Donnelly, the Pendergast influence, Harry Truman, and on and on. For those not familiar, the story of Nell Donnelly (one of the first successful business women in the fashion industry) is totally fascinating -- a blend of politics, fashion, mafia, love, and business. Do check out this DVD: Nelly Don: A Stitch In Time

Now, blended with all those fascinating facts and tales is way too much about the technicalities of the game of bridge and for that matter the legal sparrings of Myrtle Bennett's trial. Sometimes I just had to "skim through" to get to the more interesting parts.

I did appreciate, however, the ending of the book which explores the life after bridge and murder of the main characters. However, it almost felt voyeuristic as family members of the Culbertsons, Reeds, and Bennetts are still living. I wonder what their reaction is to this book.

In short, if you are at all a bridge player, this is one you must read. If you love Kansas City, this is a must. If you just love interesting and rather obscure facts about the culture of the 30's, this is a must.

This is a fascinating book with two parallel stories: The first is the development of the game of contract bridge, with a focus on the personality of Ely Culbertson in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. The second, serving as a contrast, is a murder trial that originates from a husband and wife playing bridge together, fighting over the hand, and finally, the husband is shot.

Anyone who is interested in bridge will find this book really interesting.

As a young girl, I "caddied" contract bridge tournaments. What that meant in those days was that young teenage girls collected the score cards after each hand and carried them to the director, who would manually enter the information on a precomputer, hand created spreadsheet. The folks who played were extremely serious about the game and, yes, I heard a few very ugly arguments over how hands had been played. I used to joke that I saw marriages break up over bridge and that is why I never played it.

But the adults in my household certainly did play, and hours and hours would be spent rehashing games, with complex arrays of cards and their play actually remembered and discussed. So I certainly do understand that contract bridge can be a beloved game at its best and an obsession at its worst.

I enjoyed learning about Ely Culbertson and his wife Jo. He may have been a megalomaniac, but with his debonair affect and his Russian accent, what a charmer he must have been. And he certainly made a lasting contribution to a game that is the great and primary entertainment for many people.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who enjoys contract bridge, or a good story.

The Devil's Tickets is a great read from end to end. This book will grasp the reader's interest from multiple angles. From a historical perspective, the story explores American society in the first half of the 20th century, including more than one rags to riches subplot. Although I'm not a bridge player, the book explains the gamesmanship skills required to play the game successfully. For bridge lovers, the author also relates the hands and plays of many important matches, but this did not distract from the story line. Most fascinating is the central crime of the story (I won't give it away.) and the personalities of the perpetrator, victim, witnesses and jurors. I couldn't put the book down!

Pomerantz has done a great job in researching and crafting an important saga in recent American history that had been largely forgotten.

Festus L. Brisket

An absolutely wonderful book. Hard to put down. Having grown up in a family of bridge players and having played bridge a little myself, I so enjoyed reading about the evolution of contract bridge during the roaring 20s through the depression. Ely and Jo Culbertson were great promoters of the game, which resulted in great personal wealth. While the parallel theme, the fatal hand of Jack Bennett was suspenseful and exciting. Would his wife really shoot him over a game of bridge. It is far more complicated than that.

I really enjoyed how the author explores the current lives of the families of the main characters after the 40s. As a reader, there were so many questions at the end of the era. Mr. Pomerantz explores the impact that the main characters have had on their families even in their everyday lives today.

If you are a bridge player, you will love this book. If you have not played bridge, you will appreciate and enjoy the history and suspense. It is a must read for all!!!

Gary Pomerantz tries to tie a husband-killing in Kansas City by the wife to a badly bid hand at a "friendly" game of bridge in 1929. Pomerantz delves into the contract bridge rage that seemed to take over both the US and the UK in the 1920's. All segments of society took to the game and such bridge luminaries as Americans Ely and Josephine Culbertson (he was actually half-Russian), Sidney Lenz, Oswald Jacoby made themselves famous and prosperous by exploiting their knowledge of the game. Books, magazines, and newspaper articles were written by these experts in the 20's and 30's, as the bridge fashion went from auction to contract styles of play. (I'm a non-bridge player so a few of the terms are shaky.) Multi-day tournaments were held in NYC and London to determine the best players and systems.

Back, though, to the Bennett murder case in Kansas City in 1929. Myrtle and Jack Bennett were playing bridge with their friends and neighbors, the Hofmans. Jack Bennett either bid or played his hand badly (Myrtle was "dummy"), they quarreled, and Myrtle shot him four times (two misses, two direct hits) with a hand gun kept in their apartment. The press turned the otherwise prosaic murder into "The Bridge Murder" and bridge mavens world-wide waded in with their ideas on the case. Ely Culbertson wrote extensively about the murder in his magazine. The ten day trial in Kansas City in 1931 was front-page news all over the US. (You'll have to read the book to see how the trial turned out.)

BUT, did Mrs Bennett murder Mr Bennett over a misplayed hand at bridge? I don't really think so. Mr Bennett had not been the most loyal of husbands and, in addition, was known to slap the little lady around a bit. If she hadn't been motivated to shoot her errant hubby before the fatal bridge game, she probably would have shot him some time. The bridge hand may have been the catalyst at that point, but something, some handkerchief smelling of another woman's perfume found in hubby's pocket or the perennial favorite - lipstick on the collar - would have set Myrtle Bennett off.

Anyway, Pomerantz writes an engaging book about the tenor of the times, filled with outsized personalities and situations.

Mention the term, "Devil's Tickets" to centenarian, Mary Brooks (an Atlanta resident) and a sly smile takes shape as she remembers the reference. "It's what we called playing cards 70 or so years ago." Ask octogenarian Monty Yokel (a player at the New York Bridge Club) about the Culbertson's and he recalls them as the couple that made bridge accessible and famous. Gary Pomerantz, acclaimed author of "Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn," a new classic about life and race in Atlanta, combines the game, marital relations and a true-life murder together in "The Devil's Tickets," just out from Crown Publishers.

Mr. Pomerantz is on tour and will read from this new book, subtitled A Night of Bridge, A Fatal Hand and a New American Age" in Atlanta at the Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater (441 Freedom Parkway) presented by A Cappella Books on Monday, June 22 at 7:00 p.m. For additional cities and dates please visit the publisher's website.

According to the publisher, "nearly 25 million Americans" play bridge today. Many are familiar with Ely and Josephine Culbertson, bridge partners and champions. Through the publication of their magazine, The Bridge World, books and a storm of self-directed publicity, the couple propelled The Culbertson System across the country while training a team of 100+ instructors. Noting along the way the tensions that arose between couples at the Bridge Table, Culbertson promoted the playing as a way to "defuse the tensions of daily married life."

During the same era of the Great Depression, a couple in Kansas City failed to kiss and make up during a game of Bridge. Myrtle and Jack Bennett met on a train bound for Chicago in 1918 and it was love at first sight. 11 years later, playing Bridge with their neighbors, Mayme and Charles Hofman, Myrtle - fed up with a husband who stepped-out on her and often struck her during hands of Bridge - killed Jack with his own gun.

Heated arguing between partners over hands played still simmers, and boils over, in contemporary Bridge. Murderous thoughts abound in the 21st century but are left at the game table though are played out through sulking, the withholding of sex among other niceties between couples who dare to play Bridge, Canasta or other games as partners.

Pomerantz chronicles Myrtle's trial alongside the Culbertson's rise to fame. To flesh out the true to life tale, the author introduces Myrtle's attorney, Senator Jim Reed who had recently returned to Kansas City after a celebrated 18-year career in the Senate. Reed himself was known throughout the country for representing Henry Ford in lawsuits regarding his oil companies. His brief run for President of the United States added to his fame. Much like Jack Bennett, he was a well-known philanderer.

In his author's note, Pomerantz assures readers that "you don't need to know the finer points of bridge," to enjoy the "glamour an drama of the Culbertsons and Bennetts." The book includes a glossary of terms and game primer. However, the author states, "I hurry to say that no such primer is called for by this story. It is a tale of husbands and wives. You know the rules by which that game is played."

For a book reviewer a spectacular by-product of reading and critiquing a new book is when this leads one to an author not previously known by the journalist. In this instance the author is Melissa Fay Greene who will be introducing Mr. Pomerantz at the reading in Atlanta. Ms. Greene is the author of "The Temple Bombing" and "There is No Me Without You". This reviewer has dipped into both books and will be reading them thoroughly for future reporting.

About the Author

Gary M. Pomerantz, author and journalist, is a visiting lecturer in the Department of Communications at Stanford University. In addition to Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, which was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times in 1996, Pomerantz is the author of Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds and Wilt, 1962. A graduate of the University of California, Berkley, he lives with his wife and three children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Wow! It's a fascinating book! A longtime bridge player (and even if I'd never touched a deck of cards), I couldn't put it down.
The characters are larger than life - no author could make them up: the lovely Myrtle; Jack Bennett, her husband, who found women not terribly intelligent, but useful nonetheless; Jo, cool and elegant; Eli Culbertson, brilliant bridge guru, who searched (even placing ads in newspapers) for the perfect woman to be his wife; and Jim Reed, former U.S. Senator with mesmerizing oratorical skills.
Mix this cast of characters and their interwoven lives with the later years of the Roaring Twenties - oh, yes, and mix with murder - and you've got a fine read!

A friend told me about this book. It's a Great Read! That's the simplest way to describe it. The Devil's Tickets was fun and also intense. It was a total escape, and just carried me away.The writing was smart and breezy.
The book reminded me of Seabiscuit in the way it described the time period and in the way it brought me inside a world I knew nothing about. I knew as little about horse racing as I did about bridge. The bridge promoter Ely Culbertson? They don't make 'em like that anymore.
Senator James A. Reed? He defended Myrtle Bennett in her murder trial after she shot her husband over a bridge game. Reed was a silky smooth lawyer an dpublic speaker and he was sleeping with his famous next-door neighbor at the time of this trial, which makes him a lot like politicans today.
The Devil's Tickets made me laugh at times, and it also made me wonder, especially about the way men treated women during that time and during our time. I confess that it makes me want to learn how to play bridge.