You Bet Your Life: The Burdens of Gambling [Hardcover]

Neil D. Isaacs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2001

" We are a nation of gamblers: pari-mutuel wagering at horse tracks; blackjack in Las Vegas; the NCAA basketball office pool; even day trading on the internet. Gambling is both our national pastime and our predominant cultural metaphor -- play the field; beat the odds; take a chance on love. Yet gambling poses serious risks to individuals and to society as a whole. Neil Isaacs -- sports historian, licensed clinical social worker, English professor, and a gambler himself for more than fifty years -- seeks to shatter the myths interfering with our understanding of gambling addiction, its causes, and its treatment. He begins by systematically debunking several commonly held beliefs, demonstrating that there is no such thing as the law of averages, that gambling is not inherently sinful, immoral, or criminal, and that money is not always the prime motivator for gamblers. Isaacs shows how habitual gambling can lead to compulsive gambling, but avoids oversimplifying this condition. Arguing against a undifferentiated interpretation of pathological gambling as a simple impulse control disorder, he draws examples from fiction, film, and his own practice to demonstrate additional ways gambling can be abused. A radical departure from established views, You Bet Your Life identifies the costs -- in dollars, people, families, and credit ratings -- of society's failure to address adequately the burdens of gambling.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The United States is a gambling nation. Casinos, parimutuels, and convenience store lotto kiosks are easy to find, and back door action is almost as easy. With over $600 billion in just the legal bets, it is clear that gambling is the new national pastime. Yet most of the conventional wisdom about gambling is distorted, misleading, or even dangerous. Despite gambling’s prevalence, there is little popular understanding about how it works, what it involves, or the great risks it poses to individuals and society.

In You Bet Your Life, Neil Isaacs, himself a lifelong gambler, a licensed therapist specializing in the treatment of pathological gamblers, and a writer and scholar of gambling literature, methodically debunks several prominent gambling myths. The law of averages is the first to fall, followed by the belief that gambling is inherently sinful, immoral, or criminal. He also tackles the misconception that gamblers are always motivated by the money.

Dozens of examples, from fiction and film as well as case histories, show the different ways in which gambling can be abused and misunderstood. Isaacs avoids oversimplifying gambling addictions, their causes, and treatment as he shows how habitual gambling can lead to compulsive gambling. He argues that pathological gambling as not just a simple impulse control disorder, making this an invaluable book for anyone who knows a gambler.

This radical departure from established views seeks to redefine our understanding of gambling in America and provides insights about the culture, causes, and treatment of pathological gambling. With gambling addiction spreading in all age groups, all economic levels, and all demographic profiles, it is a book that can help turn the tide.

“A comprehensive and intelligent study of gambling and the gambler. Informative, most engaging, and of immediate value to those attempting to offer help to the pathological gambler.”—Irvin Yalom, M.D., author of Momma and the Meaning of Life: Tales of Psychotherapy

“Isaacs writes with the skill of a novelist and the sensitivity and conceptual ability of a mature, practiced psychotherapist, both of which he is. This is a perfectly wonderful book, not just for mental health professionals, who would surely learn from and refer to it, but for everyone who loves gambling or a gambler.”—Paul Ephross, Professor of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore

“Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about gambling and gamblers—and then some—is here in Neil Isaacs’s wonderfully informative and fascinating book. Isaacs is the most knowledgeable of guides, and the journey he takes us on, through the history, literature, mythology, psychology, and psychopathology of gambling, is utterly enthralling.”— Jay Neugeboren, author of Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living With Mental Illness

“A fascinating and unblinking exploration of addictive gambling and of the character (mind and body and soul) of pathological gamblers. He shares exemplary stories with us as, using both fact and fiction, he dispels a clutter of old myths and assumptions. Brightly written and marked by compassionate wisdom, You Bet Your Life is a genuine contribution to our understanding of our culture and ourselves.”—George Garrett

About the Author

Neil D. Isaacs, professor of English emeritus at the University of Maryland, College Park, is a practicing family therapist and author of numerous books, including Jock Culture, U.S.A. and The Miller Masks.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (July 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813121957
• ISBN-13: 978-0813121956
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,872,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better Stuff Out There, May 6, 2007

By 

Desiree "Desiree" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Bet Your Life: The Burdens of Gambling (Hardcover)

If you're interested in gambling addiction, you may want this for your library, but it's slow and dry and there is more compelling work out there to read on the subject.