Players: Con Men, Hustlers, Gamblers, and Scam Artists (Paperback)

by Geno Zanetti (Editor), Stephen Hyde (Editor) "LIKE ALL THE men of Babylon, I have proconsul; like all, I have been a slave..." (more)
Key Phrases: straight pool, New York, Bookie Bob, Billy Fish (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Quirky collection of pieces on the shadow side of risk ... generally an idiosyncratic and enjoyable mix." -- Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2002

Product Description
Once I hear the clatter of chips I almost go into convulsions," said Dostoyevsky, while Anatole France wrote, "The gambler is driven by the fascination of danger at the bottom of all great passions." The characters the reader meets in Players—chess grand masters, poolroom hustlers, or street-hardened practitioners of the short con—are all alike propelled by the ecstasy of risk. "The stake is money," France wrote, "in other words, immediate, infinite possibilities." In fact, as the reader hooks up with David Mamet in the poker room and meets Damon Runyon’s Bookie Bob, Saul Bellow’s immortal Yellow Kid, and learns from Herbert Asbury about the antics of Izzy and Moe, and from David Maurer about the discreet charm of the confidence man, and Walter Tevis on Fast Eddie Felson and Minnesota Fats, high lives and low will merge and the world of gambler and con-artist will blur. Selected writings by Jorge Luis Borges, Hunter S. Thompson, Nick Tosches, and many others are featured.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (December 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560253800
• ISBN-13: 978-1560253808
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,356 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER COOL AND VERY, VERY ENTERTAINING, January 17, 2003

By	Carl J. Bromley (Forest Hills, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This baroque , shady and very entertaining book is an epic tour of the gilded and subterrean world of con men, hustlers and gamblers. What surprised me about this book is despite the narcissism and aggression of many of the characters portrayed here, they (and the book) have a artistic and poetic pedigree too. A lot of great writers are in this book --Borges, Baudelaire, Dostoevsky, Luc Sante, Runyon, Brecht, Saul Bellow, Nick Pilegg,i. Hunter Thompson, David Mamet, Nick Tosches and Martin Amis. BUt for my money, the gem or the jewel in the crown is John Molyneux's mini-memoir of gambling in London in the sixties, which, apparently, is a piece written especially for the book.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovers of all things shady and cool look no further!, January 18, 2003

By	Martin Prague (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

There's a lot to love in this sumptous serving of conartistry and viliany. Lovers of "Gangs of New York" and "Catch Me if You Can" will find pieces by Herbert Asbury (author of Gangs) and Frank Abaganale (author of Catch me); lovers of 19th century lit will find the Russian and French masters; and lovers of the down and dirty will dig the pieces by David mamet, Nick Ppileggi. JOhn Ridley and Nick Tosches. Mr Geno Zanetti does it again!