All or Nothing (Paperback)

~ Preston L. Allen (Author)
Key Phrases: allergy boy, trip aces, sickest one, Dollar Danny, Off Pair, Thank God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Allen's dark and insightful novel depicts narrator P's sobering descent into his gambling addiction. P, a Miami native, is a school bus driver and desperate gambler who spends his nights (and many of his days) in south Florida casinos. Both a surprisingly likable and an often despicable character, P is a perpetual loser with a $1,000-a-day habit who lies to his wife and scrounges in the seats of his bus looking for loose change the kids left behind. He takes the small amounts of cash that his destitute, dying mother offers him to support his obsession. P knows he's sick, but he doesn't want any help; he lusts for the next big score. Finally, his luck begins to change, transforming him from a broke degenerate into a legendary professional gambler in a signature black cowboy hat. The well-written novel takes the reader on a chaotic ride as P chases, finds and loses fast, easy money. Allen (Churchboysand Other Sinners) reveals how addiction annihilates its victims and shows that winning isn't always so different from losing. (Nov.)
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Review

"By turns harrowing, illuminating, and endearing, Preston Allen's All or Nothing is more than a gut punch, it's a damn good book." -- Maggie Estep, author of Flamethrower

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933354410
• ISBN-13: 978-1933354415
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #363,590 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Allen Ups the Ante on Addiction Fiction, October 16, 2007

By	Jerrica Benton "jerricaisjem" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

Preston L. Allen's All or Nothing is as addictive as its subject matter, the gambling life of a mysterious man in a black cowboy hat called, simply, "P." A school bus driver by day and a desperado by night, P roams the South Florida casinos in search of the next big win. When it comes, however, it's not enough, and doesn't last. It never lasts; P chases the ping-ping dream all the way to Vegas and back, trying on one identity after another, one philosophy after another, one lover after another, all in the hopes of getting the monkey off his back. This is not really a novel about gambling at all; you might as well call P Ishmael, because he's a man on a quest for meaning the likes of which has never been attempted in this genre. One expects a novel about addiction to be only one of two things: either condemnation or salvation. All or Nothing is neither. This is gut-wrenching philosophy at its best, one man against no one but himself.

Allen's remarkable style is experimental and refreshing. He doesn't bother to glamorize the bright lights and big money of the casino world. The novel is populated by real, moving people, mothers and grandmothers, women and lovers, old men and husbands and sons that haunt the smoke-filled rooms like ghosts of themselves. They tell the story just as much as P does, redefining insanity--literally--with every push of the "play" button. Allen leaves no card unturned in this story. P is high roller and broke, ace and joker, lucky and unlucky, good and bad, and the people who surround him as real as you and I. It's a book that you can't put down, but not because you can't wait to see what happens next, but because you can't believe it's really happening, and yet you know it does, every night, in every casino, dog track, cruise ship, everywhere around the world. This is not a novel about gambling, how to do it better, or how to stop. It's a novel about that tiny part in all of us, the dark place that wants to put every last chip on the table and see what happens next.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No Shame In His Game, January 1, 2008

By	Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

No Shame in His Game...

All or Nothing by Preston L. Allen is a gambler's confessional. I have read many books about gambling, but have never read anything that felt as personal as this book. Many times I gasped as I read to what lengths a gambler would go to chase his or her addiction. P is a married man with a family, a bus driver by profession and a gambler by addiction. There seems to be nothing in the world he loves more than gambling. Be it the lottery scratch-off tickets, slot machines or Vegas Casinos. P places nothing before the game.

Preston L. Allen goes below the surface with his tight prose and personal insight throughout the novel. There are times when it feels as if all he is going to write about is a game, then he will hit you with a choice P made in regards to his gambling and you are left stunned. In one passage, when P discusses what he did after the death of his son, it is absolutely amazing. Reading how he would win tens of thousands of dollars and almost immediately gamble it away will have you feeling his pain. The reader will also ache for his family who had so much faith in him and was often unaware of how much he was actually losing. All or Nothing is a true gambling expose'.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in a novel on a gambler's mindset or anyone who enjoys a well-written, thought-provoking novel.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, January 3, 2008

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

What Fyodor Dostoevsky did for The Gambler over a hundred years ago, Preston Allen does for his bus driver "P" in All Or Nothing. A degenerate gambling addict on a losing streak, "P" will do anything for the big win, believing that one vast win will save him. He gets that win, and many more, and along the way you meet all different types of gamblers. Allen proves that this addiction crosses all barriers and does not discriminate on race, ethnicity, sex, age, or class line. Anyone can be taken prisoner and held hostage by this addiction, and intellect has nothing to do with it. "P" is a lovable, warm, and generous guy, and you are rooting for him all the way, but in the end, Allen proves that no matter what the stakes are, no matter how much you win....it is never enough. A fascinating, heartbreaking, beautifully written "must read" for anyone interested in the topic of gambling, or gambling addiction.