Loading...Editor's pick
Take Me to the River
Product
Take Me to the River: A Wayward and Perilous Journey to the World Series of Poker by Peter Alson
Hits
- Beautifully written
- Easy and fun read
- Gives the reader some hints on how to behave in the world of professional poker
Misses
- Requires some knowledge of the poker world for full enjoyment
- Not a book that teaches poker
Review
A man in the throes of a mid-life crisis leaves behind the love of his life to play in the World Series of Poker and lives to write a book about it. Sound like a crazy story? Well it is, and it is in this book.
Author Peter Alson has a deep love of poker and it shows in this very well written and hilarious first-person account.
The storyline is simple: A man that really doesn't want to grow up decides to go to the 2005 World Series of Poker on a win-or-lose last trip before he marries the woman of his dreams. On the way, he examines his life and learns more about himself. Granted, it's no Dan Brown plot, but it is very lively.
Alson tells the reader about the people he meets, his phone conversations with his wife-to-be, bad beats, good reads and strong drinks. The book somehow grabs the reader and flings him into Alson's world - a world of gamblers and adolescence in Sin City.
During the rollercoaster ride that is Alson's life during his WSOP stint in Las Vegas, he manages to write down detailed accounts of poker hands and effortlessly recounts conversations and details, keeping the book active and fresh.
Alson also wrote Confessions of an Ivy League Bookie and One of a Kind, both excellent books which set the bar high for his third publication. He doesn't, however, let the reader down.
For anyone who is interested in the world of poker this is a great novel. But to fully understand every in and out of the book some knowledge of poker and the WSOP is greatly recommended.
The book consists of 14 chapters and 290 pages including a foreword, prologue, epilogue, acknowledgements and a chapter on selected reading.
Details:
- Hardcover $24.00
Atria Books
