The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Underground Railroad

In 2011, Grantland magazine gave bestselling novelist Colson Whitehead $10,000 to play at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. It was the assignment of a lifetime, except for one hitch--he'd never played in a casino tournament before. With just six weeks to train, our humble narrator took the Greyhound to Atlantic City to learn the ways of high-stakes Texas Hold'em.

Poker culture, he discovered, is marked by joy, heartbreak, and grizzled veterans playing against teenage hotshots weaned on Internet gambling. Not to mention the not-to-be overlooked issue of coordinating Port Authority bus schedules with your kid's drop-off and pickup at school. Finally arriving in Vegas for the multimillion-dollar tournament, Whitehead brilliantly details his progress, both literal and existential, through the event's antes and turns, through its gritty moments of calculation, hope, and spectacle. Entertaining, ironic, and strangely profound, this epic search for meaning at the World Series of Poker is a sure bet.

An NPR Best Book of the Year

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Colson Whitehead
Publisher: Anchor Books
Published: 03/03/2015
ISBN: 9780345804334
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.10w x 1.10d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 04/05/2015 pg. 28