This review is from: The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story (Hardcover)
I’ve heard many stories about Doyle Brunson’s life, but I wasn’t quite prepared for how remarkable (even insane) his journey has been from small-town America to playing poker full-time on the Texas Circuit in the 1950s and 1960s to worldwide fame as one of the toughest and most successful poker players ever.
The stories go all the way back to Brunson’s days growing up in tiny Sweetwater, Texas through to the current day. A phenomenal athlete (basketball, baseball and track) as a child and teenager, Brunson’s road to the NBA (the Lakers wanted to draft him #1) was tragically cut short when a load of sheetrock fell on his leg, breaking it in two places. I say tragically, but that single event from Brunson’s college days helped determine the choices he made in his twenties. And those choices led to one of the most outrageous and successful gambling careers anyone has ever known.
The tales in this book meander and drag on a bit (thus my four-star instead of five-star rating), but that gives the story a homespun, unpretentious feel that reminds me of the man I’ve seen on TV and read about in interviews. The characters who populate this book are from a different age. Men mostly born poor who risked everything to con, cheat, steal and gamble their way through life. Some of them ended up wealthy, many of them met their end early in life. Brunson himself suffered beatings, muggings and all of sorts of harm (including going broke too many times to recount) on his way to fame and fortune.
Reading this autobiography, I had the feeling that they just don’t make ‘em like Doyle Brunson and his contemporaries anymore. Adventurous, fun-loving and willing to risk everything at the drop of a hat, Brunson comes across as quintessentially American in his toughness and determination to make it big.
If you are a Brunson, poker and/or gambling fan, I recommend you buy this book now. It is exciting, cautionary, hilarious and poignant all at once, and it reminded me how arduous but ultimately rewarding the road to success can be when you strike out on your own path.
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This review is from: The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story (Hardcover)
I was planning a trip to Vegas and ordered this book – what a great book to read on the plane and during any downtime I might have. I had made it about half way through and happened to be playing poker in the beautiful Venetian Poker Room when they made an announcement that Doyle Brunson was in the poker room at table 40 discussing the new Pocket Casino hand held terminals that they have introduced at the Venetian. I ran back to my room at the Palazzo and then back to the Venetian Poker Room – and got there before Doyle left. As I walked up Todd (Doyle’s son)said “Dad, we should have brought some books to sell!” They had not, and mine was the only copy around. I got him to autograph the book, got a chance to trade a few stories, and talked to Todd Brunson for quite a while.
Now, about the book.
This book traces Doyle’s long history from a small cotton farm in West Texas, through his college days, where he was a star athlete with visions of the NBA, to his poker in the rough Ft. Worth area, to his days playing poker on the Texas circuit and finally his move to Las Vegas in the early 70′s. He has seen 35 years of the poker world in Vegas and tells it like it was/is from his perspective, right up to this year.
If you are looking for a poker manual or how to book – don’t buy this book – buy Super System or Super System II. If you are looking for a book that talks about all of today’s hot TV poker players – read the internet – this book is not for you. But, if you want to get a feel for how today’s poker world evolved and the various characters that made it what it is today – then this history through one man’s eyes is the book for you!
As with many an autobiography, this book tends to put the author in the best light possible in the many situations in which he is involved – but what do you expect – it is an autobiography and the author has control of what he says about himself! (If you want an “open kimona book by a poker player – get “Check Raising the Devil”)
I found the writing to be well done, the stories interesting, and the insights into the mind of a big time gambler to be first rate. The amount of money these guys will bet on poker, golf, or any number of “prop” bets will stagger you.
It is a really great read, as you ride along the trail with the man who is rightly called the Godfather of Poker.
In parting, from a proof reading standpoint – I only found two errors – on page 277 in the second paragraph, fourth line the line “slots of cash” should read “lots of cash.” Also on Page 322 in the last full paragraph on the page, line seven “the while industry” should read “the whole industry.” Two proof reading errors in a First Edition, and both of them words that pass “spell check” is not bad for today’s book world – but I do wish they would actually have somebody read the final version before it goes to print – but, maybe that’s just me. Picky, Picky, Picky!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story (Hardcover)
I really enjoyed this book. The first few pages grab you by the throat and pull into Doyle’s world right away. I could barely stand to put the book down, as I wanted to know what happened next. There are many things you will learn, that you did not know about Doyle or the poker world in general.
While the writing in the book is not polished or elegant, I would not have it any other way. I am glad that Doyle did not let his writings get edited in such a way that is no longer him talking. I know some of the chief complaints are that the book drones on from time to time, or that it has a lot of random tangents. That is what I like about it; it speaks as if you were conversing at a bar over a beer. The stories are matter-of-fact, with no icing on the cake. He just tells it as it is.
I highly recommend this book to any poker fan or even anyone who wants to hear an the story of one’s interesting life.
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Poker Feed
A fascinating life, a fascinating book,
I’ve heard many stories about Doyle Brunson’s life, but I wasn’t quite prepared for how remarkable (even insane) his journey has been from small-town America to playing poker full-time on the Texas Circuit in the 1950s and 1960s to worldwide fame as one of the toughest and most successful poker players ever.
The stories go all the way back to Brunson’s days growing up in tiny Sweetwater, Texas through to the current day. A phenomenal athlete (basketball, baseball and track) as a child and teenager, Brunson’s road to the NBA (the Lakers wanted to draft him #1) was tragically cut short when a load of sheetrock fell on his leg, breaking it in two places. I say tragically, but that single event from Brunson’s college days helped determine the choices he made in his twenties. And those choices led to one of the most outrageous and successful gambling careers anyone has ever known.
The tales in this book meander and drag on a bit (thus my four-star instead of five-star rating), but that gives the story a homespun, unpretentious feel that reminds me of the man I’ve seen on TV and read about in interviews. The characters who populate this book are from a different age. Men mostly born poor who risked everything to con, cheat, steal and gamble their way through life. Some of them ended up wealthy, many of them met their end early in life. Brunson himself suffered beatings, muggings and all of sorts of harm (including going broke too many times to recount) on his way to fame and fortune.
Reading this autobiography, I had the feeling that they just don’t make ‘em like Doyle Brunson and his contemporaries anymore. Adventurous, fun-loving and willing to risk everything at the drop of a hat, Brunson comes across as quintessentially American in his toughness and determination to make it big.
If you are a Brunson, poker and/or gambling fan, I recommend you buy this book now. It is exciting, cautionary, hilarious and poignant all at once, and it reminded me how arduous but ultimately rewarding the road to success can be when you strike out on your own path.
Was this review helpful to you?
|The Poker World Through The Eyes of the Grand Old Man of Poker,
I was planning a trip to Vegas and ordered this book – what a great book to read on the plane and during any downtime I might have. I had made it about half way through and happened to be playing poker in the beautiful Venetian Poker Room when they made an announcement that Doyle Brunson was in the poker room at table 40 discussing the new Pocket Casino hand held terminals that they have introduced at the Venetian. I ran back to my room at the Palazzo and then back to the Venetian Poker Room – and got there before Doyle left. As I walked up Todd (Doyle’s son)said “Dad, we should have brought some books to sell!” They had not, and mine was the only copy around. I got him to autograph the book, got a chance to trade a few stories, and talked to Todd Brunson for quite a while.
Now, about the book.
This book traces Doyle’s long history from a small cotton farm in West Texas, through his college days, where he was a star athlete with visions of the NBA, to his poker in the rough Ft. Worth area, to his days playing poker on the Texas circuit and finally his move to Las Vegas in the early 70′s. He has seen 35 years of the poker world in Vegas and tells it like it was/is from his perspective, right up to this year.
If you are looking for a poker manual or how to book – don’t buy this book – buy Super System or Super System II. If you are looking for a book that talks about all of today’s hot TV poker players – read the internet – this book is not for you. But, if you want to get a feel for how today’s poker world evolved and the various characters that made it what it is today – then this history through one man’s eyes is the book for you!
As with many an autobiography, this book tends to put the author in the best light possible in the many situations in which he is involved – but what do you expect – it is an autobiography and the author has control of what he says about himself! (If you want an “open kimona book by a poker player – get “Check Raising the Devil”)
I found the writing to be well done, the stories interesting, and the insights into the mind of a big time gambler to be first rate. The amount of money these guys will bet on poker, golf, or any number of “prop” bets will stagger you.
It is a really great read, as you ride along the trail with the man who is rightly called the Godfather of Poker.
In parting, from a proof reading standpoint – I only found two errors – on page 277 in the second paragraph, fourth line the line “slots of cash” should read “lots of cash.” Also on Page 322 in the last full paragraph on the page, line seven “the while industry” should read “the whole industry.” Two proof reading errors in a First Edition, and both of them words that pass “spell check” is not bad for today’s book world – but I do wish they would actually have somebody read the final version before it goes to print – but, maybe that’s just me. Picky, Picky, Picky!
Was this review helpful to you?
|Like you were talking over a beer…,
I really enjoyed this book. The first few pages grab you by the throat and pull into Doyle’s world right away. I could barely stand to put the book down, as I wanted to know what happened next. There are many things you will learn, that you did not know about Doyle or the poker world in general.
While the writing in the book is not polished or elegant, I would not have it any other way. I am glad that Doyle did not let his writings get edited in such a way that is no longer him talking. I know some of the chief complaints are that the book drones on from time to time, or that it has a lot of random tangents. That is what I like about it; it speaks as if you were conversing at a bar over a beer. The stories are matter-of-fact, with no icing on the cake. He just tells it as it is.
I highly recommend this book to any poker fan or even anyone who wants to hear an the story of one’s interesting life.
Was this review helpful to you?
|