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The Devil's Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age
Kansas City, 1929: Myrtle and Jack Bennett sit down with another couple for an evening of bridge. As the game intensifies, Myrtle complains that Jack is a “bum bridge player.” For such insubordination, he slaps her hard in front of their stunned guests and announces he is leaving. Moments later, sobbing, with a Colt .32 pistol
in hand, Myrtle fires four shots, killing her h...more
in hand, Myrtle fires four shots, killing her h...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
June 9th 2009
by Crown
(first published June 4th 2009)
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Nothing like a murder to sex up the topic of bridge, a card game that many of us associate with dreary suburban evenings with four couples arrayed around fold-out card tables in the living room, all the culmination of days of anxious preparation ("Don't forget to vacuum! And dust!"), topped off by the all-important ceremony of putting out cashews and chocolate kisses in little for-bridge-only dishes.
So much more of a shock to discover then, thanks to Bay Area writer Gary Po...more
So much more of a shock to discover then, thanks to Bay Area writer Gary Po...more
This is another of those very clever books that take a specific murder and tie it to the larger culture. In this case, Myrtle murdered Jack after an argument over a bridge game in Kansas City around the same time that the megalomaniacal Ely Culbertson was dragging his wife, Jo, through hell and back building his bridge reputation and financial empire. Ely had the idea that bridge was sexy, though his idea of sexy evades me. He believed, for example, that his system of bidding, the Force-Approach...more
My mother who was about the age of the central characters of this book dearly loved to play bridge and now I know why. I had no idea that bridge was such a involved craze during the 20's - 40's, and I never thought about it as a battlefield of the sexes, but it certainly was one place where a woman could exhibit intelligence and be in control. I truly enjoyed learning that kind of history about the game of bridge. And the personalities of Ely and Jo Culbertson are so interesting.
And...more
And...more
The Devil's Tickets of the title are playing cards. This book deals with the developement of Contract Bridge in America. The game was created on a long ocean crusie which went through the Panama Canal by Harold Vanderbilt, the great-grandson of the railroad magnate. He took the existing game of auction bridge and refined it by simply changing the scoring rules.
Interwoven with all the colorful characters who comprised the bridge world of the day is the tale of one hand of bridge, whi...more
Interwoven with all the colorful characters who comprised the bridge world of the day is the tale of one hand of bridge, whi...more
During my junior year the bridge virus infected our entire high school. Like a particularly contagious strain of bird flu, it spread like wildfire – 400 students, living in close quarters with lots of free time on their hands was the perfect niche. My regular partner was a guy called Seamus, now a practicing doctor in Bailieboro, County Cavan (the home of Henry James’s ancestors). I can still remember the particular hand he played that lost us the Christmas tournament – failure to make a small s...more
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A book about the Bennett bridge murder and trial in 1929, the concurrent emergence of contract bridge as a national pastime with Ely Culbertson as its high priest, and a leisurely look at the obscure latter years of Mrs. Bennett in the wake of her acquittal. Of the three narratives, I much preferred the story of the Culbertsons' (husband and wife) role in the popularization of contract bridge. One is aware of Culbertson's reputation as an innovator and expert, but his flamboyant perso...more
The Devil’s Tickets gives the history of the game of bridge in America. The game rose to popularity in the late 1920’s, becoming a favorite pastime as well as a showcase of women’s intellectual equality with men. The narrative focuses on two particular stories. The first is the life of Ely Culbertson, the PT Barnum of bridge, who worked tirelessly to popularize the game while making himself its leading authority. The second story is the shooting of Jack Bennett by his wife, Myrtle, and the subse...more
This book reminded me of the style popularized by Erik Larson(Thunderstruck)..........the tying together of two discrete events and their effect on each other. In this case, it is the craze for contract bridge and a murder over the bridge table which became a cause celebre during the early 1930s. This is a gossipy book which delves into the lives of (1) the murderer/victim and (2) Ely and Jo Culbertson who developed the famous (at the time) "Culbertson system" of bidding a bridge han...more
This book is about the game of bridge in the 1920's. It includes history of the rise of contract bridge, the story of Culbertson and his rise to a bridge guru, and the story of Myrtle Bennett, who shot her husband, Jack, after a game of bridge. Myrtle's husband opened one spade, and Mrytle rose to four spades, and their opponent doubled. When Jack went down by two tricks, they had a verbal quarrel about whether she overbid or he played the hand wrong.
The facts are documented, and there...more
The facts are documented, and there...more
Interesting but ultimately trivial. Two main strands, both from the 1930s: the story of a woman who shot her husband over a bridge game, and the story of Ely and Jo Culbertson, a married couple who apparently revolutionized contract bridge. The murder strand was actually the less tragic of the two. All in all, reminded me forcefully of why I don't play card games that require partners. (Although as a child I used to watch my parents play a partnership game--not bridge, something else--with my mo...more
Fascinating tale and a cautionary one for those who play bridge with their spouses.
One night it got out of hand. One of the players was not quite as good at the game as his spouse. And the gun went off as guns are wont to do.
There was apparently great analysis at the time of the actual bridge hand and what should have been bid and what should have been played.
Interesting history of bridge.
I actually started reading this in a hardcover, but then I t...more
One night it got out of hand. One of the players was not quite as good at the game as his spouse. And the gun went off as guns are wont to do.
There was apparently great analysis at the time of the actual bridge hand and what should have been bid and what should have been played.
Interesting history of bridge.
I actually started reading this in a hardcover, but then I t...more
I was drawn to this book for my desire to learn more about the individuals surrounding a sensational murder trial in 1929, involving the local "elite" in the city where I now reside. I found it very interesting, (more about the game of bridge than I cared to read), but otherwise, quite good. The author did an exceptional job following up with the characters, several of whom lived another 70 years after the event.
I found this book really interesting. As a bridge player, I can almost understand murder over the playing of a hand. Although, when you read this, you realize that more was involved.
An interesting look at life in the 30's and the bridge mania that the country had before and during the depression. As a former Kansan, I also found the history of life in Kansas City at that time, also interesting.
An interesting look at life in the 30's and the bridge mania that the country had before and during the depression. As a former Kansan, I also found the history of life in Kansas City at that time, also interesting.
I found this book interesting, especially since my parents are bridge fanatics. It captures the feeling of the 1920's when bridge took on a whole new dimension in society, and I particularly enjoyed the end when the author documents his attempts to talk with those people who were touched by those 2 fateful bridge games.
I really enjoyed this book, once I accepted the fact that I didn't need to know how to play bridge to understand the social commentary and the events therein. I thought that the interweaving and back and forth between the rise of bridge and its stars and the 'bridge table murder' was very well done.
Despite laudatory comments from a few better-known authors (praise-for-hire, apparently), this was not actually "beautifully written" or "compelling". In fact is was a somewhat overblown, unnecessarily lengthy telling of a story with not nearly as much substance as promised. This writer's penchant for using exclamation points within parenthetical statements is alarming (it really is!). I finished it, appropriately enough, multi-tasking in my bathroom.
i gave this last year to tom nelson. true story of a murder in kc in the 1930's. lots of names of well known kansas citians, fun to read the history of the times..wondering who nana and grandaddy knew. a little heavy on the bridge game aspect. but well worth reading.
I thought there would be more intrigue to the story by the way my friend who recommended it described the book. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a very well written social history book about the era that bridge was 'the craze' in America.
Looking forward to reading this book! Sounds like interesting story and dynamics! Little murder mystery and set in the '20's! Should be an interesting read! Never played bridge so I didn't know it was that serious- Can't wait to find out the real reason she shot him!
Not a great book. No focus. It didn't help that the book is actually two stories instead of one. I guess he couldn't get enough information on an eighty-year-old case to fill an entire book. An interesting case, but not one that warranted a whole book, albeit a slim one.
Good book. Not super well written, but I enjoyed it. The history was good, especially if you like both American history and card playing. The writing was okay but not great. Three stars I'd say.
An interesting story of murder, greed and bridge wrapped in a ton of back-story and history. I wanted to enjoy it much more than I did however, the historical facts made the book extremely dry.
I'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars. It doesn't help that when I read stories like this I'm reminded of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. It simply pales in comparison to Erik Larson's book. Or maybe it's just that I felt like I've read this before and it no longer seems fresh. Two narratives and the connection merely incidental. Oh well, two stars it is then.
Sidenote: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Sidenote: I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Could had been much more interesting...but it really drug on in parts. I could have lived without all of the rehashing of the lives of Ely and Jo.
If you liked Devil in the White City, you may just like this. It is has the same style of writing -- several converging stories, some with people still recognized in history, most not, but will a peek into a specific period and region of American history. Who would have thought of the game of (contract -- not auction) bridge could be so controversial?
The outline of the book is pretty well set by mid-way through it, so it really starts to slow down once you realize where things are going.
Reading the galley, comes out June 2009. Looks good so far, sort of a Devil in the White City, but with the card game bridge instead of the World's Fair serving as the backdrop for a story of a murder.
Someone once gave enough of a shit about bridge to kill someone over it. I must find out why.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. It was a very interesting book, but there was so much to absorb, that it took me longer than usual to read it. I never knew how big the game of bridge was during the time of the Great Depression. This book was very informative, I learned a great deal about our nation's history. The true story of Myrtle Bennett and how she shot her husband added to the intrigue. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a clear glimpse i...more
Non-fiction. The history of Kansas City in the 20's and 30's was interesting alongside the history of bridge and the Bennett murder at that same time. Enjoyed it.
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