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Cowboys Full
From James McManus, author of the bestselling Positively Fifth Street, comes the definitive story of the game that, more than any other, reflects who we are and how we operate.
Cowboys Full is the story of poker, from its roots in China, the Middle East, and Europe to its ascent as a global—but especially an American—phenomenon. It describes how early Americans took a
...moreAudio CD, Abridged, 0 pages
Published
November 10th 2009
by Macmillan Audio
(first published 2009)
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In Positively Fifth Street, James McManus did a three-part juggling act in relating his first-hand adventure at the World Series of Poker's main event with the trial of the accused killers of Ted Binion, while also injecting a healthy dose of poker history. Of the three themes, the poker history came off as dry in comparison to the more immediate drama found in the other threads. It comes as a very pleasant surprise then that Cowboys Full, an ambitiously large study of poker, should be such a fa...more
My review (which appeared in the poker magazine Card Player):
Poker & The American Experience
A Review of Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus
Tim Peters
For some players, poker is just a game. But for many players, it’s tempting to see the game as a microcosm of life itself, as having a significance that transcends the cardroom. James McManus, the author of the justly celebrated Positively Fifth Street (his 2003 account of his...more
Poker & The American Experience
A Review of Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus
Tim Peters
For some players, poker is just a game. But for many players, it’s tempting to see the game as a microcosm of life itself, as having a significance that transcends the cardroom. James McManus, the author of the justly celebrated Positively Fifth Street (his 2003 account of his...more
Billed as the story of poker, but that doesn't quite sum it up - it gives an analysis of US history and leaders thru poker-colored glasses, a history of the game's development and a more detailed look at comtemporary play and developments such as tournament and online play.
McManus's Cowboys Full makes room for everyone at the table. Lightweights will learn something about the basics of the game and why it appeals to so many people, while those already convinced of poker's importance will find much to enjoy here as well. Reviewers indicated that even those who do not normally enjoy history will appreciate the book's insights into how the game's past informs today's political strategies. A few critics considered some of McManus's arguments somewhat overreaching and ...more
I enjoyed this book, but felt like the end did not really go with the rest of the story. The first four fifths of the book does a good job of explaining how poker came into being and how it spread across the country and eventually the world. After discussing the WSOP, the rest of the book examines where poker is going, some legal issues it faces, and how academics are using and studying poker. This section of the book felt more like an appendix. If you have a interest in the history of poker, I ...more
NYT notable book 2009. This book won't tell you how to win at poker but it will explain the rise of poker from it's antecedents in Europe such as pogue to its birth in North America in New Orleans and via the Mississippi River throughout the US. It became america's game of now is a world wide phenom. Poker continues to evolve. The five card draw games of my youth, jacks or better, are now as common as the rotary phone. Seven card stud hi-lo resulted in bugger pots and more action and final...more
The problem I had with this book is that it could be divided into two parts. In large sections he is making grand pronouncements about how people in America have a poker mentality when dealing with non-poker issues. I find this to be a bit of a stretch and really kind of distracting. On the other hand, the sections where he is actually dealing with the history of poker or the current state of poker were great and entertaining. They were informative but engaging and made me think of the writing h...more
I’d previously enjoyed James McManus’s poker writing through his work in Harper’s, The New York Times and The New Yorker, so when I found this book in the First Reads sections I threw my name in the hat for a chance at a copy.
I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that a copy was on the way, and I have since spent the past few weeks thoroughly engaged by the book.
The title is no bluff; this book is a well-researched compilation of poker history, from its origins to its...more
I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that a copy was on the way, and I have since spent the past few weeks thoroughly engaged by the book.
The title is no bluff; this book is a well-researched compilation of poker history, from its origins to its...more
As a reviewer I'll confess to being a bit academic in that most of my background is in studying at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
This is not a very clean or academic work but it is a good treatment for the lay person which is often a better read in some respects anyways. I'd also hazard a guess that it was written at least in part to cash in on the current poker craze so to speak but nevertheless it provides some sorts of social and historical relevance to a game otherwise g...more
This is not a very clean or academic work but it is a good treatment for the lay person which is often a better read in some respects anyways. I'd also hazard a guess that it was written at least in part to cash in on the current poker craze so to speak but nevertheless it provides some sorts of social and historical relevance to a game otherwise g...more
Hands down the best book I read in 2009...
If you like poker, McManus' straightforward approach to the history of poker ties in everything from politics, to race in the United States. The book describes so many intriguing anecdotes about how so much of American English has incorporated poker terms and theory.
Even if you don't like poker this book does a great job of presenting a sweeping thesis of how Poker is truly the "American Pastime"; and deny though you mi...more
If you like poker, McManus' straightforward approach to the history of poker ties in everything from politics, to race in the United States. The book describes so many intriguing anecdotes about how so much of American English has incorporated poker terms and theory.
Even if you don't like poker this book does a great job of presenting a sweeping thesis of how Poker is truly the "American Pastime"; and deny though you mi...more
I read this because of it's place on the NYT 50 best non-fiction books of last year--and I am vaguely interested in and totally unschooled in the history of poker. McManus is a good storyteller, who has an attention for detail (too much when it comes to the modern poker games, but he doesn't stay there for too too long). I would recommend to anyone, player or not.
Clearly an ambitious book that aims to explain how many types of strategic decision making are guided by poker logic. Sometimes hits the mark, especially in the Civil War sections. Most of the other war/political sections felt like they were reaching a little for the poker connection. The chapters discussing actual poker were quite good if not novel.
I heard James McManus interviewed on NPR and found him fascinating. The book is less so. I do like the fact that everything is history and you can take some strange topic - Oranges (as in John McPhee) or Poker - and tell its story and by doing so highlight a side of history and of life that had never quite looked that way before. At first the book is pretty interesting. I know nothing about poker or cards and have never played more than a little bit as a teenager. Lots of strange characters ...more
I was bored. McManus tried too hard to be funny and usually failed in the process. There was some interesting information in the book, but it was usually strangled out by McManus's poor prose. I would recommend McManus's "Positively Fifth Street". He seems better at writing scandal and memoir than history.
Comprehensive to the extreme, this book is exhausting and was impossible for me to finish. I read 80% of it though, and was stunned by how many flimsy associations McManus can draw between poker and unrelated spheres of life. This book should be 150 pages shorter and focus on poker.
The definitive history of Poker. Jimbo himself describes it as more "the story of poker" as he recounts the history of America's Game in stories, folk tales, reportage, and anecdotes. McManus is an accomplished poet, teacher of writing, and previously published "Positively Fifth Street..." the groundbreaking poker memoir.
this book was very disappointing, especially since i very much enjoyed McManus' other poker book, "Positively 5th Street".
perhaps the author was just trying too hard...starting from a very review of games of chance since Neandarthal man, we work
through the origins of poker in Persia through France to the American South during the Conferederacy....and then i just ran
out of patience for rambling anecdotes that were, at best, tangential to the game of poker. perhaps one ...more
perhaps the author was just trying too hard...starting from a very review of games of chance since Neandarthal man, we work
through the origins of poker in Persia through France to the American South during the Conferederacy....and then i just ran
out of patience for rambling anecdotes that were, at best, tangential to the game of poker. perhaps one ...more
Not to much the history of poker as the history of the world seen through poker analogies - in extruciating detail. This book was easily 100 pages too long. The few bright spots were the few stories actually about poker.
This is my second win from Goodreads. As a non-poker player, I found the book to be extremely interesting. I have two poker-playing friends who are looking forward to reading the book now that I've finished it.
actually, i'm learning a lot by accident since i'm being forced to read this and never read nonfiction. not really learning about things in which i have any real interest, or about poker at all, but about presidents, politics, the wild west, prohibition, etc. thus far, the pokerness is a fairly incidental theme for a really good writer to write some really interesting stories. today i learned that nyc had around 32 THOUSAND speakeasies in the mid 20's. WHAT?! how is that even possible? also that...more
I was very surprised by this book. It was very readable, full of wonderful history and just plain fun reading ... Sometimes these kinds of books are fairly dry, but this one was very compelling.
Surprisingly dry for a book on poker. Was hoping for more salacious details instead of an academic justification on poker's place in the history books.
A fun, fascinating look at the history of the game of poker, from the games it evolved from to the internet era. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the game.
Well-researched, thoughtful and penetrating analysis of the history of poker and its influence on US politics and culture through the 1970s and the tail end of the Vietnam War. After that, the narrative loses cohesion and gets bogged down in play-by-play rehashing of WSOP matches, etc. The weakest chapters are about women players (includes biologicial essentialism, cultural sexism and a lot of nonsense) and international poker stars on the US circuit (focuses on Vietnamese immigrant players most...more
abandoned on page 135. Far too dense with random civil war stories. There are a few good bits in the part i read, but too much noise to sort through
Excellent history of poker. Very heavy on historical figures who played poker and how it affected their major decisions.
Personal sketch, anecdotal to a fault, very good story. Wish it had been better.
It's a fine history book, but they could cut in half and have a good book. It gets tiring reading about every President and how he played poker.
as a poker player this looks to be a goodread
As the first book purchased for me for the Kindle, I always felt like I read and read without making any progress. I thoroughly enjoyed the history aspect of the book and I loved reading about old-time poker stories, but I only managed to read a chapter or two at a sitting. Turns out, once I got 55% finished I realized that the final 40% were end notes, index, etc.
Anyway, I appreciated the content much more than the writing style. I learned a lot from this book but it seemed like a cho...more
Anyway, I appreciated the content much more than the writing style. I learned a lot from this book but it seemed like a cho...more
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James "Jim" McManus is an American poker player, teacher and writer living in Kenilworth, Illinois.
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