Poker Books by James McManus

James McManus was sent to Las Vegas by Harper’s Magazine in the spring of 2000 to cover the World Series of Poker, focusing on two main stories: the progress of women in the $23 million event and the murder of the tournament’s prodigal host, Ted Binion, allegedly committed by a stripper and her boyfriend. Upon arriving, McManus finds himself drawn to the tables, compelled to risk his entire Harper’s advance in a long-shot attempt to participate in the tournament himself. In Positively Fifth Street, he provides a deliciously suspenseful account of the tournament, detailing the players, the intense hand-to-hand combat, and his own unlikely progress. McManus also captures the delightfully seedy carnival atmosphere that surrounds the event.

Cowboys Full offers a lively and definitive history of poker, charting its journey from its origins in China, the Middle East, and Europe to becoming a global sensation. The book outlines how poker evolved from a French parlor game to a national obsession in the United States by the Civil War era. It further explores the game’s transition from being monopolized by cardsharps to its current status as the most popular card game across Europe, East Asia, Australia, South America, and in the realms of cyberspace and television. James McManus investigates poker’s profound influence on American culture, as evidenced in Frederic Remington’s artwork, as well as in numerous novels, movies, and plays dedicated to the game. From the back rooms of saloons to the parlors of U.S. presidents, Cowboys Full is both raucous and fascinating, capturing the essence of a game that reveals much about who we are and how we function.

James McManus, a New York Times-bestselling author, has crafted a collection of seven autobiographical stories. Persuaded by his grandmother at eight years old that priesthood would ensure his family’s salvation, Vince eagerly enrolls in a Jesuit seminary for high school. However, as he begins to understand the implications of a celibacy vow and faces the allure of poker and girls, his enthusiasm for seminary life wanes. These stories offer a humorous and insightful look into Catholicism, faith, celibacy, and the world’s favorite card game, poker. McManus, often referred to as “poker’s Shakespeare,” is also the author of Positively Fifth Street and Cowboys Full, among others. He has received numerous awards and currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.