Blackjack Autumn: A True Tale of Life, Death, and Splitting Tens in Winnemucca FROM THE PUBLISHER
When Barry Meadow decided to take two months off from his life to play blackjack in every casino in Nevada, he had no idea what he would find. In this wise and witty true story, he takes you deep into a little-known world.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal calls the book, 'hilarious, enlightening, and suspenseful.' The Reno Gazette-Journal says it's 'a funny, scary tour of Nevada casinos.'
James Cox of the Midwest Book Review writes, 'Witty, informative, and outrageous, Blackjack Autumn will appeal to anyone who has ever yearned to chuck it all and make their living with a deck of cards.' Alan Caruba in Bookview says, 'It's a very funny book that will appeal to the gambler in you.'
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Given a map of Nevada and the premise that a blackjack card counter armed with $8000 will hit the road for two months, attacking every available casino, the reader expects a certain level of adventure and excitement. Just the escapist illusion of roadside traveling past historic ghost towns, stopping at mom-and-pop diners for conversation, is more than enough to hook most readers. Yet the narrator we encounter here is a one-dimensional individual with a do-or-die agenda for whom the road becomes boring, even annoyingly time-consuming. At one point, paranoia sets in for the writer, who is carrying over $25,000. At issue is his fear of being barred from casinos or spotted for his card counting. Even the death of a family member is handled from a gambler's perspective: just another annoying obstacle not unlike a change of casino dealers. Card counters are portrayed as a breed of loners and social misfits; writers at times tend to be just as masochistic. Turn a card counter into a writer, and you have a sometimes painful reading experience. Not recommended.--Marty Soven, Woodside, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
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