Rough sex, black magic, murder, and the science-and eros-of gambling meet in the ultimate book about Las VegasJames McManus was sent to Las Vegas by Harper's to cover the World Series of Poker in 2000, especially the mushrooming progress of women in the $23 million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament's prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend with a technique so outré it took a Manhattan pathologist to identify it. ...

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 French parlor game and, with a few extra cards and an entrepreneurial spirit, turned it i...

Seven years ago, Penny's boyfriend was savagely attacked by a bear, setting off a chain of tragic events. Now, fighting a debilitating illness and haunted by her past, she finds herself incapable of emotional or sexual intimacy. As a way to break down the defenses she has built up in her safe Chicago life, she sets out on a cross-country bike tour. On this trip she meets Ndele, a beautiful, mysterious black man who challenges her to confront her ghosts and decide whether to put her past be...

A Hilarious and Poignant Journey Through the American Healthcare SystemIn Physical, James McManus takes readers on a witty and unflinching journey through the American healthcare system as he confronts his own mortality during a three-day "executive checkup" at the Mayo Clinic. Forced to face the reality of his family history and the needs of his young children, McManus grapples with the decision to follow his doctors' advice while navigating the political...

"In writing about poker Jim McManus has managed to write about everything, and it's glorious."—David SedarisNew York Times-bestselling author James McManus offers up a collection of seven stories narrated by Vincent Killeen, an Irish Catholic altar boy, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Persuaded at age eight by his grandmother that entering the priesthood will guarantee salvation for every member of his family, Vince eagerly commits to attending a Jesuit seminary for hig...

A wild ride through the dark heart of American health and health care, plus sex, drugs, and stem-cell wars.PHYSICAL is the story of a hard-living, happily married, middle-aged American (the author) who gets a three-day "executive checkup" at the Mayo Clinic and is thereby forced to confront his mortality, not to mention glove-wearing doctors and the pair of dominatrix-esque technicians who supervise his stress test quite strictly. James McManus must understand his revised actuarial...

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 French parlor game and, with a few extra cards and an entrepreneurial spirit,...

Rough sex, black magic, and the science--and eros--of gambling.Meet in the ultimate book about Las Vegas.James McManus was sent to Las Vegas by Harper's to cover the World Series of Poker in 2000, especially the mushrooming progress of women in the $23-million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament's prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend with a technique so outré it took a Manhattan pathologist to identify ...

A deliciously wry, edge-of-your-seat memoir of making a fortune with card counters across a wide swath of blackjack in AmericaAt twenty-four, Josh Axelrad held down a respectable and ominously dull job on Wall Street. Adventure was a tuna fish sandwich instead of the usual turkey for lunch. Then one night, a stranger at a cocktail party persuaded him to leave the nine-to-five behind and pursue an unlikely dream: the jackpot. The stranger was a blackjack card counte...

The Players: the best poker professionals in the world The Challenger: a wealthy banker from Dallas The Game: the richest poker stakes of all time... In 2001, a rich stranger from Texas descended upon the high-stakes poker room in the opulent Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. A self-made billionaire by the name of Andy Beal, the stranger challenged some of the world's greatest poker players-including Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Howard Lederer, and Jennifer Harman-to heads-up matches in the rich...

Two friends, one a budding writer home from Europe, the other an ambitious racketeer, meet in the only nightclub, the Tram 83, in a war-torn city-state in secession, surrounded by profit-seekers of all languages and nationalities. Tram 83 plunges the reader into the modern African gold rush as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic, using jazz rhythms to weave a tale of human relationships in a world that has become a global village.Fiston Mwanza Mujila

“Fourteen writers take on perhaps the most important cultural issue of our time: figure out what we’re talking about when we’re talking about cat videos.” —New York magazine Are cat videos art? This essay collection, funded by a Kickstarter campaign, addresses not just our fascination with cat videos, but also how we decide what is good or bad art, or art at all; how taste develops, how that can change, and why we love or hate something. It’s about people and technology and just what it is...