Download or read book Playing Off the Rail written by David McCumber and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1997-04-01 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the age of 17, David McCumber was stricken with "road fever" that irresistible call to the itinerant life of a professional gambler. Twenty-two years later, he got the chance to follow that dream-not as a player but as the "stakehorse" (financial backer) for Tony Annigoni, a non-smoking, macrobiotic-eating "Renaissance Pool Hustler," student of Eastern religion, and master of the pure green-felt poetry of the dead stroke." With $27,000 in David's pocket they took off together on an astonishing four-month odyssey across America-traveling from seedy, hole-in-the-wall billiard parlors to high-class snooker rooms to high-tension pro tourneys, from Seattle to Miami and back again-exploring a shady twilight subculture and uniquely American mythos, in search of serious money, local glory...and the perfect hustle.

Download or read book McGoorty written by Robert Byrne and published by Broadway Books. This book was released on 2004-03-23 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Broadway Books Library of Larceny Luc Sante, General Editor McGoorty is master billiards writer Robert Byrne’s racy account of the life of Danny McGoorty, a billiards champion of that bygone era when cue artists were often scam artists and pool rooms were held to be dens of iniquity. Hustler and hobo, womanizer and fashion plate, McGoorty was at once eyewitness to Capone’s Chicago and the feats of greats like Willie Hoppe and Willie Mosconi. In an all-American voice at once sarcastic, profane, humorous, and chock full of colorful lingo, he relates his colorful and seedy life and times with a unique style and brio.

Download or read book Running the Table written by L. Jon Wertheim and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a popular senior writer for Sports Illustrated comes this high-stakes, boys-on-the-road story about the most unlikely of phenoms--a heavyset, bipolar, and endlessly charming pool hustler named Kid Delicious In most sports the pinnacle is Wheaties-box notoriety. But in the world of pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is the dilemma that faces one Danny Basavich, an affable, generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who flounders through high school until he discovers the one thing he excels at--the felt--and hits the road. Running the Table spins the outrageous tale of Kid Delicious and his studly--if less talented--set-up man, Bristol Bob. Never was there a more entertaining or mismatched pair of sidekicks, as together they go underground into the flavorfully seamy world of pool to learn the art of the hustle and experience the highs and lows of life on the road. Their four-year odyssey takes them from Podunk pool halls to slick urban billiard rooms across America, as they manage one night to take down as much as $30,000, only to lose so much the next night that they lack gas money to get home. With every stop, the action gets hotter, the calls get closer, and Delicious's prowess with a cue stick becomes known more and more widely. Ultimately, Delicious sheds his cover once and for all and becomes professional pool's biggest sensation since Minnesota Fats. In a book sure to appeal to fans of Bringing Down the House and Positively Fifth Street, Wertheim evokes a subculture full of nefarious but loveable characters and illuminates America's fascination with games and gambling. He also paints a lasting portrait of an insanely talented and magnetic hustler, who is literally larger than life.

Download or read book Pool Wars written by Jay Helfert and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2012-06-08 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Jay's recollection of pool stories exceeds any that I've ever heard. His exactness in recalling events as they actually happened is amazing. There are few as qualified to write about pool action as Jay. He has always been right on the money with everything he has accomplished and this book isn't any different." -World 9-Ball Champion Billy Incardona "I've known Jay since the 60's. Although he loved to compete, he became more respected as a great game maker and money winner who helped out many a pool player when down on their luck." -World All Around Champion Danny Diliberto "Jay is the 'go to' man in pool. He is a living historian and a source for all pool info. As an accomplished player himself, he evolved into every aspect of the sport. He has given sage advice to up-and-coming players as well as champions. Jay is a valued member of the pool community who gets a nod and a smile from all who know him." -Pat Fleming, ACCU-Stats Video Productions

Download or read book Italian Ways On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo written by Tim Parks and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2014-05-05 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling author of "Italian Neighbors" returns with a wry and revealing portrait of Italian life--by riding its trains.

Download or read book Rising from the Rails written by Larry Tye and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2005-06-01 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African American history."—Newsday An engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African American men in the country by the 1920s. In the world of the Pullman sleeping car, where whites and blacks lived in close proximity, porters developed a unique culture marked by idiosyncratic language, railroad lore, and shared experience. They called difficult passengers "Mister Charlie"; exchanged stories about Daddy Jim, the legendary first Pullman porter; and learned to distinguish generous tippers such as Humphrey Bogart from skinflints like Babe Ruth. At the same time, they played important social, political, and economic roles, carrying jazz and blues to outlying areas, forming America's first black trade union, and acting as forerunners of the modern black middle class by virtue of their social position and income. Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon. • Named a Recommended Book by The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times

Download or read book Byrne s Book of Great Pool Stories written by Robert Byrne and published by Mariner Books. This book was released on 1995 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thirty-one stories on pool and billiards written over the past 150 years. The authors range from Pushkin to Vachss, the stories from Wallace Stegner's The Blue-Winged Teal, on competition between a father and a son, to Bill Pronzini's science fiction story, The Hungarian Cinch.

Download or read book Off the Rails in Phnom Penh written by Amit Gilboa and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Train written by Tom Zoellner and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-01-30 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic and revelatory narrative of the most important transportation technology of the modern world In his wide-ranging and entertaining new book, Tom Zoellner—coauthor of the New York Times–bestselling An Ordinary Man—travels the globe to tell the story of the sociological and economic impact of the railway technology that transformed the world—and could very well change it again. From the frigid trans-Siberian railroad to the antiquated Indian Railways to the Japanese-style bullet trains, Zoellner offers a stirring story of this most indispensable form of travel. A masterful narrative history, Train also explores the sleek elegance of railroads and their hypnotizing rhythms, and explains how locomotives became living symbols of sex, death, power, and romance.

Download or read book Road Player written by Jerry Forsyth and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story. This new book by Jerry Forsyth, Pool & Billiards Magazine's premier writer, was just released at the Derby City (pool and billiards) Tournament on January 6th, 2006 and was an instant smash. Published by Bebob Publishing, it is a lifetime of stories from the vibrant memory of Danny Diliberto, one of Accu-Stat Video's most popular commentators. Beginning with the Hustler's Tournaments in Johnston City, Diliberto was one of the fabled road players. He excelled in four sports: baseball, bowling, boxing, and pool. Boxing was his first love, but his own hands could not stand the power of his blows. Pool gave him his greatest fame and that's what this book is about. Any devotee of the game will be fascinated with this look into the immediate past of pool and billiards. From Las Vegas to Hollywood to the smallest towns on the most distant highways, this is the life of the roadman, a gambler's tale in his own words. A great book!

Download or read book Waiting on a Train written by James McCommons and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2009-11-06 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the tumultuous year of 2008--when gas prices reached $4 a gallon, Amtrak set ridership records, and a commuter train collided with a freight train in California--journalist James McCommons spent a year on America's trains, talking to the people who ride and work the rails throughout much of the Amtrak system. Organized around these rail journeys, Waiting on a Train is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism. Readers meet the historians, railroad executives, transportation officials, politicians, government regulators, railroad lobbyists, and passenger-rail advocates who are rallying around a simple question: Why has the greatest railroad nation in the world turned its back on the very form of transportation that made modern life and mobility possible? Distrust of railroads in the nineteenth century, overregulation in the twentieth, and heavy government subsidies for airports and roads have left the country with a skeletal intercity passenger-rail system. Amtrak has endured for decades, and yet failed to prosper owing to a lack of political and financial support and an uneasy relationship with the big, remaining railroads. While riding the rails, McCommons explores how the country may move passenger rail forward in America--and what role government should play in creating and funding mass-transportation systems. Against the backdrop of the nation's stimulus program, he explores what it will take to build high-speed trains and transportation networks, and when the promise of rail will be realized in America.

Download or read book X Rated written by David McCumber and published by Pinnacle Books. This book was released on 2000 with total page 564 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This account tells of the Mitchell brothers' rise and fall in the world of pornography--a sordid story of sex, scandal and murder. The first in Pinnacle Books' In Cold Blood true-crime classic reissue promotion. photos.

Download or read book The Rail written by Tommy Donovan and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of a young man growing up during difficult times in the Bronx, New York.

Download or read book Off the Rails written by Rudy Sarzo and published by Too Smart Publications. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Among the many reasons why I took upon myself the task of writing Off the Rails was to clear a lot of misinformation and bogus theories that circulate on the Internet regarding Randy Rhoads' ife and death. Believe me, it was not easy chronicling all of the daily events that happened on and off the road. Fortunately, Ihad kept a journal of our travels so I had accurate details ..."--P [4] of cover.

Download or read book The Men Who Loved Trains written by Rush Loving and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-21 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning account of a crisis in railroad history: “This absorbing book takes you on an entertaining ride.” —Chicago Tribune A saga about one of the oldest and most romantic enterprises in the land—America’s railroads—The Men Who Loved Trains introduces the chieftains who have run the railroads, both those who set about grabbing power and big salaries for themselves, and others who truly loved the industry. As a journalist and associate editor of Fortune magazine who covered the demise of Penn Central and the creation of Conrail, Rush Loving often had a front-row seat to the foibles and follies of this group of men. He uncovers intrigue, greed, lust for power, boardroom battles, and takeover wars and turns them into a page-turning story. He recounts how the chairman of CSX Corporation, who later became George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary, managed to make millions for himself while his company drifted in chaos. Yet there were also those who loved trains and railroading—and who played key roles in reshaping transportation in the northeastern United States. This book will delight not only the rail fan, but anyone interested in American business and history. Includes photographs

Download or read book Cornbread Red written by Bob Henning and published by Bebob. This book was released on 1995-10-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a biographical story based on the true life of Combread Red", a legendary and colorful professional pool player and gambler. In billiard circles, he is known as the "Living Legend".

Download or read book Hustler Days written by R. A. Dyer and published by Lyons Press. This book was released on 2005-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rollicking portrait of the kings of the cues