Book Description
Double Down is a true story, a terrifying roller-coaster ride deep into the heart of two men, and into the world of floating Gulf Coast casinos. When both of their parents died within a short time of each other, the writers Frederick and Steven Barthelme, both professors of English in Mississippi, inherited a goodly sum of money. What followed was a binge during which they gambled away their entire fortune-and more. And then, in a cruel twist of fate, they were charged with cheating at the tables.
Told with a mixture of sadness and wry humor, and with a compelling look at the physical aura of gambling-the feel of the cards, the smell of the crowd, the sounds of the tables-Double Down is a reflection on the lure of challenging the odds, the attraction of stepping into the void. A cautionary tale (the brothers were eventually exonerated), it is a book that, once read, will never be forgotten.
Customer Reviews:
A must read!!!.......2004-10-09
Excellent! A wonderfully entertaining story, beautifully told. The only problem, I wish it had gone another 100 pages! This is one of those stories you wish someone would develop into a screenplay for a movie!
Final thoughts: BUY THIS BOOK! You wont be disappointed!
Of Nepotism and Naivete.......2004-06-06
First, the obvious: neither Barthelme brother would have cushy college-teaching jobs had not their eldest brother, Donald, been a trendy post-modernist icon. The younger brother, Steven B., has managed to publish exactly one (1) book of short stories; Rick, the larger, plumper one, has some sort of gossamer reputation among those who like trailer-park fiction. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of better writers with better qualifications who would kill and maim with gleeful abandon for jobs at Southern Mississippi -- and who would devote themselves to those jobs, and to their students, rather than run off two or three times a week to squander Daddy's money at the blackjack tables [disclaimer: the undersigned thinks she is one of those "better writers"]. That said, this slender volume does indeed fascinate: I read it straight through in five hours, and so will most readers of a literary bent. The brothers B. have in fact done me a service, one years of shrink visits and antidepressants have failed to do -- in one stroke, they have made me glad, glad, glad that I abandoned the academy, failed to obtain a Ph.D., and find myself teaching high school English thirty years after my Iowa fiction MFA. Theirs is a cautionary tale, of what may happen to smart people with minimal reality contact and few, if any, day-to-day responsibilities. The cavernous lack of common-sense knowledge they display in their forays to the Gulf Coast casinos would be inconceivable to anyone who's punched a clock or handled an insurance claim. They are actually surprised to find that casinos have a corporate identity! Gee, they thought those people were their friends ... gahh! As for the dead father they apparently despised, I felt sorry for D. Barthelme Sr. His hard work, his habits of deep thinking and attention to detail, become monstrosities in the ham-hands of his two youngest sons, who in fifty-plus years on this planet have not managed to obtain perspective one. The book is good -- the descriptions of gambling's intoxications, the minute processing of each foolish and silly and self-deluding thought as it arises, are executed with consummate skill -- and yet one can't help concluding, as the memoir shrinks down upon itself into a puddle of anticlimax, that six months or so in prison would have been good for these men, taught them a painful life-lesson or two. Crucial to an understanding of the brothers' plight is the fact that neither Barthelme bothered to have children, thus giving themselves the right to be babies forever. They are not so much perpetual adolescents as they are pre-pubescent (wife and girlfriend notwithstanding), mired forever in Fiftiesland where, if you want to be a cowboy, you just put on the hat and yell, "Bang-bang!" They are not intellectual -- or accomplished -- enough for the ivory-tower defense they so quickly assume; what they are, are second- and third-tier journeymen blessed with a famous name and a glib ability to sling the relativist Crisco. While one may end up wishing Barthelme Sr., who unlike his sons appeared to be able to distinguish right from wrong, had willed his inheritance somewhere else, this reviewer is grateful for the folly of his heirs. A job at Southern Mississippi may be gravy, but that thin gruel isn't nourishing. Real life is the real meat.
A story of loss.......2004-06-02
Double Down is a terrific book about loss. Frederick and Steve Barthelme are brothers who moved to Mississippi to become college professors. They come from a very close knit family, and when it is unwoven from the death of their Mother and Father, a gambling addiction is triggered. Steve and Frederick become regulars at The Grand, a local casino, and they start going at least once a week and spending the whole night there all the way into early morning. After blowing all of their inheritance from their parents, they are acussed of cheating. They were indicted and charged with a felony, and forever kicked out of their favorite casino. This didn't stop their gambling addiction, however it did slow it down. They make fewer trips, to another casino and are less intense gamblers.
The book was well written and for the most part it kept my attention. Some parts they seemed to ramble off about their parents and family, and it gets slow. The accounts of their gambling binges keep you wanting more. They know they should stop, but keep throwing their money in anyway. I recommend this to everyone who is intrested in gambling.
Double Down.......2004-05-18
Double Down, a book about two brothers who discover the world of gambling, has the suspense and drama needed for a good gambling story. The two brothers, who happen to be respectable college professors, move down South to Mississippi to be around their parents. The family, which has drifted apart through the years, has come together for their parent's final years. Soon after their dad die's, the inheritance money starts burning a hole in the brother's pockets. Riverboat gambling puts out the fire. The wild ride lasts for two years, until the Casino accuses them of cheating. Through it all, the brother's learn about themselves, family, and why people do the things they do.
Good story poorly told.......2004-03-13
An interesting book for anyone who's ever been addicted, especially to gambling. This work has a major weakness, the lack of an ending, satisfactory or otherwise. The idea that gambling addicts could spend as much time at the casinos as they say they did and not shortchange their employer and students, doesn't ring true. Also, there is no indication that either brother kept a detailed diary during their gambling sprees. The details, amounts, conversations, they supposedly recall for the book are suspect. Still, Double Down is a decent read. The brothers, however, were about the easiest pickings ever to enter a den of gambling. They learned surprisingly little about how to gamble. There is a bookshelf full of better books on the gambling life than this one. For example,Anthony Holden's Big Deal, Andy Bellin's Poker Nation, Jesse May's Shut Up and Deal, Ben Mezrich's Bring Down the House.
Customer Reviews:
another amazing edition.......2006-03-01
This is yet another in a line of truly amazing comics for adults from DC.
One of the Top 5 Comic Books of 2004.......2004-12-02
This is "Hollywood Blockbuster" done right. The A-Team with a Three Kings edge, Andy Diggle writes intelligent action entertainment better than anyone, and his cynical take on world affairs gives this series a realistic, sharp edge that's missing from most other stories in this genre. The characters may be a bit generic, but like a B-movie with A-list actors, Diggle's scripting lifts each of them above their stereoypical cores. And Jock? His jagged, bombastic artwork evokes the hyperactivity of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. The Losers is my high-octane, not-feeling-the-least-bit-guilty pleasure every month and this collection of issues 7-12 is the perfect way to get a healthy dose of one of the best ongoing series in comics today.
Product Description
Twenty-five endlessly re-usable mazes to trace with your fingertip. Featuring the work of the most talented illustrators we could find from around the world, each maze stands on its own as a work of art. Written by Larry Evans. Age: 4,5,6,7,8,9 Manufacturer: Klutz
Customer Reviews:
Super Sneaky Indeed!.......2000-03-28
I bought this book to keep my eight year old daughter busy on a plane trip. It fascinated all of us. These are mazes that you just trace with you finger and therefore they can be done over and over again and by many different people. Her favorite was the penguins going down water slides. This maze even had a half page in the center that enabled you to go back and forth between two scenes. This was excellent for stimulating the mind as well as just being fun!
Average customer rating:
- too wordy
- helluva writer-great story!!
- As good as leonard? I don't think so.
- America's finest mystery writer has put his pen to another w
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Double Down
Tom Kakonis
Manufacturer: Onyx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
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Shadow Counter
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Bad Luck and Trouble
ASIN: 0451403045 |
Customer Reviews:
too wordy.......2006-02-04
I've lost interest in the last third of this book. I'm skipping over many pages. I feel that he is too wordy and descriptive. A lot of his writing is not essential to the plot? Just get to the point. He should definitely not be compared to the great Elmore Leonard, I love his books.
helluva writer-great story!!.......2004-02-22
been there and came close to what he writes about, and he knows the feelings -the depression after the all day and night game-the hollowness felt on returning to the other non poker world,even as a winner and the discipline and bile producing tension of the game -the oppressive,stifling heat of south florida the pillsbury man hates so much--the seediness underlying palm beach's supposed grandeur-the people are scary real--they exist! - he must know their prototypes-these can't be whole cloth inventions!--best poker story-let alone novel,i've read to date.he writes with a patience for his characters' thoughts that is fluid and comes only with superior craft and brilliance of exposition-wonderful stuff-not a hack writer and tough to repeat these intensities again and again-where leonard is formulaic kakonis is unique--more gritty and nasty and real -he doesn't use his people for laughs-if there are any they arise naturally from the action--there is that place he writes about and he writes about it better than anyone else-got to get michigan roll since this is the first kakonis book i've read--a find!!
As good as leonard? I don't think so........2002-05-16
After reading the glowing reviews of this book, I ended up disappointed by it--although I want to give Michigan Roll a try. First, the plot was predictable. Waverly is holed up across a conveniently abandoned hotel, which you just know is going to figure prominently. When his room gets conveniently fumigated (convenient from the perspective of the plot), you anticipate what is going to happen. So, the action comes across as contrived. Second, Kakonis completely and relentlessly overdoes the slang. Slang brings life to dialogue, but I've never heard anyone in real life use slang as much as his characters do. It was almost as if he would take every single nonslang sentence like "We need to get $200,000" and then translate it into slang ("We need to score 2 balloons" or something), which is OK in moderation, but just don't do it for *every* sentence, because then it doesn't sound authentic. Leonard is a master at capturing everyday speech patterns, but he never overdoes it. Third, the pace of the book starts off too slow. For the first half of the book, I keep picking it up and then putting it down after a couple of pages. The plot doesn't gather steam until the card games. Fourth, his characters are blatant stereotypes--*every one*. Fifth, Waverly is supposed to be the sympathetic "doomed yet philosophical tough guy," someone at home in Jacktown but who can quote Marvell, yet I got tired of his self-pity. Sixth, some scenes included errors (a room is too dark to see in, and then suddenly a character is gathering up small objects from the floor as if it were well-lit) or were just plain unbelievable (would he/she really act this way in this situation?). Given all that, why am I going to try another of his other books? Because this book had a few things going for it: the gambling angle, humorous characters, occasional exciting action sequences. Maybe Michigan Roll hangs together better.
America's finest mystery writer has put his pen to another w.......1997-02-22
Tom Kakonis is perhaps the best mystery writer in Americatoday. Though he has not received one tenth of the acclaim or the attention given to Elmore Leonard, his cast of characters is more colorful and his plots more intriguing. Tom Kakonis is a true artist with respect to the "craft " of writing. As a former bookseller at one of Denver's more renowned bookstores,I recommended Tom Kakonis hundreds of times and always heard gratified thanks from returning customers. Double Down is a top-notch mystery/suspense that will be enjoyed by any reader of James W. Hall, Elmore Leonard, or James Burke
Average customer rating:
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Deep Down in Music: The Art of the Great Jazz Bassists (Art of Jazz)
Leslie Gourse
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Strings | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Jazz | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Jazz | Music | Arts & Music | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | Subjects | Books
Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | Subjects | Books
Music | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | Subjects | Books
Music | Arts & Music | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books | Classical | General | Instruction & Study | Songbooks
General | Music | Entertainment | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Strings | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Jazz | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0531159043 |
Book Description
Down Low, Double Life is a tale of infidelity, reality and relationships. Jamie Kennedy is an ex pro football player who is about to get married to his college sweetheart, Mia. The day of the wedding, he has his doubts. Mia has been in his corner for years. She was there when he had nothing. Still, Jamie is afraid to commit to the one person in the world that has his back.
After getting married Jamie experiences the fabled seven-year itch. Mia's career as an editor for a popular magazine begins to demand most of her time. Jamie feels neglected and gets the urge to cheat. His best friend, Michael tells him that infidelity is why he lost his wife, Loretta. After two years of being divorced, Michael is still trying to win back his ex wife's heart. Loretta loves Michael, but she is afraid to give her heart to him again.
This is a tale of suspense, love, betrayal and drama.
Download Description
Down Low, Double Life is a tale of infidelity, reality and relationships. Jamie Kennedy is an ex pro football player who is about to get married to his college sweetheart, Mia. The day of the wedding, he has his doubts. Mia has been in his corner for years. She was there when he had nothing. Still, Jamie is afraid to commit to the one person in the world that has his back.
After getting married Jamie experiences the fabled seven-year itch. Mia's career as an editor for a popular magazine begins to demand most of her time. Jamie feels neglected and gets the urge to cheat. His best friend, Michael tells him that infidelity is why he lost his wife, Loretta. After two years of being divorced, Michael is still trying to win back his ex wife's heart. Loretta loves Michael, but she is afraid to give her heart to him again.
This is a tale of suspense, love, betrayal and drama. Visit the author's website for more details at www.dlsmith.net
Customer Reviews:
Could have been better!.......2006-07-18
The author states in the notes that he could not afford to hire an editor. However, he COULD afford to proof read! He also mentioned he didn't feel like going back to re-write a sequence in the book to make it better. WHAT?!!! A true writer is passionate about his/her work and strives to make it the best it can be. Although Mr. Smith does have talent, I think he has a way to go if he wants to make a name for himself in the literary world. I cringed each time I saw a typo. There were so many it was ridiculous!
Drama, drama, drama.......2005-11-23
Two couples. Two sets of problems. Can love prevail?
Jamie and Mia...younger and inexperienced
After ten years of being together, Jamie and Mia have decided to finally jump the broom. Soon, gone is the marital bliss as they find the demands of their careers wedging a gulf between them. Mia just wants Jamie to stand by her and support her while her career is taking off. After all, she did the same for him. Jamie on the other hand, wants Mia to continue to be the supportive woman that she once was by putting her career aspirations on the back burner. But what happens when neither is supporting the other? As tension mounts and they grow further and further apart, will the two be able to reconcile before it's too late?
Michael and Loretta...older and wiser
They were the couple that all couples aspired to be. Everyone wanted a relationship like Mike and Loretta. So it came as a total shock to everyone when they quickly and quietly divorced. Having time to now think about all that went wrong, can these two get beyond their past and have a future together? Can Mike convince his best friend Jamie not to make the same mistakes he did?
Don't let the title fool you. This is book number three for me by this author (Forbidden and Still Crazy), and I can honestly say that I haven't been disappointed yet. I enjoyed this book and recommend it as well as the others. Now it's off to find book number four - Divorce Him, Marry Me.
Infidelity, Reality and Relationships.......2005-10-28
Sometimes we don't realize what we have until it's gone. This is what I thought as I read this book. I was happy to see that it was not about the "DL" lifestyle but about a man with two women and the consequences of that lifestyle. The lead character, Jamie Kennedy has a good woman in Mia. She has always had his back, she was there for him when he was living large and also when he got cut from Pro-Football. When she becomes the breadwinner, his insecurities surface. Even though he knows what he has at home like a lot of us men, he struggles with doing the right thing. He considers stepping out without weighing the lifelong consequences that come. This book asks the age old question, "How do you hurt the one you love?" This is a story about triumphs and heartaches. I was surprised to find out after visiting the author's website that he and Darrin Lowery are the same person. Apparently D.L. Smith is Darrin Lowery's Penname.
OH MY GOD...........2005-09-22
This book was the BOMB!! Drama, Drama and more Drama. It is definitely one of the best books I've recently read. It's very easy to read and it's fast flowing. Run don't walk to go get this one. This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last. I have already started his latest book "Still Crazy" and I can already tell that I won't be disappointed.
Very good book -- Darrin, keep up the good work!
Can't put it down!.......2004-10-16
I haven't even finished the book yet and I have to admit it is a really good read. The wedding scene in the beginning is funny, entertaining and has a ton of drama in it. I was all smiles as I read the first few chapters. This book is about a man that takes his woman for granted. It has some serious life lessons, some hysterically funny dialogue between characters (it reminds me of me and my boys and how we talk) and the love scenes, man this brother is doing it! This is a great weekend read. I am three quarters finished and I am really upset that it has to end. I'm looking for a sequel! I would love to see some of the lesser characters with their own story, especially Wanda, Sonja and Yvonne!
Book Description
What is it like to receive a life-saving organ transplant? On April 13, 1997, I received new lungs. Blow the House Down details my story. It illustrates how Cystic Fibrosis affected my life and how I fought it. This book reflects the immense generosity of so many people, including my donor and her family; my family and friends; people who donate to Cystic Fibrosis research and drive major scientific breakthroughs; and doctors, nurses, and physical therapists who toil hard day in and day out to restore our health. Together, we each have the power to cure disease.
Customer Reviews:
This is what honesty, courage and humor can do ..........2001-02-16
This is an engaging, lucid story by an intelligent man with heart and honesty ... not to mention a mischievous twinkle in his eye! While most of us have not suffered the wrenching health challenges the author recounts, this book is a good companion to anyone who is looking for friendship and encouragement on a hard journey. Certainly, care givers and family should give this book to those who want to know they are not alone in the face of cystic fibrosis, cancer, depression, or other hardships. Charlie knows the icy stare of mortality. And like a hockey ruffian, gives it a full-body check and goes out for beers afterward. Way to go, Charlie!
INSPIRATIONAL!.......2000-10-26
I was delightfully surprised at the effect this book had on me. I couldn't seem to put it down! I've had a rough time in the past 3-4 years but the ambition displayed in the book showed how differently one can perceive their troubles and turn them into triumph. I admired this portrayal of strength and tenacity.
Wonderful account of a man with great courage........2000-10-09
Overcoming greats odds, the author elequently tells the story of his fight against Cystic Fibrosis that ultimately leads to a double lung transplant.
Mr. Tolchin recounts the trials of growing up with CF and all the procedures, medical problems and hospital stays that he encountered. His tale includes all the medical staff and friends that support him during his journey and the importance humanity and human contact has to medical science.
His story is one of triumph, and displays how important family and friends are to overcoming difficult situations. Charlie's not the only hero in this book. He is quick to point out all the people who inspired him along the way. It is here where the books succeeds and inspires. The team effort is unbelievable.
Blow The House Down, is a book that has many lessons a reader can learn. The science and medical break-throughs involved with a double lung transplant are amazing, but the courage of Charles Tolchin, the love of his family and friends and the professional dedication of the medical staff is the real story here.
Customer Reviews:
Fun double hitter with two sets of comic opposites!.......2001-12-24
DOC'S DOUBLE DELIVERY
By Jaqueline Diamond
Thirty-one-year-old Dr. Barry Cantress has just spent two years in the Peace Corps on Prego Prego, a Pacific Island overrun with goats. After far too many years of self-imposed celibacy, he's more than ready to fall in love and settle down. But before he can find just the right woman to be the mother of his future children, he falls into a mad, passionate liaison with a woman who couldn't be more wrong for him.
Chelsea Byers is a beautiful bohemian who spends her days as a receptionist in a pediatrician's office and her nights in exotic dance clubs. She has no idea that the tall, handsome, but clearly naïve young man she saves from a thief who put knock-out drops in his drink is her new boss. She only knows that she's more attracted to him than any man she's ever met. Chelsea takes him home with her to sleep off the effects of the drugging, but when he recovers somewhat in the middle of the night, they are unable to resist the attraction flaring between them.
Regrets come in the morning, and both pull back from the connection, but when Chelsea discovers she is pregnant with twins, Barry insists on doing the right thing--for all the wrong reasons, as far as Chelsea is concerned.
This book is very funny, a lot of the humor coming from the author's very sprightly voice. She is also outstanding at making each character very distinctive, clearly showing through her pacing and word choice the stiffness of the uptight hero when in his head, and ditto for the lively quirkiness of the heroine when in her point of view. Barry and Chelsea are a classic pairing of comic opposites reminiscent of Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in the 40's screwball comedy, Bringing Up Baby. Though, unlike that squeaky clean movie, this book includes strong emotional connection and hot sex, a delightful plus!
DOWN HOME DIVA
By Stephanie Doyle
Brooklyn-born nail artist, Claudia Bertucci, is on the run from the Mob and forced to hide out at the peaceful Wisconsin dairy farm of former FBI agent, Ross Evans. She'd be bored out of her skull with staid life in the country if it weren't for her constant state of excitement around her incredibly sexy host.
The plot setup is believably, and humorously, done in a cute prologue, and from there, the story rolls along briskly and merrily. This is a classic fish-out-of-water comic plot with a pairing of two protagonists who are comic opposites. The heroine is a witty, sassy New Yorker who brings to mind the character, Fran, from the TV comedy, The Nanny. Her piercing observations are very funny to read, especially when contrasted to opinions of the cynical, strong-but-silent hero. Delightfully, the abundant laughs provided by the heroine don't detract at all from the sexual tension, which is immediate, hot and continuous between her and the hero. Some great chuckles come from the subcharacters, as well, a cute bunch of kooks. All in all, Down Home Diva is a wild, wacky ride you won't want to miss.
Books:
- Easy Orchids: The Fail-Safe Guide to Growing Orchids Indoors
- Evil Harvest
- Exposing the Accuser of the Brethren (Discernment)
- Fatherloss: How Sons of All Ages Come to Terms with the Deaths of Their Dads
- First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
- FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit
- For a Few Demons More (Rachel Morgan, Book 5)
- Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance
- Hand in Glove
- Healing Photons: The Science & Art of Blood Irradiation Therapy
Books Index
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Something for Nothing: Luck in America
