Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss

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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 05/21/2001
ISBN: 9780156010702
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.50w x 0.51d

Review Citations: BookPage 05/01/2001 pg. 23
Entertainment Weekly 05/18/2001 pg. 73
New York Times 05/27/2001 pg. 20