{"product_id":"the-education-of-a-poker-player-9781938160851","title":"The Education of a Poker Player","description":"\u003cb\u003e2015 NOMINEE FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author James McManus offers up a collection of seven linked 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 high school. As the meaning of a vow of celibacy becomes clearer to him, however, and he is exposed to the irresistible temptations of poker and girls, life as a seminarian begins to seem less appealing. These autobiographical stories are enlightening and evocative, providing keen, often humorous insight into Catholicism, faith, celibacy and its opposite, as well as America's--and increasingly the world's--favorite card game. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames McManus\u003c\/b\u003e has been called \"poker's Shakespeare.\" He is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author of \u003ci\u003ePositively Fifth Street\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCowboys Full: The Story of Poker\u003c\/i\u003e, among others. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper's, The Believer, Paris Review, Esquire, \u003c\/i\u003e and in \u003ci\u003eBest American\u003c\/i\u003e anthologies for poetry, sports writing, science and nature, and magazine writing. He is the recipient of the Peter Lisagor Award for Sports Journalism, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations. He teaches at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e BOA Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/13\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781938160851\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2015 pg. 25\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/26\/2015\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"James McManus","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41334309519541,"sku":"9781938160851","price":13.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_23190e25-cf25-4bbb-a212-d8feee87c591.jpg?v=1636431969","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-education-of-a-poker-player-9781938160851","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}