Tome draws positive reviews

Wednesday, May 7, 2003 | 8:16 a.m.

What they're saying about "Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs and Binion's World Series of Poker":

New York Times: " 'Positively Fifth Street,' an exhilarating chronicle of the 2000 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, will go on the shelf with the classic that inspired it, 'The Biggest Game in Town,' A. Alvarez's account of the 1981 event."

Newsday: "This is a real-life Clark Kent matching wits with poker's superheroes and emerging triumphant. McManus' improbable journey is often as exhilarating as landing a royal flush."

Sports Illustrated: "This is a rich and raunchy memoir, a Las Vegas fable of no-limit action."

San Jose Mercury News: "It's an amazing book, suspenseful, knowledgeable, funny, arcane. The game they play in Binion's World Series of Poker is no-limit Texas hold 'em, which in McManus' hands becomes a thing as abstruse and beautiful as Melville's whale-science."

Wall Street Journal: "Beyond being the most authentic account of the World Series of Poker, 'Positively Fifth Street' is an elegant explanation of why people gamble, why they are drawn to risk."

Chicago Sun-Times: "A number of fascinating books, including A. Alvarez's 'The Biggest Game in Town' and Anthony Holden's 'Big Deal: One Year as a Professional Poker Player,' have picked up on the skill and psychology of high-stakes poker. With its multiple dramas, 'Positively Fifth Street' has earned its place at the final table."

-- Jeff Haney