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Title: Compulsive by Jim Nelson, Joanne Greenberg ISBN: 1-928971-01-6 Publisher: Blue Chicken Pub. Date: December, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.3 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A frighteningly realistic story of compulsive gambling.
Comment: It is all here....from the initial small bets, "just for fun", to the rush of winning, (the worst thing that can happen to anyone with an addictive personality), to the larger and larger wagers, to the eventual crushing losses. I would be very surprised to learn that the author was not in fact a compuslive gambler. He hints at that in his foreword.
The subtle, insidious slide of the compulsive gambler is portrayed very well in the book. The truth is in the details...the rationalizations, the hiding of money, the lying and self-deceit that takes place as the disease takes over more and more of his life.
See if you recognize anything of yourself in the pages. It will certainly make you think twice about gambling.
Rating: 4
Summary: A required read for gamblers
Comment: If you are a gambler this book should be required reading. Nelson's writing style is engaging and accurate - he captures the feelings of gambling right down to the excitement that just walking into a new casino can generate. He accurately portrays all the little things that go along with gambling - the new "friends", the new social events to attend, the new feeling of acceptance with fellow gamblers, the comraderie around a table. Just like smokers also enjoy unwrapping their cigarettes, and tapping them, and holding them, gamblers enjoy a lot of little side things that make the whole package hard to give up.
A lot of what the main character goes through is very typical to all gamblers - unfortunately his compulsive personality takes over and gambling turns into an addiction for him. We see his slow decent as a gradual process - the final destination is something he would have run away from back when he was starting but by the end it all seems normal to him. You may scare yourself by recognizing the parallels to your own life. How far along are you in his progression? How many of his rationalizations have you already used?
My view of casinos has changed after reading this book. I was focused too much on my own story - an occasional casino day tripper taking advantage of cheap food and drink - and didn't consider all the compulsive personalities out there that casinos help ruin. If you want to put down your last thousand dollars on a bad bet the casinos will gladly call you "sir" and give you a free drink! Just imagine if a similar thing existed for drug addicts - imagine seeing someone in a tuxedo giving someone lying in the gutter a new syringe of heroin for three thousand dollars and calling him "sir" and making him feel important. It would be outlawed instantly and the tuxedo guy exposed as the fraud that he is! But as it is, it is "OK" and legal.
So, as you go out there and buy lots of gambling books explaining how to play and what the odds are, etc., I recommend that you also get this book and see if you see a side of yourself that you might not want to. But so much better to find out in a book!
Rating: 2
Summary: Very Typical -- Don't bother
Comment: This is the every day, common story of the 'fall from grace' of those touched by the gambling bug. Once you've read a few books about gamblers and gambling addiction, you'll realize that this story is the network TV version of what it's really like (if you want the cable version, check out "Stung: the incredible obsession of Brian Molony"). The author's intent is good I suppose, but characters' dialog is absurd, contrived and filled with unrealistic bravado. Clearly, the author is no gambling addict -- not a bad thing! Though the addictive symtoms and behavior illustrated throughout the novel are conceptually accurate, they're depicted with a simplicity that renders their phenominal effect almost trivial. I struggled and shook my head through the entire book. For the casual enthusiast, could be a good airport terminal read. Otherwise, you're better off playing cell phone solitaire.
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Title: This Must Be Hell : A Look at Pathological Gambling by Hale Humphrey ISBN: 059513498X Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 31 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: A Way to Quit Gambling : (For Problem Gamblers) by John Chin ISBN: 0595088686 Publisher: Writer's Showcase Press Pub. Date: 07 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss by Frederick and Steven Barthelme ISBN: 0156010704 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 21 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Behind the 8-Ball : A Recovery Guide for the Families of Gamblers by Linda Berman, Mary-Ellen Siegal ISBN: 1583480463 Publisher: Author's Choice Press Pub. Date: 23 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Don't Leave It to Chance: A Guide for Families of Problem Gamblers by Edward J. Federman, Charles E. Drebing, Christopher Krebs ISBN: 1572242000 Publisher: New Harbinger Pubns Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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