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Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything
Capturing the spirit of a freewheeling era, this rollicking biography brings to life the gambler-hero who inspired Guys and Dolls.
Born in a log cabin in the Ozarks, Alvin "Titanic" Thompson (1892-1974) traveled with his golf clubs, a .45 revolver, and a suitcase full of cash. He won and lost millions playing cards, dice, golf, pool, and dangerous games of his own invention. He killed five men and married five women, each one a teenager on her wedding day. He ruled New York's underground craps games in the 1920s and was Damon Runyon's model for slick-talking Sky Masterson. Dominating the links in the pre-PGA Tour years, Thompson may have been the greatest golfer of his time, teeing up with Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, and Ray Floyd. He also traded card tricks with Houdini, conned Al Capone, lost a million to Minnesota Fats and then teamed up with Fats and won it all back. A terrific read for anyone who has ever laid a bet, Titanic Thompson recaptures the colorful times of a singular figure: America's original road gambler.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2010
99 people are currently reading
591 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Cook
67 books120 followersKevin Cook, the award-winning author of Titanic Thompson and Tommy’s Honor, has written for the New York Times, the Daily News, GQ, Men’s Journal, Vogue, and many other publications, and has appeared on CNN and Fox TV. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
January 20, 2019
"Are you a gambling man?" he'd ask. "Because I am." Prologue.
A non-fiction biography that reads like fiction, this is the life story of Titanic Thompson. According to author Kevin Cook, Titanic's life was the model for the gambler Sky Masterson in the musical "Guys and Dolls." This poker and golf-playing phenomenon bet and propositioned his way across the country. In addition to all of the fun anecdotes about bets he made, Titanic was a star witness in the trial for the murder of the man accused of "fixing" the World Series.
Seriously folks, history doesn't get much more interesting than this.
As Alvin collected his winnings, someone asked Snow Clark the stranger's name. "I don't rightly know but it ought to be 'Titanic,'" Clark said. "He sinks everybody." pg 3
Alvin Clarence Thomas was born in 1893 in rural Missouri near the small town of Monett. The last name, Thompson, that he would adopt for most of his adult life, came from a later newspaper misprint that he embraced as his own.
Later in life, Thompson said he couldn’t read, but numbers and odds always made sense to him. He spent hours sitting alone in his room, teaching himself to adeptly shuffle cards, practicing dealing from the bottom of the deck more quickly than the eye could follow. Thompson developed a method of marking cards that some still use today, like putting dots on the back or notching the edges to be able to tell a face cards from the lower ones.
He was quite popular with the ladies and married 5 times to women significantly younger than him. Scandalous!
"He was fun," said a woman who knew him. "He took his hat off when he spoke to you. Alvin was slim like a willow, and he didn't walk, he sauntered." pg 21
When he was drafted into the army, he was made a sergeant and taught the men under him how to gamble.
"Sergeant Thomas spent hours dealing demonstration stud hands, providing a running commentary on each hand, training his men to calculate the odds of an opponent's having an ace or king or deuce in the hole, telling them when to bet harder and when to fold their tents, so they could beat all the poor dumb soldiers who trusted to luck." pg 53
There are so many interesting stories in this book. My favorite was when he swindled Al Capone. Yes, THE Al Capone.
Highly recommended for fans of history or historical fiction. As I said, this guy's life reads like a story.
A non-fiction biography that reads like fiction, this is the life story of Titanic Thompson. According to author Kevin Cook, Titanic's life was the model for the gambler Sky Masterson in the musical "Guys and Dolls." This poker and golf-playing phenomenon bet and propositioned his way across the country. In addition to all of the fun anecdotes about bets he made, Titanic was a star witness in the trial for the murder of the man accused of "fixing" the World Series.
Seriously folks, history doesn't get much more interesting than this.
As Alvin collected his winnings, someone asked Snow Clark the stranger's name. "I don't rightly know but it ought to be 'Titanic,'" Clark said. "He sinks everybody." pg 3
Alvin Clarence Thomas was born in 1893 in rural Missouri near the small town of Monett. The last name, Thompson, that he would adopt for most of his adult life, came from a later newspaper misprint that he embraced as his own.
Later in life, Thompson said he couldn’t read, but numbers and odds always made sense to him. He spent hours sitting alone in his room, teaching himself to adeptly shuffle cards, practicing dealing from the bottom of the deck more quickly than the eye could follow. Thompson developed a method of marking cards that some still use today, like putting dots on the back or notching the edges to be able to tell a face cards from the lower ones.
He was quite popular with the ladies and married 5 times to women significantly younger than him. Scandalous!
"He was fun," said a woman who knew him. "He took his hat off when he spoke to you. Alvin was slim like a willow, and he didn't walk, he sauntered." pg 21
When he was drafted into the army, he was made a sergeant and taught the men under him how to gamble.
"Sergeant Thomas spent hours dealing demonstration stud hands, providing a running commentary on each hand, training his men to calculate the odds of an opponent's having an ace or king or deuce in the hole, telling them when to bet harder and when to fold their tents, so they could beat all the poor dumb soldiers who trusted to luck." pg 53
There are so many interesting stories in this book. My favorite was when he swindled Al Capone. Yes, THE Al Capone.
Highly recommended for fans of history or historical fiction. As I said, this guy's life reads like a story.
February 7, 2022
Born in 1892, Thompson used his country boy image to separate many a mark from their money. He got his nickname after winning from everyone in a poolroom - “Call him Titanic, he’s sunk us all!” He obsessively practiced shooting pool, throwing dice, hitting golf balls for hours so that he could get the outcome he wanted. He studied statistics so he could make the best bets on cards and dice. He cheated, too - he was a master of marking cards and sleight of hand. He’d bet someone that he could throw a bottle cap to the top of a building, then did it - the mark didn’t see him substitute a weighted bottle cap.
Damon Runyan based Sky Masterson on him in Guys and Dolls. It’s an interesting book about the history of gambling and crime in America, too.
Damon Runyan based Sky Masterson on him in Guys and Dolls. It’s an interesting book about the history of gambling and crime in America, too.
October 8, 2022
It’s become the most rote of cliches: they don’t make ‘em like they used to. And still no other old saw manages to sum it up quite so well. See a picture of a man in a Borsellino fedora in an old picture, and it fits him like a glove. See a modern man in the same hat—even if he prides himself on a kind of anachronistic flair—and somehow it just seems like part of a costume, or a pretension.
What changed, exactly, and when?
Who knows.
I do know, however, that no man seems to quite embody that roaring, wild decade and some change between the two World Wars quite like Alvin Thomas.
He came from a hardscrabble childhood, functionally illiterate, to become a human computer, a whiz whose understanding of odds and percentages was matched only by his ironlike constitution. It’s no coincidence that gamblers are so prone to heart attacks and all manner of nerve ailments, or that “Titanic” Thompson was the exception to that rule. To paraphrase gambling icon Benny Binion, Titanic micturated ice water.
At the height of the Depression, when many men would’ve killed for a cheeseburger, Titanic bet, won, and lost twenty-five thousand dollars a poker hand without batting an eye. He cheated killers like Al Capone and hustled (and beat) some of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport. Rudy Wanderone, the real, larger-than-life character upon which Jackie Gleeson’s “Minnesota Fats” is based, once called Titanic his hero and the greatest hustler of all time.
And the craziest part is that nearly every feat Titanic boasted about was either literally documented or substantiated by numerous witnesses (many times including the marks he beat).
At the heart of the story, though, is an unknowable man. That’s no knock on author Kevin Cook’s ability to skin the onion, but rather a testament to the abiding mystery of any man or woman who embodies their time. And it’s important to remember that, while we today are encouraged toward constant, perhaps solipsistic reflection, that wasn’t always the way, especially not with men, and especially not during the Depression.
Still, as the story of Titanic is told, one begins to get a sense of the hustler’s strange, mysterious soul, corrupted but not entirely killed by cynicism or greed. It comes in the less guarded moments, near the end of his life, when he tells his son about his relationship with his own rolling stone of a father. And it comes when the author reveals that Titanic, who married and divorced five times, only chose one wife’s loss to mourn. Or when Titanic talks about the one man he killed whose death affected him personally, if only because the nominal man was really just a boy.
Ultimately, The True Story of Titanic Thompson is a compelling look at the American story, particularly its sport history and the still-potent myth of the self-made man. Like William Burroughs or Dashiell Hammett, Alvin “Titanic Thompson” Thomas was a man in a suit and a hat who presents an endlessly fascinating riddle. Highest recommendation, with photos.
What changed, exactly, and when?
Who knows.
I do know, however, that no man seems to quite embody that roaring, wild decade and some change between the two World Wars quite like Alvin Thomas.
He came from a hardscrabble childhood, functionally illiterate, to become a human computer, a whiz whose understanding of odds and percentages was matched only by his ironlike constitution. It’s no coincidence that gamblers are so prone to heart attacks and all manner of nerve ailments, or that “Titanic” Thompson was the exception to that rule. To paraphrase gambling icon Benny Binion, Titanic micturated ice water.
At the height of the Depression, when many men would’ve killed for a cheeseburger, Titanic bet, won, and lost twenty-five thousand dollars a poker hand without batting an eye. He cheated killers like Al Capone and hustled (and beat) some of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport. Rudy Wanderone, the real, larger-than-life character upon which Jackie Gleeson’s “Minnesota Fats” is based, once called Titanic his hero and the greatest hustler of all time.
And the craziest part is that nearly every feat Titanic boasted about was either literally documented or substantiated by numerous witnesses (many times including the marks he beat).
At the heart of the story, though, is an unknowable man. That’s no knock on author Kevin Cook’s ability to skin the onion, but rather a testament to the abiding mystery of any man or woman who embodies their time. And it’s important to remember that, while we today are encouraged toward constant, perhaps solipsistic reflection, that wasn’t always the way, especially not with men, and especially not during the Depression.
Still, as the story of Titanic is told, one begins to get a sense of the hustler’s strange, mysterious soul, corrupted but not entirely killed by cynicism or greed. It comes in the less guarded moments, near the end of his life, when he tells his son about his relationship with his own rolling stone of a father. And it comes when the author reveals that Titanic, who married and divorced five times, only chose one wife’s loss to mourn. Or when Titanic talks about the one man he killed whose death affected him personally, if only because the nominal man was really just a boy.
Ultimately, The True Story of Titanic Thompson is a compelling look at the American story, particularly its sport history and the still-potent myth of the self-made man. Like William Burroughs or Dashiell Hammett, Alvin “Titanic Thompson” Thomas was a man in a suit and a hat who presents an endlessly fascinating riddle. Highest recommendation, with photos.
February 6, 2011
I've been reading this book frantically, desperate to get onto the next exploit of the great Titanic Thompson. I love books (and films) about con-men, just because their ploys are usually so crafty and intelligently put together - I find them fascinating despite the obviously dubious morality. And this is a great example of that, covering the wayward, rambling life of an unknown American legend and his quest for riches at the expense of gamblers and marks up and down the America of the '20s and '30s.
I can't tell you how accurate this is as a biography of Thompson - I'd never even heard of the man until I opened the cover of this book. But as a riveting read, it's up there with the best. The picture it paints of America between the wars - the carpet baggers, the hoodlums, prohibition, the gambling dens - is brilliantly evocative. And the simplicity of the ways Thompson cons his targets (moving a signpost before betting the number of miles on it is incorrect, placing the stakes of a horseshoe game a foot further apart than they should be etc.) is brilliantly portrayed. Kevin Cook carefully points out in places the legends about Thompson that he knows to be untrue, but whether what remains is completely factual or not is hard to say. But that's always going to be a problem with a book of this nature - the subject of it is essentially an urban legend, someone who shied away from publicity because he thought it would harm his career, leaving hearsay and myths in his wake. There are first hand accounts of his life used here and there, direct quotes from Thompson himself, but these are almost inevitably going to be tinged with elements of exaggeration and self promotion. So in my opinion, Cook has done a good job of setting down the most accurate account he could have.
I've seen some other reviews which suggest the style of writing is a little bit unemotive, and I guess I can see where those comments come from. There is a lot covered in the book, and at the end of the day it is a biography rather than a work of fiction. But I didn't find the writer's style off-putting. I loved it.
I can't tell you how accurate this is as a biography of Thompson - I'd never even heard of the man until I opened the cover of this book. But as a riveting read, it's up there with the best. The picture it paints of America between the wars - the carpet baggers, the hoodlums, prohibition, the gambling dens - is brilliantly evocative. And the simplicity of the ways Thompson cons his targets (moving a signpost before betting the number of miles on it is incorrect, placing the stakes of a horseshoe game a foot further apart than they should be etc.) is brilliantly portrayed. Kevin Cook carefully points out in places the legends about Thompson that he knows to be untrue, but whether what remains is completely factual or not is hard to say. But that's always going to be a problem with a book of this nature - the subject of it is essentially an urban legend, someone who shied away from publicity because he thought it would harm his career, leaving hearsay and myths in his wake. There are first hand accounts of his life used here and there, direct quotes from Thompson himself, but these are almost inevitably going to be tinged with elements of exaggeration and self promotion. So in my opinion, Cook has done a good job of setting down the most accurate account he could have.
I've seen some other reviews which suggest the style of writing is a little bit unemotive, and I guess I can see where those comments come from. There is a lot covered in the book, and at the end of the day it is a biography rather than a work of fiction. But I didn't find the writer's style off-putting. I loved it.
January 11, 2012
A cracking read. The true story of American hustler Titanic Thompson, who gambled his way around the states from 1910 until the 70's, winning and losing millions in the process. He was a card sharp, sharp shooter, athelete, golfer who would bet on almost anything and invariably come out on top. He rubbed shoulders with and conned everybody from Al Capone to Harry Houdini. It's a real insight into a bygone age. Having read it, you can't believe how much the world has changed in 100 years. Did you know there were only 10 miles of paved road in America in 1910? Thought that was quite amazing. You'll breeze through this book in one sitting - give it a whirl.
April 28, 2011
The book is well-written and has some interesting passages and vignettes of the era. The problem with the book is that the story is repetitive: one hustle after another, ad infinitum. The lead character is neither admirable nor particularly charming: he's what Sherwood Anderson would call a "grotesque," obsessed with one thing.
September 12, 2022
An enjoyable read if slightly repetitive with more and more hustles it would of interesting to learn what he did with all the money ... although I suppose the answer is at the end of the book...
December 4, 2011
Small room literature. Enjoyable list of tales of the annoying bloke from the pub who would ask you to bet on 'anything'. Strange to believe how gullible people must have been in yesteryear. Golfing tales were enjoyable and more realistic than throwing items over high-rise buildings. Credit to the author who hasn't portrayed Mr Thompson/Thomas in anything but a good light. He remained a selfish, arrogant individual who didn't care who he fleeced and displayed no care or much attention to his family. Has this been made into a film? I too had never heard of Mr Thompson so cannot confirm/deny any of the authors stories/direction. An enjoyable read at times.
February 24, 2011
Interesting account of a fascinating con man- reminds me of myself (that is, if I were smarter, better coordinated, and more dedicated to separating rich people from their money).
January 4, 2022
A very interesting bio
The story of a man who lived every bit of a full life. He wasn’t a good guy but you couldn’t hate him
The story of a man who lived every bit of a full life. He wasn’t a good guy but you couldn’t hate him
January 31, 2022
Titanic Thompson whose proper name was Alvin Clarence Thomas left home at the age of 16 left home with .50 cents in his pocket to find his way to making money. He found this money by traveling all over the United States and in time doing this in some of the finest cars and carrying the tools of his trade in the trunk. Such items as left and right-handed golf clubs, bowling ball, shot gun, horseshoes and a suitcase of money. He was a road gambler, golfer and a hustler who was always looking for a way to put the odds in his favor all this around the early part of the twentieth century and also ended up taking more life's than Billy the Kid. Nobody out worked him to develop an edge he figured most folks were too lazy to put the work in. He claimed there were two groups of people in the world there were suckers and there were sharps and he was a sharp. There was not much that scared him but thunder and lightning and apparently being a family man as you will see reading this book. No one was immune to his action he played even mob guys and mob bosses and even got one over on Al Capone. There were quite a cast of characters at this and as he was going through life. You may recognize some like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Minnesota Fats and Nick the Greek Dandolos who had ten million dollars go through his hands by the times Nick was thirty. If you are familiar with golf, you will recognize many names, there also many descriptions of the action. Can you imagine playing checkers for ten thousand dollars a game, or cutting a deck of cards for half a million? One of the group a man by the name of Diamond Jim had an enormous appetite a typical meal would consist of three dozen oysters, six crabs, a bowl of turtle soup, two whole ducks six or seven lobsters and a sirloin steak. Can you imagine that food bill? It seems that most gamblers have a vice or method of gambling that they loose alot of their money on if not all of it and this was the case with Titanic his was horseracing it is pretty bad when you fix a race and still loose. Read about that and many other adventures in this book.
November 4, 2025
A Colorful Life Made Real
There was a time in American history when boys and men spent their time taking chances and exploring the world around them, for better or worse. Instead of overweight kids wasting away their years staring at cell phones, boys wanted to get a taste of life and the dangers inherent in the chase. Enter Thomas “Titanic” Thompson, who fit the stereotype of a renegade card shark, pool hustler, and all around raconteur made famous in American literature, film, and exaggerated barroom banter and storytelling. That half of what has been written is probably not true only adds to the attraction. After all, why let the truth get in the way of a good story. This is not to say that the author concocted anything. As he admits, many of the stories from people he interviewed are most likely tall tales. But expecting anything accurate from such a group of charlatans and con men would itself be an act of self-delusion. The cast is littered with history, enough of it from interviews with witnesses to give the story a veneer of believability. Golfer Lee Trevino and Ray Floyd are featured as gamblers who won (and lost) thousands of dollars betting big money golf matches. Prior to television, a golfer with the talent to be on the PGA tour could make more money playing off the books big money matches with local gamblers. High stakes poker games featuring Doyle Brunson and Nick The Greek were a regular part of Thompson’s life. Cook tells their stories in a breezy and entertaining manner. The flip side is that, as Cook chronicles but does not admit, Thompson was not a good person. He cheated at everything he tried, including marriage, in which he went 0 for 5 targeting women who in this era would land him in jail. His relationship with his father and son was fractured to say the least. The movie Guys And Dolls was based on his life. As with many of these quick buck artists, Thompson died broke, his only estate being what he left to his ex wife and son.
There was a time in American history when boys and men spent their time taking chances and exploring the world around them, for better or worse. Instead of overweight kids wasting away their years staring at cell phones, boys wanted to get a taste of life and the dangers inherent in the chase. Enter Thomas “Titanic” Thompson, who fit the stereotype of a renegade card shark, pool hustler, and all around raconteur made famous in American literature, film, and exaggerated barroom banter and storytelling. That half of what has been written is probably not true only adds to the attraction. After all, why let the truth get in the way of a good story. This is not to say that the author concocted anything. As he admits, many of the stories from people he interviewed are most likely tall tales. But expecting anything accurate from such a group of charlatans and con men would itself be an act of self-delusion. The cast is littered with history, enough of it from interviews with witnesses to give the story a veneer of believability. Golfer Lee Trevino and Ray Floyd are featured as gamblers who won (and lost) thousands of dollars betting big money golf matches. Prior to television, a golfer with the talent to be on the PGA tour could make more money playing off the books big money matches with local gamblers. High stakes poker games featuring Doyle Brunson and Nick The Greek were a regular part of Thompson’s life. Cook tells their stories in a breezy and entertaining manner. The flip side is that, as Cook chronicles but does not admit, Thompson was not a good person. He cheated at everything he tried, including marriage, in which he went 0 for 5 targeting women who in this era would land him in jail. His relationship with his father and son was fractured to say the least. The movie Guys And Dolls was based on his life. As with many of these quick buck artists, Thompson died broke, his only estate being what he left to his ex wife and son.
December 18, 2022
I bet I can throw this walnut over the third story roof of that building across the street.
Finally got to read this after a years of a patron talking it up at the library. Quite a character, Alvin Thomas. I am fascinated by this strain of american, the angler that roams from town to town, region to region playing the odds that often had his thumb pressing upon them. Prop bets, long cons, matchplay golf, pool, hold 'em pretty much anything except the race track, this guy was proficient in a way that reminds me of Harry Anderson of Ricky Jay. The itinerant nature of his life reminded me a lot of Moe Berg, another wanderer of that era though Moe's concern was the day's newspaper and crossword puzzle lacking the flash and gunplay of Titanic's adventures.
A bit of an unsavory guy in a lot of ways that are less emphasized than his gambling and preternatural ability to calculate odds, an artist that would hone his craft obsessively while at the same time taking any steps necessary to back up his plays.
Finally got to read this after a years of a patron talking it up at the library. Quite a character, Alvin Thomas. I am fascinated by this strain of american, the angler that roams from town to town, region to region playing the odds that often had his thumb pressing upon them. Prop bets, long cons, matchplay golf, pool, hold 'em pretty much anything except the race track, this guy was proficient in a way that reminds me of Harry Anderson of Ricky Jay. The itinerant nature of his life reminded me a lot of Moe Berg, another wanderer of that era though Moe's concern was the day's newspaper and crossword puzzle lacking the flash and gunplay of Titanic's adventures.
A bit of an unsavory guy in a lot of ways that are less emphasized than his gambling and preternatural ability to calculate odds, an artist that would hone his craft obsessively while at the same time taking any steps necessary to back up his plays.
August 13, 2023
This was an entertaining book about a man I had not heard of before. I am not a sports person and I am not a gambler but I still found the book to be a fun read. It seems like the trick is knowing the odds, a lot of practice, and knowing when to lay a con.
Titanic sort of held the middle ground. He wasn't a violent gangster or an outlaw, but he was also never going to 100% square after earning his fortune. It was also a little troubling that he married teenage girls. The author acknowledges that what made him a lovable rogue in his age would have been looked at very differently in the present day.
There was a point toward the end of the book where I had to just let the information wash over me, because I didn't know the golfers or most of the golf terminology he was using.
Titanic got to stay a romanticized figure because he never went to prison (only once and not for long), he never became destitute, and he didn't die in a hail of bullets. It is certainly a rare person who lives like this who can say that.
Titanic sort of held the middle ground. He wasn't a violent gangster or an outlaw, but he was also never going to 100% square after earning his fortune. It was also a little troubling that he married teenage girls. The author acknowledges that what made him a lovable rogue in his age would have been looked at very differently in the present day.
There was a point toward the end of the book where I had to just let the information wash over me, because I didn't know the golfers or most of the golf terminology he was using.
Titanic got to stay a romanticized figure because he never went to prison (only once and not for long), he never became destitute, and he didn't die in a hail of bullets. It is certainly a rare person who lives like this who can say that.
January 25, 2023
A well told tale of a poorly formed human.
Is it light and entertaining?
For a time, yes it is.
Is there a hero to root for?
No.
It’s a book one might file under ‘defense against the dark arts’ to some extent. But ultimately it’s the story of how vastly empty the life of someone with so much prosperity can be.
All the cash, cars, jewelry and women could never fill the void of this hollowed out soul, and never did. There’s no happy ending to be found in an unrepentant gamblers life.
The final pages may indeed be sobering for those who find themselves to an unrepentant X, Y, or Z.
Pick your poison.
This book may, in it’s own way, shine a light farther down the path of life than you’ve been looking. And you may not like what you see.
I’m not sure I did.
My next book, and next act; Quit
Time to quit a few things, time to ease up a notch.
Time to ask ‘What truly matters’.
I’m glad this book crossed my path
Is it light and entertaining?
For a time, yes it is.
Is there a hero to root for?
No.
It’s a book one might file under ‘defense against the dark arts’ to some extent. But ultimately it’s the story of how vastly empty the life of someone with so much prosperity can be.
All the cash, cars, jewelry and women could never fill the void of this hollowed out soul, and never did. There’s no happy ending to be found in an unrepentant gamblers life.
The final pages may indeed be sobering for those who find themselves to an unrepentant X, Y, or Z.
Pick your poison.
This book may, in it’s own way, shine a light farther down the path of life than you’ve been looking. And you may not like what you see.
I’m not sure I did.
My next book, and next act; Quit
Time to quit a few things, time to ease up a notch.
Time to ask ‘What truly matters’.
I’m glad this book crossed my path
January 28, 2019
Having heard occasional stories about TT, his golfing skills caught my interest. I thought this was a well done book for those with a casual interest in the life of TT. It was an entertaining read about a colorful, rather amazing character. From the limited fact checking I did, the vignettes seemed to be accurate. I rate the book four stars not for any particular shortcoming of the book or with the intent of discouraging potential readers. It is a good, but not a great book. As it is a biography and not fiction, I thought the author presented the facts in as entertaining a manner as could be expected.
March 14, 2022
This book uses the life of Titanic Thompson to capture a time of life in America that was wild and different and never to be seen again. What captured me was not the man, but how he failed to understand the changing American landscape (which seems likely to happen to all of us).
I am not particularly taken with gambling, just no personal appeal to me, and I found myself having a hard time keeping track of all their personalities. But it was interesting to hear what America was capable of in those days. It was simultaneously more innocent yet more lawless & awful.
I am not particularly taken with gambling, just no personal appeal to me, and I found myself having a hard time keeping track of all their personalities. But it was interesting to hear what America was capable of in those days. It was simultaneously more innocent yet more lawless & awful.
September 28, 2022
This was the most enjoyable book I’ve read in quite some time. His life story of cons and propositions never got boring. I learned more about golf from this book than from any other golf book I’ve read. His interactions with the famous (and infamous) were terrific.
This book also revealed an overlooked social history of the United States in the first half of the 20th century.
It was predictable that he would die broke, but the story was well told from beginning to end.
It is surprising that he is forgotten today. A great movie could be made from Titanic’s life story.
This book also revealed an overlooked social history of the United States in the first half of the 20th century.
It was predictable that he would die broke, but the story was well told from beginning to end.
It is surprising that he is forgotten today. A great movie could be made from Titanic’s life story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2017
Interesting reading
I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 due to personal bias. The author did an excellent job of making the book a fast-paced read that is difficult to put down, as well as regret over how soon it is finished.
I recommend this book to all who enjoy a good story about little known people that lived larger than life. Few readers will not enjoy the time spread on this book.
I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 due to personal bias. The author did an excellent job of making the book a fast-paced read that is difficult to put down, as well as regret over how soon it is finished.
I recommend this book to all who enjoy a good story about little known people that lived larger than life. Few readers will not enjoy the time spread on this book.
April 9, 2019
Titanic Thompson was a man of the country. He was born in Monett, Missouri and grew up in Rogers, Arkansas. He was largely illiterate but lived a successful life by betting on nearly anything. Interestingly, he was a teetotaler and had a taste for young women. Many famous names show up throughout the book, including Lee Trevino, Sam Snead, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Al Capone, Harry Houdini, Minnesota Fats, and Damon Runyon, among others. It is a fun read of a time gone by.
August 16, 2024
Titanic Thompson is truly the most fantastic (as in fantastical) figure about whom I’ve ever read, and certainly in the end the epitome of the saddest too. It’s an amazing story, true, and a history of twentieth century Americana—spell-binding and very entertaining. There’s a lot you will learn while suffering awe, uneasy admiration, affection, and a lot of amusement. This is a surprisingly entertaining and informative biography. You’ll agree.
February 3, 2021
Amazing character, but even for the times, a very questionable one. Frequently crossed the line between stacking the odds and cheating, and had a succession of "child" brides, for which I feel the author gives him too easy a ride. Notwithstanding, he led an extraordinary life, and worked hard at his craft.
September 19, 2021
Your following a gambler across 7 decades in the United States he’s lost more money than most will ever see and has a legend about him that would make Bo Jackson jealous, he’s not a Hero and he never wanted to be one. Like with Scarface sometimes you just gotta Cheer for the bad guy.It’s great to see him on top and sad to see him Low ,but in his own way he will look out for his people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2025
The book was a fascinating study of a criminal "with a heart". I think the author was a good researcher as applies to his subject but the material was a bit thin. This was no fault of the biographer. I just could wish for the story to have been more fleshed out, though this was not possible, obviously. The author did an admirable job.
September 29, 2018
Although I enjoyed most of this book I found it was a bit boring halfway through. A bit repetitive as he did the same things throughout his life. Sad to see how he ended up. He had it all at one point.
October 31, 2020
Incredibly interesting
I’d first heard of Titanic Thompson a few months ago on the “Our American Stories” radio show. I then found this book and ordered online. This is simply an amazing read. I hated to put it down at night!
I’d first heard of Titanic Thompson a few months ago on the “Our American Stories” radio show. I then found this book and ordered online. This is simply an amazing read. I hated to put it down at night!
January 4, 2021
Man, this was fun. Cook's terrific prose makes this biography a pleasure to read, showing us what happens when an indomitable, feverish will to win come together with one-in-a-billion dexterity, strength, and predatory cleverness.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
May 28, 2024
Amazing Read
Just reread this book and enjoyed it just as much the second time as my first reading. Very entertaining and the events attributed to Ti Thompson are astounding. An era that we will never see again, where individuals survived by skill, daring and raw nerve.
Just reread this book and enjoyed it just as much the second time as my first reading. Very entertaining and the events attributed to Ti Thompson are astounding. An era that we will never see again, where individuals survived by skill, daring and raw nerve.
February 14, 2025
It was interesting to read this book and learn about someone who I have never heard of before, but I found it became quite repetitive throughout and I found myself just wanting to get to the end of it to finish it.
March 15, 2017
This was a story I was excited to begin, but finished disappointed. It's one of those biographies that made me like the subject less and less as it went on. This was a man considered to be legendary in gambling circles, as well as on the golf course. As you read on, though, you realize that he was a man that could have only ever existed in the time that he did. God knows what he'd have done in today's world. The things that made him a folksy legend then make him a total asshole now. He was less a gambler and more a full blown con artist and hustler. I know the old axiom is "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'." And I'm sure he wasn't unique in that regard, given the circles he ran in, and the way he made money. I'm not saying he wasn't interesting to read about, because he is. But ultimately, he wasn't a decent human being. He killed people (in self defense). He married multiple girls in their teens, even as he got disturbingly older. He also abandoned several of them after they had his child.
So yeah...
I'm sure he was quite the character, but the person I am now doesn't admire a person like that. His wild tales don't erase the fact that he was a degenerate gambler, and most likely a pedophile. In today's world, this guy is either dead young, in prison, or on a registry.
So yeah...
I'm sure he was quite the character, but the person I am now doesn't admire a person like that. His wild tales don't erase the fact that he was a degenerate gambler, and most likely a pedophile. In today's world, this guy is either dead young, in prison, or on a registry.
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