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The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler
Houghton Mifflin
October 2007
On Sale: October 9, 2007
272 pages ISBN: 0618664742 EAN: 9780618664740 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
From a popular senior writer for Sports Illustrated comes
this high-stakes, boys-on-the-road story about the most
unlikely of phenoms--a heavyset, bipolar, and endlessly
charming pool hustler named Kid Delicious. In most sports
the pinnacle is Wheaties-box notoriety. But in the world of
pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is
the dilemma that faces one Danny Basavich, an affable,
generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who
flounders through high school until he discovers the one
thing he excels at--the felt--and hits the road. Running the Table spins the outrageous tale of Kid Delicious
and his
studly--if less talented--set-up man, Bristol Bob. Never was
there a more entertaining or mismatched pair of sidekicks,
as together they go underground into the flavorfully seamy
world of pool to learn the art of the hustle and experience
the highs and lows of life on the road. Their four-year
odyssey takes them from Podunk pool halls to slick urban
billiard rooms across America, as they manage one night to
take down as much as $30,000, only to lose so much the next
night that they lack gas money to get home. With every stop,
the action gets hotter, the calls get closer, and Deliciouss
prowess with a cue stick becomes known more and more widely. Ultimately, Delicious sheds his cover once and for all and
becomes professional pools biggest sensation since Minnesota
Fats. In a book sure to appeal to fans of Bringing Down the
House and Positively Fifth Street, Wertheim evokes a
subculture full of nefarious but loveable characters and
illuminates Americas fascination with games and gambling. He
also paints a lasting portrait of an insanely talented and
magnetic hustler, who is literally larger than life.
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