TITANIC THOMPSON

A Great Biography -  Capturing the spirit of a freewheeling era, this rollicking biography by Kevin Cook brings to life the gambler 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.  Hardcover.   $24.95  (TT)  

CONFESSIONS OF A POOL HUSTLER

A Memoir - The outrageous tales of well-known pool player and road-man Robert LeBlanc are now available. A lifetime of Cotton’s thrilling experiences—30 years on the road leading up to Technical Advisor and cameo actor in the 2003 movie, “Poolhall Junkies” starring Christopher Walken—are contained within 350 shocking pages of his very personal memoir, Confessions of a Pool Hustler.  Take the journey with Cotton as he bounces along the back roads of a life from Poolhalls to Bar-rooms, from Broads to Booze to Bar fights. A teenage prodigy pool player from Memphis , LeBlanc was in a full body-cast for a year due to a near-death accident.  In this well-written hardcover book, he shares stories of machine guns, “drop-dead gorgeous women,” size 23 shoes, marriage to a stripper in Tijuana at 16, stacks of money and diamonds, pistol-whippings, and being falsely imprisoned…all that and lots more is inside Confessions of a Pool Hustler.  Great photos included throughout.  Hardcover.   $24.95  (CPH)  

FRENCH QUARTER DANNY

An Outstanding NEW Pool Novel -  By Carlos Ledson Miller, this gripping novel is being called the best new pool novel since The Color of Money.  At age nine, Danny Toussaint is abandoned by his mother in the New Orleans French Quarter.  A Cajun madam, who owns the Rampart Club, and her discreet partner, a veteran cop, assume the role of surrogate parents.  In his late teens, Danny discovers a talent for playing pool and is drawn to the thrill of gambling and hustling in local pool rooms. When he loses his 'country club' wife and job ten years later, he hopes to make it as a professional road player.  Leaving his new girlfriend, Chenoa, an ambitious and beautiful artist behind, he travels from pool room to pool room accompanied by the enforcer for the local mob boss, to whom Danny is indebted thousands of dollars.  He is about to play in the game of his life when Hurricane Katrina changes everything.  Told from an insider's view of the Gulf Coast , the French Quarter and the world of pool, French Quarter Danny is a fast-paced and exciting story.  $19.95  (FQD)  

ROAD PLAYER: The Danny Diliberto Story
by Jerry Forsyth

 This new book is a lifetime of stories from the vibrant memory of Danny Diliberto, one of Accu-Stat Video's most popular commentators.  Beginning with the Hustler's Tournaments in Johnston City, Diliberto was one of the fabled road players.  He excelled in four sports: baseball, bowling, boxing, and pool.  Boxing was his first love, but his own hands could not stand the power of his blows.  Pool gave him greatest fame and that's what this book is about.  Any devotee of the game will be fascinated with this look into the immediate past of the game.  From Las Vegas to Hollywood to the smallest towns on the most distant highways, this is the life of the roadman. A gambler’s tale in his own words.  A great book!  Order on the More Books or Movies & Stories sections on the order page.   $19.95  (RP)

Every knows that Cornbread Red was a famous hustler and gambler.  Many knowledgeable players believe, at one time, that Red was the greatest, most formidable money player on the planet.  His personality good go from sweet to vulgar...but he always got the other guy to play.  This book takes the reader into the life of pool's legendary money player.  It is action-packed, entertaining, and easy to read.  An inside look at the Johnson City tournaments and the world-famous money room--the Rack.  It has received rave reviews from pool publications and other reviewers!  $16.95  (RED)

THE EARL STRICKLAND DVD

Earl the Pearl's Road Stories - Watch this DVD and you may very well come away with a changed opinion of Earl Strickland.  He’s more than just the public persona that gets all the media ink.  He’s an articulate and colorful story teller and has had some very unique and interesting gambling experiences.  This DVD is an intimate look into the life of pool’s most controversial personality and the forging of one of the greatest pool players of all times.  You will be thoroughly entertained.  $24  (ESd)  

The Wonder Wop - This DVD produced by Diana Hoppe, finds Danny Diliberto at his very best ---relaxed, casual and telling his favorite war stories.  Danny has been at the heart of pool for over 60 years and he was there when most of the “great” events in pool took place.  Not to mention, he’s a wonderful story teller!  This DVD is entertaining and informative.  $24  (DDd)  

THE ROAD SCHOLARS DVD:

Just released at the Derby City Classic, Diana Hoppe (Pool Pics by Hoppe) has put together this incredible hour-long production of the legends telling their favorite war stories.  The disk features some of the only known video of the late Vern Elliott, Ed Kelly's induction into the OnePocket.org Hall of Fame, and footage of both Larry Liscotti and Boston Shorty.  The road stories are told by the players themselves:  Billy Incardona, Danny Diliberto, Wade Crane, Truman Hogue, Ronnie Allen, Grady Mathews, Ed Kelly, Vern Elliott, Freddy the Beard, Jimmy Reid and Jimmy Fusco.  Not done in a typical “interview” style, it is filmed in a very casual setting, revealing the true personalities of these greats.  Enjoy fascinating stories that you won’t hear anywhere else.  A real treat for fans!   $24.95  (RSd)  

POOL WARS: 

On the Road to Hell and Back with
 the World's Greatest Money Players

This paper-back is well-written and fun to read! Authored by former pro player and promoter, Jay Helfert.  Pool Wars is a series of pool stories and anecdotes covering 40 years of gambling with and against the best players in the world.  Additionally, it contains a rich history of some of the most talked about moments in the game.  His first-hand accounts cover everything from the sweetness of victory to big money games gone bad.  This is the history of the last five decades of pool...written in a colorful, put-you-in-the-moment style. 

"Jay's recollection of pool stories exceeds any that I've ever heard.  His exactness in recalling events as they actually happened is amazing. There are few as qualified to write about pool action as Jay. He has always been right on the money with everything he has accomplished and this book isn't any different." WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPION BILLY INCARDONA 

"I've known Jay since the 60's. Although he loved to compete, he became more respected as a great game maker and money winner who helped out many a pool player down on their luck.” WORLD ALL AROUND CHAMPION DANNY DILIBERTO.  $19.95  (WAR)

WANDERON
by Fred Walther

This book is a well-researched biography of Rudolf Walter Wanderon(e) – Minnesota Fats.  The author befriended Fats and visited him often in Nashville , where their friendship developed from 1985 until Fats’ death in 1996.  Intriguing stories prompted him to investigate the history of the Wanderon family.  This 244-page paperback book is a culmination of that investigation.  Wanderon begins in Hungary with the Hungarian hussars, a group of mercenaries, and ends with the third generation American icon, hustler and entertainer, Minnesota Fats.  The lives of the Wanderons have touched history’s most memorable events, including the past hundred years of revolutions and wars around the world, to audiences and friendships with world leaders, movie stars, corporate tycoons, mobsters and celebrities.

 History has been made clearer (and may even have altered our beliefs as we thought we knew it) as we follow these men through the decades.  This book will add spice and flavor and give a new perspective to the past – while revealing a unique formula of the Wanderon family’s success, which could be applied to the trials and tribulations of today.    $23  (WAN)

It was Valentine's Day, 1978, and Howard Cosell was hosting the long-awaited show-down between the best-ever tournament player, Willie Mosconi, and the game's most famous hustler, Minnesota Fats.  This was The Great Pool Shoot-Out, one of the most highly rated televised sporting events of the year.  R.A. Dyer, author of the best-selling Hustler Days, writes about this acrid, but mutually beneficial rivalry between Fats and Mosconi, and how the televised shoot-outs came to embody that rivalry, which was nothing less than a bitter rift within the soul of American pocket billiards.  They were born the same year, but they were vastly different characters.  One stood for artistry, the other for show business. One brought dignity to pool, the other made it fun.  They are without doubt the two most important players ever to hold a cue.  This book is the ultimate tale of American sportsmanship.  Hardcover only.  $24.95  (HTC)

RUNNING THE TABLE
by L. Jon Wertheim

This new book is subtitled:  The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler.   It is the outrageous tale of Kid Delicious, a 300-pound, bipolar Jewish kid from New Jersey, who lights up the seamy side of pool as much with his glittering play as he does with his magnetic personality.  He teams up with Bristol Bob, a nutrition and physical fitness nut and pool player.  The entertaining and mismatched pair go underground into the world of hustling, experiencing the highs and lows of life on the road. Action gets hotter, calls get closer, and Delicious’ prowess with a stick becomes more and more known. Ultimately, he sheds his cover to become professional pool’s biggest media sensation since Minnesota Fats.  His story was first featured in Sports Illustrated and the movie rights to this book have already been optioned by Lionsgate.  Hardcover only.  $24  (RTT)

This book is an autobiographical classic about the most famous pool hustler of all times...Minnesota Fats.  It is a candid, anecdote-filled account of the fabulous Fat Man's life, told in his own uninhibited patios.  Illustrated with photos and line drawings this book is a vivid portrait of a true pool legend as well as a high-spirited read, and a useful handbook for those who want to know his techniques and expert analysis of the various approaches to the game.  $15  (FATS)

PLAYING OFF THE RAIL:
A Pool Hustler’s Journey
by David McCumber

This modern road adventure received a lot of media coverage—NBC:Dateline, USA Today, etc.  The author and a top player take $30,000 on a six month trip in search of high-stakes pool.  It’s a great look into the behind-the-scenes world of the road player.  This author hides nothing!  $14.95  (RAI)

HUSTLER DAYS
by R.A. Dyer

This new book explores “ America ’s second great age of pool” by following the lives of Minnesota Fats, Wimpy Lassiter, and Jersey Red.  They weave together through the Norfolk war years, the Johnston City Hustler Tournament era, and Fats’ rise to fame.  Dyer has done extensive research and writes in an entertaining novel-like style.  A great read!  THIS BOOK IS NOW OUT OF PRINT!  Phone or Email for availability.  (HD)

DO IT FOR THE GAME
by Robert Campbell

As a young man, Brian Dwyer walked away from the game to go after the “good” life.  So he collected a beautiful family, a big house in the suburbs, and a nice corporate job.  Then, one by one, he lost everything.  As the story opens, now adrift and drinking heavy, he returns to his hometown to bury his father and ends up in the old time neighbor pool hall where he once ruled.  This novel centers on Brian’s reawakening to his authentic values and his struggle to get back into competitive pool, helped and hindered by the colorful characters that hang out at The Cue.  $15 (DOIT)

ONE POCKET MAN
by Albert J. Betz  

This 184 page novel is primarily a mob story.  Danny Bonte loves one-pocket, but he is also an aging hit man for the Chicago mob who has outlived his usefulness.  When the feds reveal his boss has put a contract on him, Danny sings like a bird.  For his reward, they move him to Philadelphia and set him up with a pool room.  There he teaches one-pocket to a neighborhood kid,  finds love and friendship, and battles the Philadelphia mob.  Each chapter starts with a quote from Jack Koehler’s book Upscale One Pocket.  $15  (OPM)

STROKE
by Carlos Ledson Miller  

This is a novel about a young champion golfer who gets retired by an injury and decides to fulfill her competitive destiny with pool.  It’s well-written and fast-paced.  If you like to read pool stories, this one will hold your attention for a couple of days.  $15  (STK)