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Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 795.09
EAN: 9781592402083
ISBN: 1592402089
Label: Gotham
Manufacturer: Gotham
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 592
Publication Date: October 05, 2006
Publisher: Gotham
Studio: Gotham
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Editorial Review:
The first narrative history of gambling, spanning the Stone Age to the Internet era, examining how it evolved withand influencedhuman civilization In Roll the Bones, historian David G. Schwartz tells the epic story of gambling, beginning with its early emergence from divination rituals and ending with todays global gaming culture. In a sweeping, rollicking narrative, Schwartz looks at the betting games people have played since the dawn of history, and argues convincingly that gambling has always been a crucial part of the human experience.
The book begins with the rolling of knucklebones in prehistoric times, progresses through the casting of lots portrayed in the Bible and sacred Hindu writings, and traces gaming through the heights of the Greek and Roman civilizations. Schwartz continues through the Middle Ages, investigating the mysterious invention of playing cards in twelfth-century China, the birth of the casino and table games such as baccarat in Venice, and the British Empires work in spreading gambling throughout the world. Schwartz describes how lotteries financed some of the first American colonies, how gambling prospered in the Civil War and the Old West, how organized crime exploded in the twentieth century by running illegal gambling operations, and how gambling dollars transformed Las Vegas into the worlds number-one tourist destination. Packed with colorful characters from Julius Caesar to Casanova, George Washington to Steve Wynn, Roll the Bones is an all-in history of humanitys fascination with chance. BACKCOVER: Advance Praise for Roll the Bones Roll the Bones is a comprehensive and compelling look at the history of risk-takinga necessary book in our age of plutonium poker, state lotteries, and billion-dollar Internet gaming sites. David Schwartz, a serious historian writing for a general audience, illuminates an urge we feel deep in our cells.
From the Foreword by James McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street Simultaneously entertaining, informative, and provocative, Roll the Bones looks through the veils of luxury, elegance, and pleasure that surround mankinds obsession with lady luck, to give a panoramic view of generations of gamblers, from the Caesars of Imperial Rome to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Behind the lively narrative is a mass of information on the origin and rules of most popular games of chance, and a thoughtful analysis of the place of gambling in the 21st century.
Iain Gately, author of Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization David Schwartz has written a masterful and encyclopedic history of gambling, from hunter- gathering peoples to the tourists on the twenty-first-century Las Vegas Strip. Throughout Schwartz maintains an accessible writing style with plenty of enjoyable anecdotes. Both the professional historian and the average reader will find the work rewarding.
Larry Gragg, author of Englishmen Transplanted and The Salem Witch Crises Roll the Bones is an impressive telling of our journey with gambling, from its evolutionary beginnings to todaya great read for both the serious student of gambling history and the merely curious. This book will become the gold standard of gambling history.
Crandell Addington, championship poker legend and member of the Poker Hall of Fame
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - An Epic Historical Record of Gambling on a Grand Scale. Great Read!!
"Roll the Bones" takes you on a highly informative journey through the history of mankind and tells the story of how gambling has always been a dominate part of all human cultures. From the stone age, through Victorian Europe to glimmering LCD lights of modern Las Vegas. I have read many books on the history gambling but Schwartz, took it to a new level, with the grand scale of a Michener novel. I came away from this book with a clear and truer understanding of not only the history of gambling ... Read More
Rating: - Great writing makes for a wonderful day spent finishing this fascinating book.
I read this book in one afternoon at the UC Berkeley Business Library. ( For some reason the UC Berkeley Library catalogued "Roll the Bones" as a business title while another of his books "Suburban Xanadu" is over in the general collection). I'm planning on buying it because I enjoyed the writing, I'm familiar with the author's writing through his blog about Las Vegas and betting and I trust his scholarship.
Most of the general reading type books that cover gambling, Las Vegas the mob ... Read More
Rating:  - INteringing, very thorough history book
This book is incredibly detailed, I can only imagine the work that went into compiling this material. It is more history than entertainment though, so one must be interested in a 500+ page history book in order to complete the reading. That said, it is very iformative and I've now got plenty of info on the origins of gambling-I can keep the dealers entertained all night long.
Rating: - Fascinating
An interesting and invaluable history of gaming in all cultures. Not only does Schwartz cover the games that are still popular in today's casinos he covers games that have fallen into obscurity.
Rating:  - A Highly Enjoyable Read
Roll Them Bones is David G. Schwartz's wonderful account of the history and the impact gambling has made on our lives throughout time. I found this book to be a quick, fascinating, and a entertaining read; it is often difficult to combine so many of these characteristics in one book. Have you ever realized that gambling has been around as long as man has. I found the fact that even monkey's seem to prefer to gamble by their preference in taking chances, rather than going for an action that gets ... Read More
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