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The Devil's Tickets: A Vengeful Wife, A Fatal Hand, And A New American Age (2011)

by Gary M. Pomerantz(Favorite Author)

3.16 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1400051630 (ISBN13: 9781400051632)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Broadway Books

review 1: I'm not sure exactly what I expected from The Devil's Tickets, but what I got was mostly a history of contract bridge with a dash of domestic dispute ending with murder, allegedly over a "Fatal Hand" of bridge. As a history book, it was fascinating -- I knew nothing of bridge going in, and one really didn't need to. The murder? That part of the book was far less interesting. There was a lot of lead up, a brief scene of the event itself, and then several chapters surrounding the trial (which from a modern perspective could have been thrown out a half dozen times). The last third of the book was curious. In it, the author picks up to tell what became of the major players in the first part of the book. As a historian myself, I found it self-indulgent for the author to tell th... moreis part in the first person, recounting his sleuthing. At least there were extensive references at the end of the book -- something many social history books like to omit -- and, if you are curious, a basic outline of how contract bridge is played.
review 2: I was drawn to this book for my desire to learn more about the individuals surrounding a sensational murder trial in 1929, involving the local "elite" in the city where I now reside. I found it very interesting, (more about the game of bridge than I cared to read), but otherwise, quite good. The author did an exceptional job following up with the characters, several of whom lived another 70 years after the event. less

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