Not Just Another Trip to the Doctor

I (and many others) loved James McManus’s last book, “Positively Fifth Street,” which told the story of how he went to cover the World Series of Poker for Harper’s and ended up sitting at the Texas Hold ‘Em final table with a pile of chips and a shot at the bracelet. His confessional mode suited the subject, and he’s a bit of a tough guy – not a fighter or a rogue, but in the lit game these days, “tough” translates into simply having the guts to appreciate that some women are hotter than others. Poker, drinking, hell, there was even a murder in “Positively Fifth Street,” and it was named one tick away from a Dylan song: Good stuff.