Titanic Thompson - Kevin Cook

A Titanic World Series

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:31:00 -0500

This year’s World Series of Poker is underway—more than 40 years after Titanic Thompson hosted the first WSOP. The stakes are a little higher now….

Check out the Titanic paperback—published 11/11

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:25:00 -0500

Check out the Titanic paperback—published 11/11

"A great read"

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:47:00 -0400

"A great read":

Bill Pennington of the New York Times recommended Titanic Thompson in his popular golf column—and blog. According to Pennington, Titanic might “get in the way of your golf for at least a day, because once you start reading this book, you will not put it down until you are finished.”

"Ridiculously entertaining"

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:47:00 -0500

"Ridiculously entertaining":

The Times of London called Titanic Thompson “delicious…from Cook’s rich and eventful account, one cannot help but love him.” In January the Independent got onboard, hailing the book as “enthralling and compulsively readable.” In February the Spectator called Titanic “a morality tale of sorts…told with just the right pace and tone.” Times reviewer David Hayles added, “A more colourful, exciting biography might emerge this year, but I wouldn’t put money on it.”

"All the world's a sucker for bold, shoot-the-moon gamblers and con men, and this crackerjack biography makes a convincing case that Alvin 'Titanic' Thompson was one of the boldest."

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:59:00 -0500

"All the world's a sucker for bold, shoot-the-moon gamblers and con men, and this crackerjack biography makes a convincing case that Alvin 'Titanic' Thompson was one of the boldest.":

The Seattle Times looks at Kevin Cook’s biography of Thompson.

"Titanic Thompson is as emblematically American as Babe Ruth or Mark Twain; it's just that if you met him he'd steal your wallet and probably make you thank him for his skill in doing it."

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:55:00 -0500

"Titanic Thompson is as emblematically American as Babe Ruth or Mark Twain; it's just that if you met him he'd steal your wallet and probably make you thank him for his skill in doing it.":

Richard Rayner raves about Titanic Thompson in the Los Angeles Times.

Kirkus Reviews sees the tale of Titanic Thompson as "Tailor-Made for the Big Screen"

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:50:15 -0500

Kirkus Reviews sees the tale of Titanic Thompson as "Tailor-Made for the Big Screen"

Kevin Cook talks about Titanic Thompson, legendary golfer,...

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:35:45 -0500

Kevin Cook talks about Titanic Thompson, legendary golfer, gambler and hustler.

Despite the glamorous tales, he lived a lonely life, moving from town to town looking for new suckers.

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:31:00 -0500

Despite the glamorous tales, he lived a lonely life, moving from town to town looking for new suckers.:

NPR’s All Things Considered looks at Titanic Thompson.

"That things (the FBI, newspaper exposure) would catch up with Thompson was inevitable, yet he hustled till the end."

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:23:28 -0500

"That things (the FBI, newspaper exposure) would catch up with Thompson was inevitable, yet he hustled till the end." :

Adam Duerson writes about Titanic Thompson for Sports Illustrated.

Gamblers and other liars have told stories about Titanic Thompson for decades. As a sportswriter...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:52:00 -0500

Gamblers and other liars have told stories about Titanic Thompson for decades. As a sportswriter spending some late nights with pro golfers and poker players, I heard them all — how the legendary hustler escaped the sinking Titanic by sneaking onto a lifeboat dressed as a woman. How he threw a peanut over a three-story building, pulled Al Capone’s pants down, conned Houdini, beat Ben Hogan playing golf right-handed and then turned around and beat Byron Nelson left-handed.

I kept waiting for the movie. It seemed there had to be a movie—maybe with Clint Eastwood as the tall, flinty-eyed Titanic, a shadowy figure who crossed paths with some of the most famous men of the 20th century.

By 2008 there was still no movie, and I was between books, so I decided to see if I could separate the legends from the truth. In a year of following his tracks, from his birth in a log cabin in Arkansas in 1892 to his death in Texas 82 years later, I turned up the facts behind the tallest Titanic tales.

—Kevin Cook discusses Titanic Thompson and his new book at the Powell’s Books blog

"Some of Kevin Cook’s stories of the adventures of Titanic Thompson are funny, and some of them are alarming. You don’t hustle Al Capone and cheat Arnold Rothstein without 'alarming' making an appearance." Only a Game reviews Kevin Cook's new biography of Titanic Thompson.

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:46:00 -0500

"Some of Kevin Cook’s stories of the adventures of Titanic Thompson are funny, and some of them are alarming. You don’t hustle Al Capone and cheat Arnold Rothstein without 'alarming' making an appearance." Only a Game reviews Kevin Cook's new biography of Titanic Thompson.

At age 77, Titanic co-hosted the first World Series of...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:15:57 -0500

At age 77, Titanic co-hosted the first World Series of Poker. Here, WSOP inventor Benny Binion has his left hand on Ti’s shoulder.

Minnesota Fats and Hubert “Daddy Warbucks” Cokes

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:12:27 -0500

Minnesota Fats and Hubert “Daddy Warbucks” Cokes

The U.K. edition of Titanic Thompson. Find out more on...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:11:00 -0500

The U.K. edition of Titanic Thompson. Find out more on picador.com

The Wall Street Journal reviews the book, saying "[In Thompson] you have the essential arc of an American life: An act of self-invention carrying an illiterate teenager out of the old, weird Ozarks to become famous on Broadway."

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:33:00 -0500

The Wall Street Journal reviews the book, saying "[In Thompson] you have the essential arc of an American life: An act of self-invention carrying an illiterate teenager out of the old, weird Ozarks to become famous on Broadway."

Kevin Cook spoke with Golf Magazine about Ti Thompson.

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:51:00 -0500

Kevin Cook spoke with Golf Magazine about Ti Thompson.

Who was Titanic Thompson?

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:44:00 -0500

Legendary gambler 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 also killed five men. “But they’d all tell you they had it coming,” he said. He married five women, each one a teenager on her wedding day.

Titanic ruled New York’s underground craps games in the 1920s—he was the model for Sky Masterson, the gambler-hero of Guys and Dolls. He traded card tricks with Houdini, conned Al Capone, hustled golf with Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Lee Trevino. He lost a million playing pool with Minnesota Fats, then teamed up with Fats and won it all back.

As dramatic as a blockbuster movie, full of amazing true stories and tips every bettor should heed, Titanic Thompson is an epic story from award-winning author Kevin Cook—the rags-to-riches life of the greatest gambler who ever lived.

"Cook (Tommy’s Honor), a former Sports Illustrated editor, introduces his portrait of the..."

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:53:31 -0500

“Cook (Tommy’s Honor), a former Sports Illustrated editor, introduces his portrait of the larger-than-life “Titanic” Thompson (1892–1974) as a self-made man from the Ozarks who loved games of chance and had a knack for winning incredible sums of money. In a lyrical account of the gambling legend who inspired Damon Runyon’s character Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls), Cook describes Thompson as a “rogue wind that lifted girls’ skirts and turned gamblers’ pockets inside out.” Thompson possessed the steel nerves of a card shark, the bravado of an outlaw, and the staying power of a satyr, preferring his girls young and pretty. Rumor has it that he drove a swank Pierce-Arrow (driving from town to town to ply his hustling trade), carried a gun (he reportedly killed five men) and a suitcase full of cash, and rubbed elbows with Houdini, Capone, and gamblers Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein and Nick the Greek. Thompson excelled at golf before PGA Tours began, competing with professional golfers Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. Cook’s raucous narrative introduces readers to an eccentric, fascinating personality.”

- Publishers Weekly

Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein, the crime boss who...

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:48:12 -0500

Arnold “the Brain” Rothstein, the crime boss who fixed the 1919 “Black Sox” World Series—and fell afoul of Titanic nine years later.