Titanic Thompson
The Man Who Bet on Everything
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
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By:
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Kevin Cook
About this listen
Capturing the spirit of a freewheeling era, this rollicking biography brings to life the gambler-hero 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 listen for anyone who has ever laid a bet, Titanic Thompson recaptures the colorful times of a singular figure: America's original road gambler.
©2010 Kevin Cook (P)2011 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
Former Sports Illustrated editor Kevin Cook's account of extraordinary legend Titanic Thompson is both beautiful and exhaustive. Cook's effusive writing is well-matched by Joe Barrett's easy narration. Barrett's smooth, confident voice is particularly suited to this story about an infamous road gambler from times long past.
Cook follows Alvin Thomas from modest Arkansas beginnings to his emergence as “Ti” Titanic Thompson, the most respected hustler in America. Along the way, we're treated to a plethora of fantastic stories, including various outlandish wagers on the usual cards, dice, horses, horseshoes, baseball, and golf, as well as the not-so-usual rock retrieval and walnut tossing. We also learn the origin of Ti's enormous nickname, which involves a very long jump over a very wide pool table.
The book, much like the man himself, is a clever hybrid of history and myth. With insanely precise vision and hand-eye coordination to match, there are times when Ti comes off as more of a mutant superhero than a man. Of course, these brief stints are always punctuated by the not-so-subtle reminders that, more than anything else, Ti was a clever conman with hundreds of tricks up his sleeve.
Ti's life also touched those of many other legends of the time, including Nick “The Greek” Dandolos and Arnold “The Brain” Rothstein, the Jewish mafia kingpin responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. Furthermore, Titanic served as the inspiration for Guys and Dolls lead Sky Masterson. These bits of history and trivia only add to his immense reputation.
By the end of Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything, Cook's writing style and Barrett's excellent Titanic drawl transforms the listen into a romantic ode to a very different America, one populated only by sharps and marks. Gina Pensiero
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- Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry
- By: Ian O' Connor
- Narrated by: Alpha Trivette
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Surprisingly, one of sport’s most contentious, complex, and defining clashes played out not in the boxing ring or at the line of scrimmage but on the genteel green fairways of the world’s finest golf courses. Arnie and Jack. Palmer and Nicklaus. Their 50-year duel, in both the clubhouse and the boardroom, propelled each to the status of American icon and pushed modern golf to the heights and popularity it enjoys today. Yet for all the ink that has been spilled on these two essential golf figures individually, no one has ever examined their relationship in this way.
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No Match
- By Craig Black on 05-11-15
By: Ian O' Connor
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A Flame of Pure Fire
- Jack Dempsey and the Roaring '20s
- By: Roger Kahn
- Narrated by: Kevin Yon
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time. In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.
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Ambitious but poorly executed
- By Keith on 10-02-19
By: Roger Kahn
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City of Devils
- The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai
- By: Paul French
- Narrated by: Paul Chan
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Shanghai, 1930s; it was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, fascism and communism outrun, names invented, and fortunes made - and lost. “Lucky” Jack Riley was the most notorious of those outlaws. An ex-US Navy boxing champion, he escaped from prison and rose to become the Slots King of Shanghai. “Dapper” Joe Farren - a Jewish boy who fled Vienna’s ghetto - ruled the nightclubs. This is the story of their rise to power, their downfall, and the trail of destruction left in their wake.
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Very hard to listen to
- By Terrance D. Harps on 07-26-18
By: Paul French
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Sucker Bet
- By: James Swain
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Tony Valentine is a retired Atlantic City cop and a master hunter of casino cheats, or "grifters." He has the talent to spot cheats over a casino's surveillance cameras from the moment they come off the street and begin to take a part in the action. Valentine IDs his prey and moves in for the kill.
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Interesting and entertaining
- By James on 06-11-04
By: James Swain
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Gangster Squad
- Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles
- By: Paul Lieberman
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Gangster Squad chronicles the true story of the secretive police unit that waged an anything-goes war to drive Mickey Cohen and other hoodlums from Los Angeles after WWII. In 1946, the LAPD launched the Gangster Squad with eight men who met covertly on street corners and slept with Tommy guns under their beds. But for two cops, all that mattered was nailing the strutting gangster Mickey Cohen. Sgt. Jack O’Mara was a square-jawed church usher, Sgt. Jerry Wooters a cynical maverick....
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Nothing Like the movie
- By KEITH on 02-21-13
By: Paul Lieberman
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Pronto
- By: Elmore Leonard
- Narrated by: Alexander Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The feds want Miami bookmaker Harry Arno to squeal on his wiseguy boss. So they're putting word out on the street that Arno's skimming profits from "Jimmy Cap" Capotorto - which he is, but everybody does it. He was planning to retire to Italy someday anyway, so Harry figures now's a good time to get lost. U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens knows Harry's tricky - the bookie ditched him once in an airport while in the marshal's custody - but not careful.
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Great character, even better dialogue!
- By Ron on 11-15-11
By: Elmore Leonard
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His Ownself
- A Semi-Memoir
- By: Dan Jenkins
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The colorful, sentimental, funny, affectionate, cantankerous memoir by the most colorful, funniest, most cantankerous-- and probably the most revered-- sportswriter of the last fifty years. Dan Jenkins is accepted as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) golf writer of all time, wrote beloved bestselling novels and abused more corporate expense accounts than anyone who ever lived. It's a touching, laugh-out-loud tribute to the romanticism of old-time sportswriting-- and the glory days of sports.
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Loved this book!
- By Flannery Abrahamson on 05-23-19
By: Dan Jenkins
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Missing Links
- By: Rick Reilly
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Missing Links is the story of four middle-class buddies who live outside Boston and play golf together at Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli, not so fondly known as Ponky. An 18-hole garbage dump with hazards that include a concrete river surrounded by a chain-link fence and the pillars of the elevated train that runs through the course, it is reputed to be the worst golf course in America.
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"F" word is pervalent in the story...
- By Todd and Gabriela on 09-04-11
By: Rick Reilly
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Twelve Mighty Orphans
- The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
- By: Jim Dent
- Narrated by: Barry Abrams
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites - a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least 30 pounds per man, were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing - not even a football - yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams.
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Great story!!
- By Damian McKeon on 06-14-21
By: Jim Dent
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The Last Madam
- A Life in the New Orleans Underworld
- By: Christine Wiltz
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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1916: Norma Wallace, age 15, arrived in New Orleans. Sexy and shrewd, she quickly went from streetwalker to madam and by 1920 had opened what became a legendary house of prostitution. There she entertained a steady stream of governors, gangsters, and movie stars until she was arrested at last in 1962. Shortly before she died in 1974, she tape-recorded her memories. With those tapes and original research, Christine Wiltz chronicles Norma's rise and fall with the social history of New Orleans.
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pronunciations
- By lynda on 07-29-19
By: Christine Wiltz
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The Murder of Sonny Liston
- Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights
- By: Shaun Assael
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston was found dead in his home - of an apparent heroin overdose. But no one close to Liston believed that his death was accidental. Digging deep into a life that Liston tried hard to hide, Shaun Assael treats the boxer's death as a cold case. The result is a riveting whodunit that evokes a glorious and grimy era of Las Vegas.
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Great read
- By Diane Dodge on 09-14-19
By: Shaun Assael
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The Patch
- By: John McPhee
- Narrated by: John McPhee
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The Patch is the seventh collection of essays by the nonfiction master John McPhee. It is divided into two parts. It is an "album quilt", an artful assortment of nonfiction writings that have not previously appeared in any book.
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A thousand details add up to one impression
- By Darwin8u on 11-15-18
By: John McPhee
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Wonder Girl
- The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
- By: Don Van Natta Jr.
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing, Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics. Then, Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA, Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. But at the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all....
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Great read
- By Jajam on 01-07-18
What listeners say about Titanic Thompson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jaime Salinas
- 04-27-21
Interesting Look at Titanic Thompson
Nicely done, kept my interest, very entertaining and informative. It is narrated very well and kept me wanting to hear what was next.
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- Paddy McCann
- 07-17-11
Inspriational Read for Sporting Men
Titanic Thompson was a character that lived through the early 1900s in America playing (and betting on) pool, golf, cards, darts and pretty much anything else if he could be sure of winning. The book is a fascinating glimpse into a world from a bygone era. Familiar figures and places appearing throughout the pages offer contextual framing to ground the book which would otherwise read like a swashbuckling work of fiction. During his life, Titanic encounters mobsters, politicians and golf champions and somehow gets the best of them all.
While Titanic Thompson is a great read on any level, it serves as a reminder to the power in determined and relentless practice. So many of us fail to master even one of the pass time sports that appear throughout this book. After reading about Titanic Thompson, I challenge you not to dust off your golf clubs break out the playing cards or buy a new set of darts. Highly recommended!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Steve
- 09-09-11
Great Book
He was no Saint but this is a great story about a bye gone time in america. If you play cards, pool or golf this is a book for you.
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- Chris
- 01-31-22
Fascinating
What a life and story. Bumping elbows with some of the most notorious people in the last century and making sure to hustle them while he was there. I loved it.
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- Trevor
- 05-11-15
Must Read
It was like watching a mini series on television, couldn't wait for the next adventure.
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- Matthew
- 05-07-16
Fellow Missourian
This book is very well written and tells an educational and wisdom filled story about one of the most unique men ever. Highly recommend to any intellectually curious readers who enjoy history, hustling, and hospitality (or lack there of).
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- paul b
- 09-29-15
A scam
I've spent my life working in the gambling business.
The anecdotes are total b s. Don't waste your time.
Thompson goes into the army. After one week an officer approached him and makes him a sergeant and an instructor of new recruits. It's not even good non fiction. Arghhh a total ripoff
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