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Summary: Inspiring... In it's own way.
Review: As a poker hobbyist and Fiction writer, I picked this book up, read the cover, and thought it sounded interesting. What I did not expect was an exciting story about a man with a double life. I found myself holding my breath at the end of chapters until I could flip the page and see what happened next. Kevin's story about living with his two lives, trying to bring them together, resolving that they had to be seperate, and their inevitable collision (picture George Costanza declaring, "My worlds are colliding!"). More engaging than some of my favorite novels, the seemingly endless rising action to the climax inspired me to follow my own passions, and seek out things in life I can pour myself into.
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Summary: more than counting cards!
Review: This book was wonderful. I am not an avid reader, but I couldn't put this book down. The intrigue surrounding Vegas fostered by the lifestyle of a bunch of MIT students was a setting for compelling scenarios. I really enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: If you have a gambling problem, do not read this book. It is a great book, but it will certainly make you want to start playing Blackjack.I could hardly put it down. I thought that "Poker Nation", about Texas Hold'em Poker, was an excellent book. This one is even better, but about Blackjack. The characters come alive and you feel your own adrenaline pumping, both in the good times and bad. I nearly felt like running away when the characters were frozen stiff. Good stuff. Fortunately, you do get a grasp of how hard it is to beat the house, and now you know some of the ways that it gets even tougher. Kevin Lewis, one of the main characters, gives an excellent brief essay at the back about card counting, bidding and money management. Definitely a book to get if Blackjack is your game. Even if not, this is great quick reading for sheer entertainment.
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Summary: File this under "BOOKS THAT MAKE YOU STAY UP TOO LATE."
Review: BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE is one of those stories that runs on its own energy -- six college kids take on Gambling Incorporated and win. The premise is so perfectly Good vs. Evil that Mezrich can't go too far wrong. Although his prose is not NEW YORKER calibre, it's not bad either. He paints vivid characters with enough flaws to stoke your enthusiasm (who likes their Good Guys perfect?) and make them believable. And he keeps things moving. That there aren't long ruminative, "literary" stretches didn't bother this reader. But Mezrich could stand to read some Mark Bowden, to see how a master constructs a more nuanced story. All in all, though, a great romp of a book, well worth your time and money (if you have even a vague interest in the subject matter).
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Summary: Great True Story!
Review: I couldn't put this book down! Great story about a college kids smart enough to beat a system that's desiged to beat you. Highly recommend.
Only downside is that it makes for quick reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Really great addition for fans of true story
Review: I was surprised how enjoyable I found this story. (The writing seemed a bit rough for my tastes, which is the reason I subtracted a couple of stars). Someting about the David and Goliath nature of brainiac vs. Casino's just seened very appealing. One of the things I found surprising was how they were actually able to carry out this plan for as long as they did. Casinos as a rule tend to be fairly wise in keeping an eye on the trends of cheating. For a bunch of novices to go this far really gives it a 'rise of the little guy' feel. One of the questions the book raised for me was is it really cheating if you know the game backwards and forwards? A really good story (It would make a GREAT movie and I would be surprised if it's not made into one) that makes you think and entertains. It's an even better story if you have ever spent any time in a casino.
Rating:
Summary: This Was Like Reading An Action Movie
Review: And the fact that it was a true story made it even more fun. I read the other reviews from readers and was not going to buy this book based on what I saw, but I am so glad I didn't listen to them! This book was great! I liken it to Catch Me If You Can, or other stories of young people who are outsmarting the system based on hubris, raw intelligence, and youth. Okay, perhaps I just like it when geeky kids who are good at math take people for a ride. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: It's all true
Review: A previous review suggested that only 60% of the story is true. I chime in only to tell you unequivocally that the story is 100% true, although some things have been left out. How do I know? I was on the team a long time ago.
I was surprised that they gave away as much information as they did, because I would think that some are still employing the system in a slightly altered form. If you're curious, because the list in the book stops at 18, the words for 20 and 21 were cigarettes (20 in a pack) and beer (the legal drinking age). I think it may have been a better read to embellish a little or to include some relevant non-blackjack stories involving the members, but as written it is all true.
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Summary: Gambling, sex and violence: with an emphasis on gambling.
Review: I liked this book because it is true. Often times books about successful gambling ventures are annoying to me because it sounds as though the author is bragging and not much more. This book is different because it explains how the main character accomplished his goal. It explains how his hard work paid off and the mistakes he made along the way. It is funny to think that problem for these geniuses was not retaining the data like it would be for the average player, the trouble for them was carrying out the When I finished the book I felt more knowledgable about the casino industry and my own limitations in playing blackjack. If you don't know before you read, you will soon learn that blackjack is a game that can be beaten. Like some of the other reviewers I would like to see this book made into a movie. I would just hope that it maintained the emphasis on gambling rather than dramatize the vice. To stay true to the book they would need some actors of Asian decent to pull it off. I look forward to seeing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Bringing down the cliches
Review: I'd never heard of Ben Mezrich before reading this book, but within the first few pages I started to suspect that Ben isn't exactly dealing from a full deck in the writing talent department. You can open this book at any page and find an awkward cliché, or some badly fictionalized account of something that may, or may not, have really happened. I finished reading this book with a growing feeling of endearment for poor old Ben, I imagined him staring out of a window, chewing absentmindedly on the end of a pencil and wondering how he could best describe the ocean in the Bahamas, and then getting all excited as he wrote 'the water was crystal-blue'. Or when a card counter stumbles in on his colleague being 'questioned' by casino security we are asked to believe the dialog was; 'We're gonna play a little game ' I'm gonna ask you some questions and you're gonna tell me what I want to hear.' And what kind of voice did the interrogator have? Why, a brusque voice of course! Perhaps casinos have special 1950's B-movie themed heavies. It's not just the trashy novel style dialogue and sensibilities that are a problem, there's the more fundamental problem that the events are recounted to Ben by 'Kevin Lewis' ' the genius MIT student (we know he's a genius because Ben lets us know quite often, he also lets us know that he's really smart too, because he went o Harvard). But the narrative often includes incidents and events that are taking place while Kevin isn't around. He seems fully clued in on what his friends are up too (even though they've all had a big tiff and have never spoken since). There's even a paragraph describing Kevin hastily leaving a casino alone, but unaware of a gray haired figure watching him. If Kevin didn't know he was being watched, and he was alone ' how the hell did Ben write about it? The money that is being won seems to fluctuate between 'millions', but then Kevin has to play one weekend because he needs to pay his rent. Then there's the research, and the little vignettes we get as Ben interviews various people. I'm entirely baffled as to how any of these people fit into the story, (a security expert, some guy who owns a shooting range, a stripper), they don't seem to have anything to say and Ben seems quite happy to present them up as some sort of Vegas style authenticity. Ben tells us that everyone who works in Vegas earns much more than they could anywhere else, he asks us 'where else could a college dropout who parks cars put his kids through private school?' It's almost as though he quotes entire sentences from some Las Vegas tourist guide. Never mind the well documented poverty and low wages the casinos have brought to Las Vegas.
There are some nice touches to the book though, when Kevin is thrown out of New York, New York in Las Vegas he wonders if a security guys Brooklyn accent is real or part of the Casino's theme.
If you can get a copy of 'The Newtonian Casino' by Thomas Bass then you'll have a much more articulate and exciting read, it's a similar story but involves the invention of a computerized roulette predictor that can fit in a shoe, by some students (possibly MIT again I think!). For a better overview of Vegas I'd recommend 'Dead Cities' by Mike Davis.
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