Rating: 
Summary: Sad, mad and beautiful
Review: You have to be sad! You have to be mad *! But buy this book.A week or two ago I wandered into the Miami Jai-Alai fronton. I went looking for humanity in a world of computers, slots, lotteries and branded products. I found an alternative universe - seedy but dignified, dying but full of life and concealing an unexpected riddle. The riddle of the Spectacular-Seven. Reading Steven's blandly, and perhaps deceptively, titled book I realized I was not alone in pondering this riddle. Steven's book is a heartening tale of the kind of obsession that can take hold of the over-educated in this age of desk-top computer power. Abuse of tenure? Not at all. This is a beautiful exposition following every thread of an unlikely conundrum. Just my kind of entertainment. However, without visiting a fronton for yourself, you will never begin to understand the real alure of Jai-Alai. The book's drive seems to be to reduce the atmosphere, drama and history of Jai-Alai to abstract numerals and dial-up modem scripts. A case of a university boffin applying his massive resources to strip the last fews dollars from the poor and dispossessed. No, I think not. The charm of Jai-Alai is the effortless and graceful way in which the denizens of the fronton cope with the bizarre complexities of the game. The cheerful banter, the cat calls, the thrill of the game and the cuban coffee. And the rumors of undeclared injuries and new cescas. If Steven's book can inspire you to hang down at the fronton - wonderful, let ' s join a Jai-Alai rennaissance. If math, stats and cash are your only interest you won't be disappointed, but you will be missing the point. *Mad is Queen's English for crazy, not irate.
Rating:
Summary: Sad, mad and beautiful
Review: You have to be sad! You have to be mad *! But buy this book. A week or two ago I wandered into the Miami Jai-Alai fronton. I went looking for humanity in a world of computers, slots, lotteries and branded products. I found an alternative universe - seedy but dignified, dying but full of life and concealing an unexpected riddle. The riddle of the Spectacular-Seven. Reading Steven's blandly, and perhaps deceptively, titled book I realized I was not alone in pondering this riddle. Steven's book is a heartening tale of the kind of obsession that can take hold of the over-educated in this age of desk-top computer power. Abuse of tenure? Not at all. This is a beautiful exposition following every thread of an unlikely conundrum. Just my kind of entertainment. However, without visiting a fronton for yourself, you will never begin to understand the real alure of Jai-Alai. The book's drive seems to be to reduce the atmosphere, drama and history of Jai-Alai to abstract numerals and dial-up modem scripts. A case of a university boffin applying his massive resources to strip the last fews dollars from the poor and dispossessed. No, I think not. The charm of Jai-Alai is the effortless and graceful way in which the denizens of the fronton cope with the bizarre complexities of the game. The cheerful banter, the cat calls, the thrill of the game and the cuban coffee. And the rumors of undeclared injuries and new cescas. If Steven's book can inspire you to hang down at the fronton - wonderful, let ' s join a Jai-Alai rennaissance. If math, stats and cash are your only interest you won't be disappointed, but you will be missing the point. *Mad is Queen's English for crazy, not irate.
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