Rating: 
Summary: A bright light into the dark backrooms of pool hustling.
Review: If you are a pool player or a wannabe, you'll love this view into a world we've only seen in movies like the Hustler and the Color of Money.
McCumber's character illustration, in a world full of characters with names like Bucktooth and Fat Tony, makes this book.
If you love pool, rack up Playing Off the Rail!
John Buckle
Rating: 
Summary: Next best thing to going on the road
Review: If you like pool, this book will take you to the heart--and often underbelly--of the game. You'll get a glimpse of some of pool's renown personalities like Grady Matthews, Morro, Cole Dickson, and you'll appreciate McCumber's ability to analyze the qualities that make these people world-class players. You'll taste the diner food, smell the chalk dust, and hear the click of the balls.The great pool players say that the game is 90% mental, and McCumber devotes a lot of attention to the mental goings-on that make and break pool players. If you're working on your mental game, you'll learn a lot. Even if you aren't a pool buff, Playing Off the Rail with still treat you to a cross-continental adventure with one of North America's colorful and fascinating subcultures.
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Summary: Playing off the Rail Review
Review: Playing off the Rail, was a book about the the roadtrip of a Pool Hustler Tony Annigoni with his stakehorse David McCumber the author of the book. McCumber has the heart for playing but he knows deep down that he doesn't have the skill to become a successful road player. Therefore, with $27,000 in McCumbers pocket then go on the road traveling all over the United States from California to New York. Grabbing as much action (games) as they can in every city. They play lots of the greatest players in the world in some of the highest stakes games they have ever witnessed. They play with the best and are able to beat them many times and take loads of cash off each player they came across. Of course, with winning comes lots of losing but they wade through that continuing on the road. I really enjoyed this book it was written very well. The way McCumbers writes shoves you right into the heart and soul of the game keeping your attention at every turn and your heart pounding with $2,000 on the line with one shot. The book moves very well and it's defitnely one of the greatest books I have ever read on pool. I could relate to it at many parts of the book and I felt like many of the characters throughout the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves pool or even has a mild interest in pool or even if you have ever heard of pool. By the end, this book will have you interested in pool or at least have a renewed respect for it. I know I certainly do and whenever I was done reading a chapter it made me want to go out and play pool so much. Mad props to McCumber I look forward to the next pool book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Read while flying to San Francisco, and truly enjoyed the long flight. The writing flows and makes this a great read. The Q Club is still there, although the name has changed, but the description of it and the neighborhood were dead on. A great book for anyone interested in the many games to be played on the billiards table, and for learning about life on the road.
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Summary: For the Love of the Game
Review: This book captures the trials, tribulations and love of the game. It captures the heart of the billiard player as well as the heart of the non-billiard player. "Playing Off the Rail" is a "must have" and will enhance the reader's passion for the game.
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Summary: From a small-time hustler
Review: This book was one of the few I have ever read that I simply could not put down. I must say, the author captured the true sensation of the hustler's hunt, the feeling in your stomach that you might eat a fancy steak dinner, or go hungry. As a small-time player myself (or a "shortstop," as the author calls us), I found this book to be truer to life than any other. Moreover, the people and places are still around, for the most part. As a player growing up in Philadelphia, the reference to my old pals was more than accurate; I could barely get a game with those tightwads either, and when I did, I had to run for my life after winning! This is one fantastic book.
Rating:
Summary: makes you want to play
Review: This is without a doubt the most fun I've had reading a book about pool. I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in about two days. About a true life story, this book just makes you want to play. There are some really funny momments in the books with some of the characters. Eventhough I'll probably never play that good, it just made me want to play. If you're looking for a really fun read that will revitalize your interest in the game this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: makes you want to play
Review: This is without a doubt the most fun I've had reading a book about pool. I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in about two days. About a true life story, this book just makes you want to play. There are some really funny momments in the books with some of the characters. Eventhough I'll probably never play that good, it just made me want to play. If you're looking for a really fun read that will revitalize your interest in the game this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: I knew some of these guys once...
Review: Tony Anagoni is a top-notch player and this book can take you behind-the-scenes into the part of the game those tavern-table-twerps never will experience. This is high-stakes-gambling and wold class pool. If you are a new pool player, it will change the way your you look at the game.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: Tony Annigoni - house pro and part owner of the Q-Club in San Francisco. David McCumber - pool devotee and writer with some money to spare. These two go on the road across North America hustling games and looking for action. Annigoni plays and generally wins. McCumber bankrolls his bets and sweats on the sidelines taking the notes that turned into this book. McCumber's writing is strong, sometimes a bit too Hunter Thompsonish, but he loves the game and has a visceral sense of humor about the odyssey that could cost him a bundle. Annigoni is a great player, but the opponents are world class and life on the road in cheap hotels, late trains, and all night pool halls is a tiring exercise. This is a good book. Those who play a little pool will enjoy the tense action and will be able to follow the games closely. Those who just enjoy a book about a little-known facet of America's underbelly will be swept along. Those who liked "The Color of Money" will appreciate the reality check.
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