Book Review: Take Me to the River

Author: Simon Dexter

Take me to the River
By Peter Alson

4sportsbooks.co.uk price: £6.99, saving 22% on rrp

A few years ago, Peter Mayle happened upon the idea of writing a book about spending a year in Provence whilst refurbishing a run-down property. It proved enormously successful because it struck a chord with so many people wishing to escape the rat-race and enjoy the laid-back Gallic way of life.

Mayle has since added to his seminal work with a number of other books, but the ‘write-about-my-warts-and-all-experience’ genre of writing has blossomed, although not always for the greater good.

Accordingly, readers may initially approach Peter Alson’s work with some trepidation, although unlike a number of others who have decided to put their poker thoughts to paper, Alson does have pretty decent poker credentials. For example, he co-authored Stu Ungar’s biography, One of a Kind, and it helps that he is a decent poker player having played the game seriously for a number of years. Take Me to the River is his tale of how he made it to the 2005 WSOP.
Unlike Chris Moneymaker’s incredible story of how he arrived with a bang at the 2003 WSOP, Alson didn’t walk away with several million dollars as his crowning glory, comprehensively described in a final chapter. Instead, he uses his poker to reflect upon life, to outline ideas and theories garnered from characters he meets en route and to muse about poker in general.
In some respects, Alson could be called poker’s Peter Mayle. He doesn’t do anything spectacular, he doesn’t become a poker big noise, but he does have a tale to tell, albeit of the easy-reading variety, of an ordinary guy who is determined to play in the big one.

While Alson clearly knows his stuff, this is not a book for those seeking remarkable poker revelations or searching for a different way of playing. Instead, it’s a tale of personal resolve and determination of the type many of us would need to possess as we endeavoured to make Las Vegas.

Tags: Book Review, Online Poker, poker, Poker News

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 10:31 am and is filed under News & Promotions Blog.