Double Down

<em>Double Down</em> is a true story a terrifying roller-coaster ride deep into the heart of two men and into the world of floating Gulf Coast casinos. When both of their parents died within a short time of each other the writers Frederick and Steven Barthelme both professors of English in Mississippi inherited a goodly sum of money. What followed was a binge during which they gambled away their entire fortune-and more. And then in a cruel twist of fate they were charged with cheating at the tables. <p/>Told with a mixture of sadness and wry humor and with a compelling look at the physical aura of gambling-the feel of the cards the smell of the crowd the sounds of the tables-<em>Double Down</em> is a reflection on the lure of challenging the odds the attraction of stepping into the void. A cautionary tale (the brothers were eventually exonerated) it is a book that once read will never be forgotten. <p/>