One of a Kind by
Nolan Dalla and Peter Alson
-Combination biography and autobiography about poker
legend Stu Ungar
-Our rating: 95 (out of 100)
-Excellent account of poker's most tragic character
Overview
The full title of this book is actually
One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey "They Kid" Ungar, The
World's Greatest Poker Player. In fact, that is a good summation
of its content: the true story of Stu Ungar, probably both poker's
greatest and most tragic figure. This excellent book is written by
two great writers in a factual yet intelligent manner, speculating
less and reporting more. One of a Kind is a well-rounded look
at Ungar's formative childhood, his leap into the world of gambling,
his World Series triumphs, personal battles, and eventual demise.
It's tough to call this "a great read" as it definitely isn't a
feel-good story, but it's interesting enough to appeal to non-poker
fans alike because of the amazing range of highs and lows Ungar has
gone through over his storied life.
Comments
Stu Ungar is the antithesis of someone
like Daniel Negreanu or Erick Lindgren, at least in appearance and
virtue. Quiet, private, scrawny, filled with personal demons,
and never looking much older than 14, Stu Ungar led both one of the
most triumphant and sad lives in the poker world. He was never
the poster-boy for poker nor did he ever wish to be. The early '80s,
Ungar's glory days, also couldn't be more different than popular
poker today. However, in spite of his personal issues and drug
addictions, he was probably the most talented poker and gin player
to ever grace the felt. Sadly, we'll never get to know how truly
great Ungar could have been because of those addictions.
When Nolan Dalla initially met Stu Ungar,
he signed a contract with the 3-time World Champion to help him
write an autobiography, get his story out, and help others learn
from his mistakes in life. Unfortunately (and I don't think that I'm
spoiling anything here as the foreword says pretty much the same
thing), Ungar died shortly after they got underway with the
interviews. Interspersed with Dalla and Alson's great commentary is
the occasional quote of a story from Ungar himself, identified by
italics and poor grammar. After sitting on the book for several
years, Dalla sought out help from gambling writer Peter Alson in
completing the biography and finally putting it out as One of a
Kind. Both of them wondered if it was the right thing to do, but
after speaking with his surviving family decided that they were
still fulfilling Ungar's original goal in cautioning others from his
way of life.
As for the writing itself, One of a
Kind flows very well and I read it in just a few sittings. While
it is a good length, it's the type of book that is tough to put
down. As a poker player, I appreciated plenty of play-by-play from
Ungar's career highlights like his 3 World Series of Poker Main
Event wins in 1980,1981, and 1997. This is pretty amazing
considering the age of some of the events, but the authors give
great commentary. Besides the tournament wins, I appreciated the
accounts of the cash games and friendships involving legends of the
game like Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Mike Sexton. In fact,
Sexton was one of Ungar's closest companions throughout the years
and delivers several anecdotes throughout the book.
Overall, this biography gives you
everything you could want to know about Stuey Ungar, his life story,
and the ups and downs of his poker career. If you're in the mood for
a serious book about one of the darker legends of poker, I highly
recommend One of a Kind.
Score
Out of 100, I give Nolan Dalla's One
of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar a
95. This is the definitive look at Stu Ungar and is a well-written
and interesting book for poker fans.
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