At the age of 17, David McCumber was stricken with "road fever" that irresistible call to the itinerant life of a professional gambler. Twenty-two years later, he got the chance to follow that dream-not as a player but as the "stakehorse" (financial backer) for Tony Annigoni, a non-smoking, macrobiotic-eating "Renaissance Pool Hustler," student of Eastern religion, and master of the pure green-felt poetry of the dead stroke." With $27,000 in David's pocket they took off together on an astonishing four-month odyssey across America-traveling from seedy, hole-in-the-wall billiard parlors to high-class snooker rooms to high-tension pro tourneys, from Seattle to Miami and back again-exploring a shady twilight subculture and uniquely American mythos, in search of serious money, local glory...and the perfect hustle.

Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey

Biographies & Memoirs

McCumber, David

Community & Culture

It Books

One man's journey into the heart of the American West.
For twelve months, a grown man lived every young boy's dream.
David McCumber is a Westerner born and raised, reared like so many others on the great myths of the rugged individualists who braved a hard land and the elements to expand a nation. More than any other national icon, the American cowboy personifies our past- a lone figure venerated in literature and popular culture for his ability and stubbon courage, for his "quick draw" and purity of purpose, and for his unwavering ethics of simple honesty, loyalty and hard work. So in February of his forty-fourth year, McCumber went to work on rancher Bill Galt's expansive Birch Creek spread in Montana, to take a measure of himself by becoming-albeit for only four seaons-one of a fabled breed.
The Cowboy Way is an enthralling and intensely personal account of a year spent in open country that expertly weaves past and present into the vibrant and colorful tapestry of a vanishing way of life. At once a celebration of a breathtaking land both dangerous and nourishing, and clear-eyed appreciation of the men-and women-who work it, David McCumber's remarkable story forever alters our long-held perceptions of the "Roy Rogers" cowboy with real-life experiences and hard economic truths. What emerges is an unforgetable portrait of a uniquely American personality-one firmly tied to the romance of an earlier age while riding the modern range in pickups and 4X4s. Lyrical and compelling, McCumber's chronicle of his time spent at Birch Creek, is an exhilarating adventure of the body, spirit and senses-and it will boldly reshape every reader's vision of our heritage and our heroes. One man's journey into the heart of the American West.

The Cowboy Way: Seasons of a Montana Ranch

Regional U.S.

Mariner Books

Two award-winning journalists reveal how the decades-long poisoning of the small Montana town of Libby led to an exposé of the long-term implications of asbestos exposure, how government and industry repeatedly ignored or covered up the dangers, and the determined efforts of a few individuals to uncover the truth. Reprint.

AN Air That Kills: How the Asbestos Poisoning of Libby, Montana, Uncovered a National Scandal

Science & Math

Schneider, Andrew

Earth Sciences

Berkley Trade

Award-winning author David McCumber reveals the unknown world of the pool hustler as he travels across the country with one of America's top players, Tony Annigoni. From elegant snookers clubs to high-pressure tournaments to chancy dives, this wise-cracking and occasionally hair-raising road trip explores a distinctive American subculture.

Playing Off the Rail

Sports & Outdoors

Individual Sports

Random House Value Publishing

X-Rated: The Mitchell Brothers : A True Story of Sex, Money, and Death

An account of the murder of pornographer Artie Mitchell by his brother, Jim, describes Jim and Artie's rise to fame in the pornography industry, their porn classic, Behind the Green Door, and their descent into lives of alcoholism and violence. 50,000 first printing. Tour.

True Crime

Simon&Schuster

Award-winning author David McCumber reveals the unknown world of the pool hustler as he travels across the country with one of America's top players, Tony Annigoni. From elegant snookers clubs to high-pressure tournaments to chancy dives, this wise-cracking and occasionally hair-raising road trip explores a distinctive American subculture.

Playing off the Rail:: A Pool Hustler's Journey

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Random House]

The Cowboy Way: A Year in the Life of a Montana Ranch Hand

History

Americas

Headline

An account of the rise and fall of pornography kings Jim and  Artie Mitchell describes how their success with Behind the Green  Door and other flicks ended in tragedy when Jim shot and killed  Arnie in cold blood. Reprint.

X-Rated

Movies

Pinnacle

An Air That Still Kills is the alarming and still-unfolding story of the deadliest environmental disaster in the United States. The catastrophe began in Libby, Montana, where hundreds of people died and thousands more were sickened from the asbestos that contaminated a vermiculite mine. But mine owner W.R. Grace spread the danger across North America when it exported the lethal vermiculite, which still lurks in as many as 50 million homes, businesses and schools. First authored by Andrew Schneider and David McCumber, this updated book includes frightening new disclosures by Schneider about the growing threat from Libby’s uniquely potent form of asbestos. The latest studies by some of the nation’s foremost experts say that Libby asbestos – with even minimal exposure – can sicken and kill at rates thousands of times greater than previously thought. But few people know the danger that hides in their attics and walls, because regulators have repeatedly failed to warn the public effectively. No one is tracking how many people have died from asbestos contamination, or where, or how many more will die. The only certainty is that the toll will continue to rise. An Air That Still Kills is a haunting, meticulously reported account that will introduce you to the courageous miner’s daughter and the cowboy crooner who took on one of the nation’s most powerful corporations, and to the government team who at first refused to believe the duo. That team now continues to risk careers by fighting uncaring bureaucrats to help prove the town’s residents right. The greed, power and politics that claimed so many lives will make you furious. The stories of tireless perseverance against all odds will astonish you. And the ongoing risk of a horrifying death faced by millions should make you mad as hell.

An Air That Still Kills: How a Montana Town's Asbestos Tragedy is Spreading Nationwide

Politics & Social Sciences

Schneider, Andrew J

Clifton, Denise

Sociology

Cold Truth, LLC

An account of the rise and fall of pornography kings Jim and Artie Mitchell describes how their success with Behind the Green Door and other flicks ended in tragedy when Jim shot and killed Arnie in cold blood. Reprint.

Pinnacle Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCumber, David. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McCumber, David