Poker and Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America's Favorite Card Game

Introduced shortly after the United States declared its independence, poker's growth and development has paralleled that of America itself. As a gambling game with mass appeal, poker has been played by presidents and peasants, at kitchen tables and final tables, for matchsticks and millions.First came the hands, then came the stories -- some true, some pure bluffs, and many in between. In Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America's Favorite Card Game, Martin Harris shares these stories while chronicling poker's progress from 19th-century steamboats and saloons to 21st-century virtual tables online, including:Poker on the MississippiPoker in the MoviesPoker in the Old WestPoker on the NewsstandPoker in the Civil WarPoker in LiteraturePoker on the BookshelfPoker in MusicPoker in the White HousePoker on TelevisionPoker During WartimePoker on the ComputerFrom Mark Twain to “Dogs Playing Poker” to W.C. Fields to John Wayne to A Streetcar Named Desire to the Cold War to Kenny Rogers to ESPN to Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond, Poker & Pop Culture provides a comprehensive survey of cultural productions in which poker is of thematic importance, showing how the game's portrayal in the mainstream has increased poker's relevance to American history and shaped the way we think about the game and its significance.