Rating: 
Summary: Could have been 5 stars with better writing!
Review: I had a difficult time getting through this book. Mainly because McMannus's writing style jumps around from topic to topic and some things are presented fast with a lot of street slang thrown in. Had it been written better I would have given it a full 5 stars because the material in the book is great.There is an awful lot of fascinating information about the big poker tournament and playing poker in general. Additionally, you can better understand the lure and excitement that drives people to mostly throw away their money almost on a whim at some of these tournaments.
Rating:
Summary: A great book in there somewhere
Review: This seems to me to be two books and several short stories all rolled into one volume. I thought the book about Binion family and especially the murder of Ted Binion was an average book that I would not have been interested in reading, had it not been intergrated into this overall book. I thought the author's digressions were, for the most part, of little or no interest to me. I thought the author's account of his amazing adventure to Las Vegas and all the way to the final table at the WSOP was spellbinding. I loved the adventure and the great insight into high stakes tournament poker, but finally began to page through the distractions to get to the white meat.
Rating: 
Summary: This and Craps Underground tell the tales
Review: And what tales they are. If you want to get in on the action right from your favorite easy chair Positively Fifth Street and The Craps Underground will take you to the world of the great players in the most exciting venues in the country! These are must read books for casino gamblers and others wishing to go on the great adventures with larger than life characters!
Rating:
Summary: A good idea taken too far?
Review: "Positively Fifth Street" is an interesting book that anyone interested in poker or gambling or Las Vegas should probably read. But be prepared to wade through pages and pages of useless fluff and drivel to get to the good parts. The book would have been many times better if it were about 75 pages shorter. The author is clearly a skilled wordsmith and weaves an interesting story about the death of Ted Binion with the story of his experience in the World Series of Poker and the history of that event. The book is good mix of humor, drama and reality that will leave the reader both laughing and thinking to himself, "yeah, I've been there!" Unfortunately he also goes off on numerous tagentially related stories about himself and various other matters that really could have (should have) been left out of the final edit. It's almost as if he were getting paid by the word instead of the number of copies sold. The upshot: ultimately I would have to say the main stories of the book (the death of Binion, the World Series of Poker) are worth the labor of getting through the pointless material that should have been left out. Wait for the paperback and give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: all men, gamblers,and humans must read this book
Review: Brilliant, rambling and highly insightful stuff ranging from a murder trial to the various influeneces his grandfathers had on his character...
Rating: 
Summary: A PAGE TURNER
Review: A really good book - plain and simple. A terrific, surprisng, interesting story written exceptionally well. I enjoyed all of it. It's the kind of book you want to read when you don't want something that's "heavy," but rather something that's pleasurable and a page turner. Nothing assuming about Mr. McManus' style. Just right on point. Thank you author for a delightful book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Lately there have been books about the "behind the scenes" lives of various gamblers or players. This is one of the two best in the genre. The book is a rivetting account of a murder and the competition that goes into the poker world. The other book is Frank Scoblete's The Craps Underground, which tells the behind the scenes story of dice controllers who have won millions from the casinos. If you enjoy the inside scoop on people who make their living challenging Lady Luck, I recommend this book and Scoblete's book as must reads.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Jim, Indeed
Review: Decent book about the WSOP, gives some insider perspective on what it's like to make it to the final table, the poker scenes are very well rendered. Trouble is, the author is a bit of a goober and there's an awful lot of padding. It seems he had more than enough material for a Harper's article, but not enough for a book. There's really nothing he doesn't talk about. Most strangely, he refers to his own genitals repeatedly throughout the book - no kidding. Sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically, but about once every chapter. I found myself thinking, "Look pal, I really don't want to think about your scrotum." Considering his experience, he could have written a masterpiece if he delved into the personalities and histories of the players around him more and his own life and mid-life-crisis worries less. Anybody who follows this stuff knows that the sport doesn't lack for interesting personalities - anecdotes about the other players would have been much more interesting than about him shopping for his wife or going to a strip club (passages written as if the author were the first to explore some exotic country). Also, his "imagination" of the Binion murder in the opening chapter also almost stopped me cold by fictionalizing the account to such a degree and then telling the reader afterward, essentially "oh, by the way, I basically just made that up - but I did a lot of research!" Bad Jim, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but...
Review: McManus is a great writer. The book covers everything from his experience as a finalist in the World Series of Poker to the death of Ted Binion. Now, as a writer/journalist, I love anything written by someone like McManus. But there are several chapters I skipped because I didn't buy the book to learn about the author's childhood, and, by the end of the book, I knew enough about his wife and life that I skipped the final (or last two) chapters.
Still, the book is recommended because you get to follow the author's progression from reporter covering the WSOP to a player finishing fifth in the tournament.
Rating:
Summary: Get this and Craps Underground
Review: I love going behind the scenes and this book does it with a passion. The other book I really enjoyed had to do with craps players who have developed the ability to alter the odds at dice. This is found in The Craps Underground, another great book in the same vein as Fifth Street.
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