Bringing Down The House by Ben Mezrich. Free Press, 2002. Genre: historical fiction
Bringing down the house is a story about six M.I.T. students were brought together by one of their professors to count cards in Vegas. Once they learn how to count they take trips to Vegas on the weekends and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Boston they were jus six regular students but in Vegas they could be who ever they wanted to.
“ This book made me wants to gamble! Vegas! Vegas!”- Bill Simmons
“ A lively tale that could pass for thriller fiction… Mezrich’s skilled yet easy writing draws sweat to the reader’s brow.”- Rocky Mountain News
These six M.I.T. students form a team with a brilliant math professor as the leader of the pack. They go and count cards in a game call Blackjack. The goal in this game is to add up your cards and beat the dealer’s hand and receive double the amount you bet. The point of counting cards is to know what card comes next without it being flipped over yet. This way they knew whether to bet a lot f money or bet the minimum. The casino’s had caught wind of the team and kept a close eye on them. Technically they couldn’t do anything about this because counting cards isn’t illegal but if they caught a counter they would bring them down into the basement and tortured them until they stopped counting at their casino. The writing style of Ben Mezrich is that he writes in suspense and after reading a chapter of the book you have to put it down and replay all the events that occurred in that chapter. His writing is very suspenseful and I read five chapters in a row because they were so jam packed with action and adventure that every chapter leaves off on the most exciting parts of the books.
After reading this book it is similar to a book I read on Texas Hold’em poker. They are both suspenseful because when you are gambling and playing for a lot of money there seems to be more action and more grudge against other players. I feel thought that Ben Mezrich’s book is written more maturely and uses better word choice than the other book uses.
“ Kevin a rush of adrenaline. It was the feeling he got when his father approved of something he had done. His father would not have approved of Mickey, an adult who hung around with brilliant kids, turning them into gamblers. Kevin’s father never would have understood. Card counting wasn’t gambling. It was arbitrage”(52).
I enjoyed this book because I too am I gambler. I play Texas Hold’em poker with my friends. This is why I enjoyed this book because I have always imagined what it would be like to gamble in Vegas and this gave me a clear picture. Also I enjoyed this book because it is a dream of mine to go to M.I.T. I hope he comes out with another book like this one because I read it in a heartbeat.
1) Kevins overall impression of the book is very positive. It seems like he really enjoyed it, and enjoyed what it was about.
ReplyDelete2)Kevin noticed that the author, Ben Mezrich's, writing style, is that he wrote with a lot of suspense. He explained how it was very action packed, and he read a lot at a time because it was so interesting.
3) I think that Kevin chose an interesting passage from the book, because it tells us about two character's a little, and shows the authors writing style.
4) I would consider reading this book, because Kevin made it seem very interesting. I enjoy extion packed suspenseful books, and that is what Kevin has told us this book is.
1. Kevin's overall impression of the book is very positive. this is because he seems to have really enjoyed this book and what it was about.
ReplyDelete2. He noticed that the author uses a lot of detail in his writing. Kevin said it is so full of detail that you have to put the book down after each paragraph to go over everthing that just happend.
3. I think the author did pick a good passage from the book to explain. this is because this little passage shows about the main character and where he comes from.
4. Yes, i would consider this book. Kevin made this book seem very interesting and this is something that i would be interested in.
1. Kevin's overall impression of this book was very good. I knew this because he could relate to the book very easily saying how he likes to play poker and he wants to go to M.I.T.
ReplyDelete2. He said that the author wrote as if he never wanted you to put the book down. He said how he would put all the action at the end of the chapter and leave wanting to know more.
3. He did choose a good passge from the story. The reason being is it gave a lot of detail about the main character and how he got a ruch of suspense when something good happens.
4.I would consider reading this book due to the fact that Kevin made it obvious that it was an awesome book. Also i watched a movie about this type of story and they always say, the book has more then the movie.
1) Kevin relly enjoyed this book.
ReplyDelete2) He says that the author used alot of detail to write this story.
3)I think he chose a good passage for his review. It shows details about the main character.
4)Yes I would consider reading this book. I usually don't enjoy nonfiction books but this is one were I might be able to make an a exception.
V) THe format was organized and well written. I wouldnt alter the format.