Truly One Of A Kind...

Being interested in poker and its history prompted me to check this out and I was not dissapointed. It's an entertaining if tragic story of a man who for all his natural abilities could not conquer himself. I think the appeal of this book lies in its focusing on a person who came to exist so utterly on his own terms outside the borders of "normal" society that there is an attractive element of escapism to the narrative. Much of the credit for my complete immersion must go to the narrator. His individual voice characterizations, some more dramatized than others, gave the story life and his general tone of voice suited this type of story to a T. Great job. If you have an interest in poker or the gambling world in general, then this book is certainly for you. If you don't, you won't find a more fascinating entry point. Highly recommended.

11 people found this helpful

Great story of a legend - Depressing - Facinating

Would you consider the audio edition of One of a Kind to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version so I can not compare the 2.

What other book might you compare One of a Kind to and why?

I can't think of any right off hand,. Maybe the store of Howard Hughes

What aspect of Joe Barrett’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The best card player who ever lived and how little we know about who he was.

Any additional comments?

Would have liked to see some specific details into some big hands played so that they could be dissected and discussed.

3 people found this helpful

emotionally devastating and well read

The Stu Ungar story is engaging and compelling from the get-go. I will look for other books read by Joe Barrett - he did an amazing job. Surprisingly the callous, cliched-heart of Vegas is shattered when you hear of players and friends who tried to help Stu Ungar. Over and over it's a desperate emotional roller coaster - the life of a gifted man who went through one bad beat after another. In substance and tragedy It's Goodfellas meets Casino, meets Raging Bull.

2 people found this helpful

Fascinating look behind the curtain

Any additional comments?

This was a peek behind the curtain of professional poker. I don't play but I liked watching the TV coverage of the big tournaments, till the punks took over with their posturing and antics. So I knew some of the big names and even had some favorites. I liked learning a little bit about the personalities and characters of some of the players I had followed, particularly Doyle Brunson. However, I had not heard of Stuey Unger, and this book prompted me to go to You Tube to watch some of his tournament play. My watching coincided with some of the scenes in the book, which really brought them to life. I think anyone interested in the game would like this book.

The narrator did a good job, but the production values of the recording were pretty bad, particularly closer to the end, when lines were repeated. One time an entire paragraph was followed by a pause, then the narrator's voice saying "Alternate" and then the same paragraph read again. It was sloppy editing.

1 person found this helpful

Sad but good

This is a very good book abut Stu Unger. It's very sad what happened to him but well worth the listen. It's very well narrated too.

1 person found this helpful

amazing story and audiobook

1 of the kind is probably the greatest audio book that I've ever listened to. I have listened to roughly 30 audio books. Stuey Ungar is such a fascinating person, and probably the greatest card player of all time.

1 person found this helpful

Compelling story of the greatest card player ever.

Any additional comments?

Nollan does an incredible job telling Stu's story. He bounces back and forth, between autobigraphical material and 3rd person biography in a smooth fluent manner that let's us see the world through stuie's eyes, and stu through his friends eyes at the same time.



The stories are endless about Ungar's mental talents at cards, juxaposed with his personal demons that took his life to soon, just a few years before the big boom in poker.The story is brilliant in its scope, taking Stu from birth, to the hights of a 2 time champ, to the depths of addiction, and back to a third title, and back again.

The stories of his brilliant talent at all card games, especially ginn and poker, from the earlest age, are told and performed in rich detail that make you feel as though you were there at the felt yourself.

If you have ever herd the stories of Stu while watching poker, or in a poker room in vegas or la, then you can't miss this book. Or, if you just love a good biography about someone who is the best at his field, then it is a can't miss as well.The story is read, wonderfully unabridged with a multitude of emotion, despite a large number of difficult voices to recreate.

The work is ingaging, eluminating and makes the most compelling figure in poker history that much more compelling.... ecpecially in the audio form, that truely brings to life the incedible ups and downs of stu in a manner that the writen word just can't match.


Nolan has a lot of audio of stu not long before his death, I truely hope there is enough interest in his work to make it worth while for him to edit those tapes in some form for publishing... he's as brilliant at story telling as Stuie was at cards.bisognor

1 person found this helpful

Stewie Unger

What an amazing and Tragic story of the world's Greatest Poker player truly heartbreaking

Truly, One of a Kind

One more genius with a rare talent. Sadly, it cost him his life. Pity,

Really enjoyed this listen

Stu Unger was someone I was aware of growing up. Mostly due to the online poker boom. With the rapidly expanding legalization of sports gambling, I've been interested in content around Vegas and gaming.

Whether or not you want to learn more about Unger, this is a really well researched and thoughtfully explained light read on gambling. I learned a lot about blackjack edge history and other stuff.

Finally, Joe Barrett (narrator) seems to have made a niche with gambling narratives/ bios. The only reason I found this title is due to my listening to Titanic Thompson, also narrated by Barrett. Barrett's masterful narration of Babylon Babies by Dantec made me a fan of his performances for life.