Interesting story, great characters; pity about the writing

This story tells about the rise and fall of super-smart-MIT boys and their forays into card counting. From nerdy campus watering holes to plush Vegas VIP rooms, Bringing Down the House is a modern-day morality tale.

The main character, Kevin, is a smart college kid who is seduced into an expert and tightly run card-counting operation comprised mainly of his fellow MIT students. Using a relatively simple scheme of tracking low and high cards, a counter who is placing minimal bets can signal a high-stakes player over to a table just as it's heating up. Over the course of a few years, these kids made millions up and down the Vegas Strip. Using costumes, fake ids, elaborate accents and well-developed characters, Kevin and his friends not only made mega bucks, but they also had access to the high-roller lifestyle, with the free suites, drinks, dinners and gorgeous women.

Eventually, however, the casinos figured out their game, and a cat-and-mouse game followed. Mean casino managers, tough security thugs would chase them from their rooms, out of casinos and eventually, at least for Kevin, back to the straight and narrow.

The book is fast-paced and straightforward, but at times Ben Mezrich's writing feels a bit stilted, and some of the dialog doesn't ring true. And the ending, while it ties up a lot of loose ends, is strangely unsatisfying. Apparently, there are few repercussions even after all the drama.

In spite of any criticisms, however, the book is a fun read, particularly if you like blackjack or perhaps are on your way to Vegas. It certainly will make you wonder who's watching you.

Great Book

This book is a great choice for many reading levels. Once i picked the book up i found it hard to put down. The book flows really nicely and really takes you along for the ride. You get a sense of the action (when it arrises) as well as the tension (when it arises, as it often does). Whether you're a casual reader or an avid one, this is a book that you should have in your collection. It also makes a great conversation topic once you've read it :)

Enjoy

Good For A Long Plane Ride

The story is interesting but not fantastic. If what you want is a light, entertaining book to read on a 5-hour plane ride, this is your book. You don't need to know anything about blackjack. It's not a gambling or "how-to" book. So, ignorance of the game is no hindrance. Although the story moves quickly, surprisingly it's too long in some places. I found myself less interested in some of the present day stories than what actually happened in the past. I felt that Mezrich tried to fill space because a book with big type and wide spaces (which it has) that's less than 200 pages probably isn't that marketable except as a pamphlet. In short, I enjoyed the book. I found it generally entertaining. It was perfect for a long plane flight, but no more.