"Poker: The Story of America's National Pastime" is a special
Card Player feature written by James McManus focusing on
the origins and evolution of the game.
James McManus is the author of the classic bestseller Positively
Fifth Street and seven other books. His work appears in The New
York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Harpers, The Best American
Sports Writing and many other anthologies. He also teaches a course
on the literature and history of poker at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. These historical columns are part of McManus's
next book, which is scheduled to be published by Farrar, Straus and
Giroux in 2009.
496 days ago
During the second half of the 14th century, Christian Crusaders and Venetian merchants brought what were called 'Saracen cards' back to Medieval Europe. Once the poverty and superstition of the Dark Ages had lifted, markets and guilds and universities began to tentatively sprout in the more fertile cultural soil, and the budding concepts of science and leisure and play began to blossom in the sunlight.
