Just finished "Pool Wars" by Jay Helfert

mantis99

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Whenever I come on here, I always like reading the pool stories of what happened at league night or other interesting pool related stories that pop up. That got me to thinking that I might really enjoy Jay's "Pool Wars" book, so I bought it with some Christmas money.

The book starts off with a few stories that Jay wrote for a pool publication some time ago (just a few pages). While interesting, they were a little hard to follow, and didn't flow very well. The rest of the book is Jay's recollection of his life in pool related to playing, gambling, promoting, tournaments, and general pool culture. Fortunately, the writing style gets much better after the initial few stories, and the book is a very enjoyable read.

I had no idea how involved Jay was in just about all of the major happenings in pool from tournaments to Keith McCready's role in "The Color of Money", or how dedicated his life has been to pool. The book is written in a no nonsense manner that quickly gets the point of each story acrossed, and really piggybacks interesting stories with a nice view of the history of pool over the past 50 years. It was also interesting to here of some of the culture of the time as seen from the standpoint of a pool hall junkie.

By the time I finished the book, I was sad to see the last page turn. It was an enjoyable read that any general fan of pool stories will enjoy. I'd love to here more of the stories some time in the future, and would recommend the book to other fans of pool.
 
YES, It is a great pool book. I felt the same way when the last page came up, because it had got so interesting. I reccomend it to anyone that likes to hear/read pool stories.
 
I received his book for Christmas along with "Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story". I finished both of them by New Years. Both are good reads, but in my opinion the Kid Delicious book is still a little bit better. That book seems to flow better and keeps everything in a more chronological manner.
 
I received his book for Christmas along with "Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story". I finished both of them by New Years. Both are good reads, but in my opinion the Kid Delicious book is still a little bit better. That book seems to flow better and keeps everything in a more chronological manner.

as much as I enjoyed Running the table, Rags to Rifleman blew it away, you gotta give it a read.
 
I received his book for Christmas along with "Road Player: The Danny Diliberto Story". I finished both of them by New Years. Both are good reads, but in my opinion the Kid Delicious book is still a little bit better. That book seems to flow better and keeps everything in a more chronological manner.

My enjoyment of "Pool Wars" prompted me to buy "Running the Table", which I just started over the past few days. Very different style of writing from Jay's so far. Seems like it has the potential to be very good.
 
I read running the table by Danny twice, Where can i get a copy of pool wars ?
 
I got my Signed Copy of Pool Wars propped up on the mantle in my Pool Room! Good Read!

I'll look into the others you all have suggested! Thanks!
 
Anyone know where I can get a copy of "Rags to Rifleman?"

Ebay or you might try ABE Books. It seems not to come cheap. Mine is a second printing signed by both Buddy and Woody. The gripe I had with it is that the type seems to vary from signature, or group of folded pages, and made it very hard to read even when I first got it several years ago.
 
If you liked Pool Wars, you should check out Bobby Leblanc's book, Confessions of a Pool Hustler. Great read, and he's a heck of a nice guy!
 
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