Title	All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History of the World Series of Poker
Author	Jonathan Grotenstein & Storms Reback
Year	2005
Skill Level	any
Pros	Detailed run-throughs of every World Series of Poker Main Event, including many hands from the final tables.
Cons	Focused on the stories, so it's hard to jump to a particular year or find out who finished in what place. A few minor errors.1 Most of the mistakes can be found in almost every similar book of the era: misspellings of "Dandalos" for Nick Dandolos and "Brian" for Bryan "Sailor" Roberts, presenting the Dandolos-Moss match as fact instead of myth, and repeating that Chris Moneymaker started his World Series of Poker run in a $40 satellite (it was actually $86, not $39). One odd double-error, however, is the claim that Amarillo Slim Preston inspired Kenny Rogers to write "The Gambler". Rogers only sang the song; Don Schlitz wrote it. This mistake probably comes from Amarillo Slim in a World of Fat People (page 207), but there are no footnotes to confirm that (this weakness of the book sharply contrasts with James McManus's well-cited Cowboys Full -- The Story of Poker). Only covers up to 2004.
Rating	4.5

Bits and pieces of the history of the World Series of Poker had previously appeared in books, usually one year at a time,² but All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History of the World Series of Poker was the first comprehensive volume to cover them all.

After a brief history of how the WSOP came to be, the 35 festivals through 2004 are chronologically presented in seventeen chapters. For most years, the number of preliminary events and the size of the Main Event field are stated to indicate how the WSOP continued to grow almost non-stop, but the book is more about stories than numbers. Details of some preliminary events are occasionally given, then the Main Event is described, usually including each day of action with more hand recaps and stories starting from the final table.

Almost every player who made a deep run in the Main Event gets some ink; most get a short biography and a general evaluation of their playing style. Many are quoted talking about their play or their opponents.

As a sideline, the history of Binion's Horseshoe and the Binion family is updated throughout the book, from Benny Binion's exile from Texas to the family squabbles that ensued after his death.³

Overall, it's an engrossing and well-written narrative of the first 35 WSOPs that almost feels too short despite running almost 300 pages.