From a sociological perspective, Hustlers, Beats , and others serves what it set out to do, explore the sociological aspects of billiards in America and the culture that has accompained it through time. However with the recent boom of billiards into mainstram american society, many of his observations and conclusions are dated if not false. Te book just goes to many places, crime, pornography, etc. and fails what it set out to originally acomplish. Furthermore, I find it quite unusal that the author chooses to contend a great deal of current ideologies toward billiards . Is this not a sociological perspective, or an historical editorial.As a college student, and a sociology major, the author fails to win my support from his argument. All in all, quite disapointing as I found it at my local bookstore and the cover looked interesting. I was left with a feeling of disappointment when I finished this book, as it completely crushed many of the idealization and ideologies and norms that are associated to theculture of billiards. Stick with the sociology, cut the editorial

A classic is back in print and the new materials show Polsky to be at the top of his game. Bravo! The work will likely influence yet another generation of sociologists--who will be delighted to find that keen observation, critical thinking, thoughtful analysis and fine writing need not be mutually exclusive. Students have always enjoyed this book as much as their professors have been proud of having assigned it. I'm glad to see that this tradition will continue.

As one familiar with the 1969 edition, I am impressed with the amount of valuable new material in this reissue. The author has added about 23,000 words to the original. The additions deal with the current poolroom revival and its causes, the further decline of the old bachelor subculture and of pool hustling, the entry of women into the formerly all-male preserve of the poolroom, the great increase of coin-operated tables in bars, and recent books on pool and pool history. Polsky also announces his discovery of the only surviving copy of the first English book on billiards, and gives us the first reproduction of the title page. He updates the books earlier essays on the Beats and their influence in American society, on research methods for studying crime, and on pornography's producers, consumers, and opponents. Back-cover blurbs from reviews of the original book call it a classic. A new blurb from novelist David Markson says that the additions alone are worth the price of this expanded new edition. I strongly agree.