Reading Journal Entry: Dice: Deception, Fate, & Rotten Luck, by Ricky Jay and Rosamond Purcell

A lovely little square volume, very well designed and produced. Short essays about the history of dice, gambling, cheating, etc. are studded with Purcell's beautiful photographs of Ricky Jay's dice collection. The price is right on this one, two, at about $15.

I know it doesn't sound like a great concept, but it is! I swear! The essays are interesting, but it's the photos that grab you. Jay's collection is famous, and these dice must be decades old. I expect he never throws anything out! They've mellowed, cracked, fermented, crumbled and decomposed in fascinating ways I never would have anticipated.

This Google search for Purcell's pictures will give you an idea of the power and beauty of this book.

http://www.silvereye.org/Auction2004/Auction5.html

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