'A wonderful hymn to the last true era when men of substance played pool with a vengeance' TIME OUT 'This book sees the poetry of the pool game . . . Fast Eddie's ascent up the ladder from pool shark to full-time hustler is the story of the will to power, told in cool fifties style' GUARDIAN Fast Eddie Felson has a reputation as a pool hustler to be feared, but his ambitions go far beyond taking small-town punks for a few bucks here and there. He has the talent to make big money, but he soon learns that it takes more than natural ability to become a real winner and heads to Chicago to test himself against the legendary Minnesota Fats in more than forty hours of high-stakes pool. Can he find the will to overcome his failings and fulfil his potential as the best there is? A classic of American fiction and the inspiration for the legendary Paul Newman film, THE HUSTLER is a hardboiled tale of one man with a talent for life in smoky poolrooms. A W&N Essential