{"product_id":"bluffing-texas-style-the-arsons-forgeries-and-high-stakes-poker-capers-of-rare-book-dealer-johnny-jenkins-9780806164953","title":"Bluffing Texas Style: The Arsons, Forgeries, and High-Stakes Poker Capers of Rare Book Dealer Johnny Jenkins","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1989 a woman fishing in Texas on a quiet stretch of the Colorado River snagged a body. Her \"catch\" was the corpse of Johnny Jenkins, shot in the head. His death was as dramatic as the rare book dealer's life, which read, as the \u003cem\u003eAustin American-Statesman\u003c\/em\u003e declared, \"like a bestseller.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In 1975 Jenkins had staged the largest rare book coup of the twentieth century--the purchase, for more than two million dollars, of the legendary Eberstadt inventory of rare Americana, a feat noted in the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e. His undercover work for the FBI, recovering rare books stolen by mafia figures, had also earned him headlines coast to coast, as had his exploits as \"Austin Squatty,\" playing high stakes poker in Las Vegas. But beneath such public triumphs lay darker secrets.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e At the time of his death, Jenkins was about to be indicted by the ATF for the arson of his rare books, warehouse, and offices. Another investigation implicated Jenkins in forgeries of historical documents, including the \u003cem\u003eTexas Declaration of Independence.\u003c\/em\u003e Rumors of million-dollar gambling debts at mob-connected casinos circulated, along with the rumblings of irate mafia figures he'd fingered and eccentric Texas collectors he'd cheated. Had he been murdered? Or was his death a suicide, staged to look like a murder?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e How Jenkins, a onetime president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, came to such an unseemly end is one of the mysteries Michael Vinson pursues in this spirited account of a tragic American life. Entrepreneur, con man, connoisseur, forger, and self-made hero, Jenkins was a Texan who knew how to bluff but not when to fold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVinson, Michael:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eMichael Vinson\u003c\/b\u003e is a rare book dealer specializing in Texas and the West. He has appraised rare books for the \u003ci\u003eAntiques Road Show\u003c\/i\u003e and has been interviewed by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e about rare book thefts. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eEdward Eberstadt \u0026amp; Sons: Rare Booksellers of Western Americana\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"University of Oklahoma Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50859053023506,"sku":"9780806164953","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6efa0665-1e57-478f-93cb-b4e904cb70a7.jpg?v=1737548657","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/bluffing-texas-style-the-arsons-forgeries-and-high-stakes-poker-capers-of-rare-book-dealer-johnny-jenkins-9780806164953","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}