ESQUIRE'S BOOK OF GAMBLING

For the man with a little sporting blood (and a little sang froid to go with it) this collection of magazine pieces combines entertainment along with a great deal of instruction on the ""second oldest diversion""- whether at the track or at the table. Its pleasures (think of the widowed $15 a week mail order clerk who won a half a million on a British football pool) or perils (whether becoming addicted or being taken); its casinos from Monaco to Las Vegas (you're more likely to come home again from San Juan); and then the unlimited opportunities which card games, horse racing and other outdoor betting, craps, 21, etc. offer as well as some of the systems to be applied.... More likely a guest to host, rather than wife to husband, gift and the illustrations by Tomi Ungerer should enhance.