"In The Noble Hustle, Colson Whitehead does for participatory journalism what he did for zombie novels in Zone One: Take one literary genius, add $10,000 and a seat at the World Series of Poker, and stir. On one level, Colson Whitehead's The Noble Hustle is a familiar species of participatory journalism - a longtime neighborhood poker player, Colson was given a $10,000 stake and an assignment from the online ESPN offshoot Grantland to see how far he could get in the World Series of Poker. But since it stems from the astonishing mind of Colson Whitehead (MacArthur Award-endorsed!), the book is a brilliant, hilarious, weirdly profound and ultimately moving portrayal of - yes, it sounds overblown and ridiculous, but really! - the human condition"--