Mark Cramer, Scared Money (1994, City Miner Books)Scared Money professes to be a novel. That may well be true, but if so it's a novel in the same way The Celestine Prophecy is a novel, except that Cramer's book actually has something worthwhile to teach the aspiring risk-taker. Not surprisingly, Cramer's book centers on the risks inherent in playing the horses, but touches on risk in many other aspects of life as well (and the parables he spins as mini-morals to his horseracing stories are quite easily taken the other way). In other words, this seemingly vertical-market book is actually the most accessible piece of Cramer's horse-slanted writing; There's all kinds of things to be gleaned from here, and not just about horses.
Matt, the protagonist, starts off as a casual horseplayer. He doesn't really change throughout the series of episodes that make up the book, but these episodes are designed to highlight one aspect of risk-taking each; change is probably not to be expected. Around Matt are an odd assortment of minor characters; horseplayers, jazz musicians, a nagging ex-wife. All are roped into these mini-morality plays in some form or another. All of the tales are effective, and get their points across without beating the reader over the head, but the end result isn't something that holds together as a coherent novel. A collection of parables, maybe (the Gospel of Cramer?), but a novel it isn't.
Still, it's well worth reading not only for the horseplayer, but those who desire to take other risks in life as well. ***
