Going Rackless
Chicago’s Amateur Pool Players and the Quest for Glory in the Biggest Tournament in the World
Playing every angle for a shot at the big time
Paper – $19.95
978-0-252-088896
eBook – $14.95
978-0-252-048333
Publication Date
Paperback: 10/07/2025
About the Book
Chicagoans venture to area pool halls to perfect their games and navigate league play for a shot at the APA World Pool Championships in Las Vegas. Dylan Taylor-Lehman joins a lively cast of characters under the lights and inside a subculture as old as Chicago itself. Whether running the table or waiting their turn, everyone has a story to tell and opinions to share on position play, pool’s unwritten code, and life itself. Taylor-Lehman follows four promising teams on a mission to reach Vegas before unwinding an electric account of what it takes to win the world’s premier amateur tournament—and what you take away when the balls aren’t sunk.Entertaining and immersive, Going Rackless puts readers tableside to watch a game everyone has played but few truly understand.
About the Author
Dylan Taylor-Lehman is a Chicago-based journalist and writer and the author of Sealand: The True Story of the World’s Most Stubborn Micronation and Its Eccentric Royal Family and Dance of the Trustees: On the Astonishing Concerns of a Small Ohio Township.Reviews
“Crisp and engaging, Going Rackless is an enjoyable piece of participatory journalism that captures the essence of the pool hall, its banter, and the players’ lifestyles and motives.”—Gerald Gems, author of Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science
“Taylor-Lehman makes the players and their interesting life stories come alive, and I found myself caring about them whether or not they were successful at the pool table. A stimulating and entertaining read by a fine writer and great storyteller.”
—Don Zminda, author of Justice Batted Last: Ernie Banks, Minnie Miñoso, and the Unheralded Players Who Integrated Chicago's Major League Teams
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