The Color of Money

The Hustler

This is a classic tale of a man's struggle with his soul and his self-esteem.

When it was first published in 1959, was the first—and the best—novel written about billiards in the 400-year history of the game. The book quickly won a respected readership and later an audience for the movie with the same name starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason.

It is the year 2063. China's world dominance is growing, and America is slipping into impotence. All new sources of energy have been depleted or declared unsafe, and a new Ice Age has begun. Ben Belson searches for a new energy resource.

T. J. Newton is an extraterrestrial who goes to Earth on a desperate mission of mercy. But instead of aid, Newton discovers loneliness and despair that ultimately ends in tragedy.

“Beautiful science fiction . . . The story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is deigned mainly to say something about life on this one.”

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“Those who know  only from the film version are missing something. This is one of the finest science fiction novels of its period.”

—J.R. Dunn, author of