There are a ton of books from poker players that talk about their approach to the game of poker, but considering how many pros exist in the pokerverse, there are few books that talk about their lives and what went into making them who they are. Usually when we get one of these books, it is from a player who is in their later years, and they are looking back on a long and productive career. In the case of Joe Hachem’s autobiography, Pass the Sugar, it was nice to see somebody in their competitive prime talking about their lives.
The book is obviously named for Joe’s catchphrase. While “Pass the Surgar” is not up there with “Suit up!”, “Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!", or "D'oh!", it does hint to the fact that this book is going to be an entertaining one. Pass the Sugar delivers on that promise, and is as fun to read as it is informative about the Lebanese-born Australian.
While the book doesn’t follow the “I was born in a log cabin” style, and go on to re-hash the minutia of his life in detail, what it does is recount stories from Hachem and others about pivotal moments and dramatic twists and turns that his life has taken. While I am not exactly giving away the ending when I say that some of what he has to say revolves around his winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event, some of the back story around that snapshot in time is absolutely priceless.
Those who enjoy biographies will have a lot of fun with Pass the Sugar. The book is consistent with Joe’s less then dour personality, and also doesn’t try to re-write history to turn Hachem into something that he is not.
