Don's racing paperback: Odds Against
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
Dark Shadows is the week Don, feeling his age, takes Ginsberg's Sno Ball ideas to the pitch and leaves them in the back of a cab. The NYPL list puts a Dick Francis paperback in his hands that same episode. A racing novel called Odds Against, read by a man fixing the race at his own office. The writers' room had the option to be subtle and passed.
Paused Tuesdays
One still, one stack, every Tuesday morning.
The book
Odds Against
Francis was a champion jump jockey before he wrote, including for the Queen Mother. This 1965 novel introduced Sid Halley, a jockey turned investigator after a fall wrecks his hand. Halley built a second career out of losing his edge, which Don would like to hear more about.
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Paused Tuesdays
One still, one stack, every Tuesday morning.
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