The eudaemonic pie. (book reviews) Russ Lockwood.

This potentially interesting book tries to emulate Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine but never achieves the same passion or quality. It traces the efforts of a bizarre group of physicists and electronics wizards as they try to build a miniature computer that predicts where a ball will land on a roulette wheel. The idea is to clean up in Las Vegas and divvy up the profits.

However, too many tangents mar and obscure the narrative, plaguing an otherwise interesting story with repeated slow passages. Even worse, the ending is downright disappointing: the merry band cleaned up statistically, but technical difficulties prevented them from raking in the chips.

The Eudaemonics Pie, named after a "rational spirit" in Aristotelian philosophy, can be cut into thirds: one-third exciting, one-third dull and boring, and one-third somewhere in between.

Review Grade: C