One is Reading The Living Sword, from Victor Niederhoffer
One is reading The Living Sword by Aldo Nadi, perhaps the greatest Italian fencer. His life consists of gambling, romance and seduction unlimited, and drinking without training.
After beating everyone in Europe in match games, like our boxing matches, he moves to the United States where he finds "no interest in fencing whatsoever". He loathes his brother who was the previous Europe's best, and has nothing good to say for his competitors.
I have not read the last 100 pages yet, but I am waiting to see if my father's adage that all gamblers die broke and degenerates holds true.