J. H. (Jonathan Harrington) Green

Born in the early 1810s in Ohio, Jonathan Harrington Green became one of the best-known gamblers in the United States before remaking himself as a reformer and writer. He built his reputation through skill at cards and close knowledge of the tricks used by professional gamblers, experiences that later gave his books unusual authority and vivid detail.

After retiring from gambling in the 1840s, he devoted much of his life to exposing cheating, warning the public about swindles, and arguing for stronger action against illegal gaming. He wrote works such as The Gambler's Life and Gambling Exposed, blending memoir, social criticism, and practical advice drawn from his own past.

Green remains an unusual figure in American nonfiction: part adventurer, part confessor, and part crusader. For listeners interested in crime, reform, or the rough edges of 19th-century life, his writing offers both spectacle and a rare insider's view.