The phrase Harlem in the 1920s evokes images of the Harlem Renaissance, or of Marcus Garvey and soapbox orators haranguing crowds about politics and race. Yet the most ubiquitous feature of Harlem life between the world wars was the game of numbers. Thousands of wagers, usually of a dime or less, would be placed on a daily number derived from U.S. bank statistics. The rewards of hitting the number, a 600-to-1 payoff, tempted the ordinary men and women of the Black Metropolis with the chimera of the good life. "Playing the Numbers" tells the story of this illegal form of gambling and the...