The Backwash Squeeze & Other Improbable Feats: A Newcomer's Journey Into the World of Bridge

I bought this book for my Mom who is a newly obsessed bridge player. She loved it! In fact, she loved it so much that I bought a copy for myself. Even for someone like me who has never played a game of bridge, the book is an interesting and enjoyable trip into a world filled with an entertaining history and a cast of characters.

I have to admit I purchased Edward McPherson's "Backwash Squeeze" for an odd reason--I met the author at a party and figured that if the book was half as entertaining as he was, it had to be worth the price. It is. I've never played bridge in my life but I worked through these 300+ pages in a weekend. Now I'll have to look up his Buster Keaton bio.

I have never played bridge before, but thanks to this book, now I do. I knew nothing about the game before I started reading and I still very much enjoyed it. Who knew that the game had such amusing, interesting, weird fascinating people who played it. I was also fascinated by the all of the famous people who play bridge from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to Sting. I knew it was great book when I desperately wanted to find out what happens to the author and his partner in the last 10 pages. I was a little sad that it ended and that I didn't get to follow him around to anymore adventures.

After reading a glowing review in the Wall Street Journal, I added this book to my summer reading list. However, at my local mega-bookstore it was in the "Games" section. Categorizing this book as a "Bridge book" is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch, grossly underestimating the content and completely missing the point. The subtitle says it all, "A Newcomer's JOURNEY into the WORLD of Bridge." It is not about teaching the game; it is about sharing the author's experience of walking into a whole new sub-culture. I didn't want to learn about strategy, I wanted to understand why the only time my parents went out (without us kids) was one Saturday every month to play Bridge ... with the same group they continue to play with to this day. That group includes most of my parents' closest friends--friendships that have grown from the scheduled socializing that Bridge provides. Some of my favorite memories come our turn to host the Bridge group, and Mom always came home with the best stories after an evening with the group. Mr. McPherson captures the Bridge experience with eloquence and wit. He seeks to understand more than just the logistics of the game, but why this game is special ... why people like my parents, who play no other card games and rarely socialize, have played once a month for thirty years? The book is an enjoyable read for anyone (interested in the game or not), and it reinforced my admiration for Bridge.

This a wonderful book for bridge players, as well as for those are unfamiliar with the game. It offers a fascinating portrait of the game's history and the myriad characters who have played it, past and present (my personal favorites are the colorful denizens of the Manhattan Bridge Club, each of whom McPherson delineates perfectly). There is also plenty of information about the ins and outs of the game itself. One of the book's many charms is that you feel as if you're learning about the game as McPherson, who was new to bridge when he began, does. That said, it is certainly not "Bridge for Dummies" (thank goodness), so if you're looking solely for a how-to book, this might not be the one for you. But if you're interested in an extremely well-written, almost Tom Wolfean take on this game and the culture surrounding it, I'd recommend it highly. It was total delight to read.