The New York Times Bridge Book: An Anecdotal History of the Development, Personalities and Strategies of the World's Most Popular Card Game

You could almost call this chipper volume BRIDGE'S GREATEST HITS. Written by experts in the field (Dorothy and Alan Truscott) this part-history, part-tutorial takes the game from its early yachting-club beginnings to mass popularity under the guidance of masters like Charles Goren, Ely Culbertson and the Truscotts themselves. Recommended no matter what level you're playing. Hardbound.

This is an excellent book for bridge players at all levels. It combines a history of the game, some basic instruction, interesting hands and memoirs of the authors. The Truscotts have a wealth of experiences to draw from, having been involved in bridge at the highest level for fifty years or more. If you want a couple of quibbles, I disliked chapter 15, titled "Some Strange Situations". It contains cutesy miscellaneous material that they wanted to include, but didn't have a place for in the main narrative. Their editor should have just cut it out. Also, they went a little overboard in their account of cheating in bridge. One piece of evidence of Italian cheating they give is a successful opening lead against 3NT (page 205). This seems like quite a stretch to call it cheating when the lead is fourth from the longest and strongest! These nits aside, whether you like stories, hands, or instruction, you're sure to enjoy the book.

The New York Times Bridge Book By Alan and Dorothy Truscott Genre: Non-fiction This is a wonderful collection of stories, plays, and tips on the still popular game of bridge. If you already know how to play, but maybe are a beginner and need some tips this is the book for you. Even more advanced players will find themselves challenged by the wide variety of hands played in the history of bridge. The authors write in such a way, intertwining the history of bridge with tips and instructions, that you will be caught up in the riveting story of players rise and fall to fame, without even realizing that your bridge skills are being improved while you read. This book has everything about bridge, from when it started as a game called whisk around a thousand years ago, to all the ethics of bridge and how to cheat unnoticeably. The book is filled with famous players, tournaments, hands, and scandals. It also gives you a couple of good tips on how to get yourself known in the bridge world. There are play-by-play instructions on how you would play some of the most notable hands dealt in bridge history, and many different instructions on various bidding conventions, or a certain play in bridge itself. If you want to soon be known for your fabulous bridge skills by all of your neighbors, then you cannot go without this book. Alan Truscott has been the bridge editor for the New York Times since 1964, and has written thirteen books on bridge, including the famed The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge. Dorothy Truscott learned bridge when she was seven years old, and has won four world titles and thirty national. She has written the bestselling book Bid Better, Play Better, as well as a few others. Both are members of the American Contract Bridge League's hall of fame.