Bridges Books

This books is a fascinating look at a segment of our society that often gets overlooked - the men and women who build our bridges and buildings. Too often, the politicians and the Trumps get all the credit, so "The Bridge Builders" is refreshing in its approach. It brings the workers and crews to life, giving them a nobility that they deserve. It's a quick read, and I wish it was a touch longer, but overall, it's a brilliant mix of writing and photography.

I truly enjoyed reading the story behind this gorgeous new bridge in Charleston. The colorful and breath-taking pictures were a true complement to the book; what a nice way to record a landmark that will define Charleston and be there for years to come.

This book was very informative on the construction of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge. The pictures were wonderful. This will be a keepsake for many years to come and to show our children how we saw the brigde being constructed.

Kearse's convention compilation is a cornerstone for the serious bridge library. For bidding theorists and advanced partnerships, no substitute for this work exists (and attempting one would be a foolish waste of time). Only the inclusion of a bibliography with appropriate references to same in the body text could substantially improve this fine reference work.

This book lists all the conventions authorized by the ACBL, describing the intent of the convention, its operation under a variety of circumstances, the pros and cons of using it, and even a few words about the defence to many conventions.

It is not intended for the non-serious bridge player. It is intended for partners who have already settled on their basic bidding system, but who wish to review the conventions they use, and decide whether any changes would improve their game.

The book is exhaustive rather then brilliant, but if you want a tool to enhance partnership discussion of your bidding methods, this book is hard to beat.

Where most "convention encyclopaedia" books fail to provide enough detail to be practical, this book delivers!

You will not learn to bid from this book. But once you have read a basic bridge book... (***a real book...not "Bridge and Whist in one weekend" or "Lets' play bridge in fifteen seconds" [titles made-up]***) ...this book will serve as an invaluable reference. This book is to Bridge what "Modern Chess Openings" is to Chess.

I have never read a more complete collection of bidding and signalling conventions in any other text. Not only are the mechanics of the conventions discussed, but the rationale behind their use is adequately presented without sacrificing brevity.

Written by high school teacher and principal Sam Shumate, The Bridge Crew is a memoir of growing up in a Blue Ridge mountain village in the 1940's and 50's. In an era before television, video games, personal computers, and personal automobiles, the kids met under a pedestrian walkway to plan activities to entertain themselves - from building huge spider webs on the bridge to oiling the tracks to watch the "Virginia Creeper" attempt to leave the Warrensville depot. True tales of mischief, with some hijinks that were deadly serious at the time yet can be regarded with humor after years of reflection, make The Bridge Crew a nostalgic reminiscence of days of yore.

I love this book. First of all, it is by one of my former teachers at Northwest Ashe High School in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I grew up just a few miles from the author's home and the setting of this great book. My husband's family moved to Warrensville in the 60's when he was only a baby so he grew up with the colorful characters Mr. Shumate describes in such passionate and eloquent detail.

This is a must read for anyone who is from a small town and wants to drift back in time to a simpler life for "just a spell".

I am in awe of how the author paints a picture of life in this rural community. I read the book in one sitting, I laughed so hard in places that I thought I would hurt myself. Mr. Shumate is a captivating writer and I hope that we will see more from him.

Joelle Martin captures your heart and imagination in this wonderful tale. This writer takes you to a magical land filled with enchanting characters and non-stop adventures. I felt as if I were there! A fun story for every age.

This book has a delightful bit of everything; high adventure, romance, fantasy. The reader is drawn into the story from the start, and sad to see it end. Thank goodness, sequels are on the way! Kudos to JoElle Martin for inviting us to share in her world! I look forward to reading more from her.

Loved it; adventure, romance, & suspense combine to make this book hard to put down from the very beginning. Highly imaginative with unexpected developments along the way. Not only for young people, this book will hold the attention of the young at heart of any age.

Victor Mollo's books are simply the most entertaining Bridge books available. The reader is able to identify and relate to each of the characters. Everyone knows a Hideous Hog, Rueful Rabbit, Secretary Bird, and Walter the Walrus. We see these characters every day during Bridge sessions. Mollo has quite the knack for bringing out all of the human qualities expressed at the Bridge table. These series of books are a great read and will forever be considered classics.

The 4th dimension is the human factor in bridge. This book is the funniest book on bridge and one of the best books I have ever read (including non-bridge too).

A true classic of contract bridge fiction. Not only will you be entertained but you will learn something as you peek into the world of Mollo's mythical bridge club. All the players in the book are animals but easily connected to personalities you have seen first-hand at the bridge table. The Hideous Hog (master, know-it-all), the Rueful Rabbit (he knows his skills are not the best, but somehow he always manages to do the right thing -- even for the wrong reason), the Secretary Bird (enforces the letter of the law, usually to his own downfall), Walter the Walrus (so caught up in point count that nothing else matters), plus many more. You will find yourself and your partner in this book somewhere. A great read and a great gift for your bridge playing friends. Mollo is my favorite bridge author.

Simple and funny book that my 3 year old daughter loves. The lesson is simple, it teaches a preschooler how to be patient. Very easy to follow as my little one tries to "read" along.

We got this out of the library for our 3-year-old, and he loved it so much he wanted to read it every night. He very quickly knew the story well enough that he was "reading" it himself on each page. We're buying this for him for Christmas, and I fully expect it to be one of the books that teaches him how to read. The repetition is great for that, and it enables us to read it in a silly way, and read the "so everyone has to wait" pages in an mockingly exasperated, impatient voice that he has learned to mimic as well. Highly recommend.

Kirkus Reviews
This enthusiastic read begins, "The Bridge is up! The bus can't go, so everyone has to wait." Following the bus and joining the queue come various modes of transport, from a bike to a bulldozer. Each vehicle is tacked on to the end of the refrain, building repetition. When the bridge finally descends, everything is repeated again, only this time, the bus can go! Hefferan's illustrations have cottony edges with an oil-base crayon vibrancy to the colors. The drivers and passengers, animals all, are expressive and charming. The font is expansive and jaunty, part and parcel with the artwork. Slightly bothersome, though, are the perspectives. Throughout the story the automobiles shift, inexplicably, from forming a line to sitting side by side. However, children will enjoy identifying the vehicles and watching the bicycle-riding monkey wander about before joining the motorcyclist. Whether to a crowd of one or many, this read-aloud is sure to be a pleaser. (Picture book. 3-6)

This book is for advanced players that are willing to make it into the championship level. Describes not only probabilities, but also odd changing, vacant places, chance combination and more.

Highly recommended.

While the calculation of the odds is interesting this is a practical book as well as a methematical one. Theer are numerous problems where teh reader needs to improve their chances by combining plays. Such as playing AK of a long suit to see if the Q drops before taking a finesse.

Not only is the information useful, its well presented adn enjoyable to read.

The math is not especially dificult and if you want to become a good player you should be aware of this. I put it under "knowing your fundamentals"

I liked this a lot more than the Vivaldi book. The Terence Reese book "Master the Odds" was ok, this was better.

I've read several of Kelsey's books, and the problems he gives are often rather difficult. Those in this book are usually easy, however. And that is how it should be. Most decisions at the bridge table are pretty easy. You just need to make the right ones consistently.

After a brief introduction to basic probability theory, Kelsey tells us about the odds for distributions of missing cards. The next chapter is on how to play various card combinations in a suit.

After that, we practice combining chances as a declarer. We learn to play for a drop in one suit before taking a risky finesse in another, and so on.

Next is a chapter on care of options. Sometimes, the opponents will remove one of your options. Sometimes, you will remove one of theirs. We learn to make some straightforward plays that take all this into account.

Of course, one elementary aspect of bridge is that the odds change as the hand is played. If an opponent shows out of a suit, or gives you other information about the distribution of cards, the odds can change. And Kelsey expresses the change in odds by the number of "vacant places" that remain undetermined.

The final elementary concept in bridge odds is generally referred to as "restricted choice." Kelsey finds this term confusing, so he calls it "freedom of choice." A simple example is when you have nine trumps, missing the Queen, Jack, five, and four. With the Ace and King in your hand, you try the Ace. Your left-hand opponent drops an honor! Before that happened, you would have played for the suit to split 2-2. But you now realize that there are only two kinds of hands your opponent could have started with: a singleton honor or both honors. There are two hands where your opponent has a singleton (singleton Queen and singleton Jack). And only one hand where your opponent has both honors. So the odds are nearly 2 to 1 in favor of finessing on the next round of trumps. That's a basic concept one has to know in bridge, and Kelsey gives some more examples of it.

This book is easy to read but teaches some valuable lessons. There is only one statement I seriously disagree with in it, and naturally, it is not about bridge. Near the start of the book, Kelsey asks about the probability of a "tossed coin" to come down tails if it has come down heads nine times running.

Kelsey is trying to explain that the chance of tails is not greater than 50%. After all, the coin has no memory. It is not going to come down tails just to even the odds! Kelsey says that each toss of the coin is a separate 50% chance.

Well, that's not quite true. The chance of it coming down tails is not 50%. After all, there is only one chance in 512 of a fair coin coming down heads nine times running. The chance may be considerably greater if the coin (or the toss) is not fair. If the coin is two-headed, the chance of nine straight heads is 100%.

Clearly, the chance of tails on the tenth throw is less than 50%.

I recommend this book.

Find it and GET it. You will find deals and material not found elsewhere, and G.Coffin is -da- master of endplays!
Terminology will sound weird, but your game will improve a lot. Warning -> Advanced players only. Do not hope that you will understand anything if you are a beginner: Coffin has no mercy!

One of top books on play. Ranks with Master Play and Play of the Hand. Needs updating and editing, and would be a best seller again.

If you ever get a chance to buy or borrow this book, do so. I would say that this is an intermediate text, but it covers everything from the basics to simple endplays and squeezes. This is a better and more comprehensive book on play of the cards than any other I've read. If you get a chance, pick up anything by George Coffin.

Dr. Izzo has helped me deal with past experiences in such a healthy and holistic way. Each time I read this book I have the ability to clear my mind and change my perception on thoughts that are toxic, unproductive and un-loving. This provides me the ability to be a better mother, wife and lawyer. This book has truly improved my quality of life!

The Bridge to I Am is the only self help book you'll ever need. I never understood the healing power of my own spirit until I recognized my impasse and reconnected. The five steps are user friendly and a provide a great journey to self discovery. Everyone deserves to know this information!

I loved this book! The Bridge To I Am is an an important, extremely well-written book for our times. It is easy to understand and integrate into our ever-changing chaotic world. Dr. Izzo takes us to a place where we can create a better inner existence, a pathway to experience reconnecting with our precious spiritual or higher nature. I encourage everyone to read this and go through the steps of Rapid Advance. It is a must read for those who want less chaotic, more spiritual and empowered lives.

John Corcoran's passionate outlook encompasses the views of experts, field professionals, and laypeople, and confronts our nation's most divisive educational issue: accountability for literacy. Read it in its entirety, and definitely do not miss the salient final chapter.

The education of educators must change at the college level and John has provided the road map. As a high school educator, my college education to be a teacher did not provide the tools to teach the fundamental skills needed for a quality education. High schools assumed that, by the time a student got to high school, the skills were theirs... WRONG, often.
This prompted me to look at other professions and ask: Does an internist know the whole body? Does an architect know the fundamentals of designing all types of buildings? Does an accountant have a strong math background? I was teaching high school and did now know how to teach decoding, encoding and reading comprehension. Being in high school inferred that all high school students had these skills - WRONG often! And I had not a clue how to help....read on! M T Kelly

As a parent, I'm an advocate for two of my children having difficulty learning to read. I've finally found a book that provides knowledge and science to support what I know my kids need. It's a great tool for me to share with other parents and teachers. I appreciate the way the author weaved his personal story and experience in with the testimonies of researchers and other adults like him.