Bridges Books

Most people will have heard of the famous Iron bridge built in 1779 in Shropshire, England. It was the very first bridge built from cast iron and inspired many more of the same design. It still stands because all parts are in compression because cast iron is brittle in tension. But engineers tried to build flat bridges of cast iron beams during the railway age, and many collapsed as a result. This book tells the tale of one such bridge built by Robert Stephenson, one of the pioneers of railways in Britain, to cross the river Dee near the historic town of Chester. It fell under a local train in 1847, just a few months after construction, killing five passengers and crew. The investigation was one of the first systematic analyses of an engineering disaster, and established the principles of how to tackle such accidents. Lewis charts the problems the investigator faced, and the full scale tests done to show why the bridge fell. It follows the story through to later bridge failures, culminating in the horrific Tay bridge disaster of 1879, when over a half a mile of the new Tay rail bridge collasped in a storm, taking an express train to its doom. It is a tale of tragedy born of greed, and failure to learn lessons from earlier accidents, and led directly to the iconic Forth bridge built a few years later. We are all still living with the consequences, because steel was rapidly adopted as the material of choice for large structures. But yet we still have catastrophic collapses....

If you ever want to understand God's grace, read this book! This was the first book that I ever read as part of a home group and it was totally awesome! It really touched me and set me free. I'd never really fully understood what God's grace is and how to discipline myself to live in it until I did this study. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to break free of legalism and truly live in God's awesome grace.

Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love is the fourth of eight booklets in the series "Bridges of Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton." Like its predecessors, it contains eight sessions consisting of a psalm passage; an introduction; excerpts on the topic from Merton's work and that of another spiritual writer; and reflection questions. Suggestions for individual and group use, a facilitator's guide, and optional closing prayers are included.

In reviewing the first three booklets, I focused primarily on the passages from Merton's work. This time, I will take a closer look at the session introductions prepared by editors Jonathan Montaldo and Robert G. Toth. My first example is from Session One, Wisdom for Contemplative Living. In the selection from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton writes, "paradise is all around us," as he contemplates the point between darkness and daylight. The editors use the image of God as "the beautiful spider who webs us to connection with every line of His creation" to introduce the readings. In the reflection section they ask how we attend to "the web of life of which we all are an intricate part." Their opening to Session Three, Our Poor Selves and God's Mercy, prepares us for Merton's ideas on our dual identities, external masks, and hidden inner selves: "To love one another and God, and thus to find and love our true selves, is a consistently fragile enterprise."

I highly recommend this booklet and the entire series to small groups and individuals who appreciate rich language and deeply spiritual insights.

This builds on the solid foundation of Mike Lawrences classic "How to Read Your Opponents Cards". It covers more advanced topics such as:

- why did the opponents give you an option they didn't have to? Was it a mistake, or a trick to give you a losing choice

- clues from discards. Why did East discard hearts when you have AKJ9 in Dummy in a 3NT contract? Probably becaus eits safe and he has 5+.

- clues from pards actions - why did pard behave in such a way? How can I help out pard on defense.

- why is declarer not attacking Spades in Dummy with a holding of KQJ95? Becaus ehe has the ace.

There is one clear mistake, and some of the signaling methods are not used in the USA. Also some of the bidding is obsolete.
Still, its an excellen book, and a must read.

Jim Priebe's DOUBLE ELIMINATION: A BRIDGE MYSTERY is suitable for both general-interest libraries with strong mystery fiction holdings and for collections strong in bridge game books. It builds a mystery blending bridge moves with bodies, revolving around player Art, whose team is sent to help local police solve a bridge-related series of murders. Can Art balance family life and personal needs with a murder investigation?

This is the third book in the Monks of St.Titus Bridge series. As with the earlier works, the book follows the exploits of the Bridge playing monks in England and also, it picks up on the adventures of their missionary outpost in Africa. As usual, the format concentrates on play rather than on bidding. Rather than being presented as pure puzzles, the play unfolds in a narrative style. This is doubly useful. There is an opportunity to treat each hand as a not too serious double dummy problem but also, it is quite possible to just follow the narrative and allow the authors to expose the solution.

A book such as this can be quite dry but the characters and situations spice things up with a good degree of wit. Even if you have read none of the other books in the series you will quickly become familiar with the characters and their foibles. This levening explains why these books are able to appeal to readers with a range of abilities from beginners so callow as to present this reviewer with an opportunity for victory up to those who deign to partner me once a year as a special favour.

The authors are to be commended on one matter in particular. The books in this series lose none of their sparkle even after you have read all of them more than once. They are very good indeed.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for any bridge player and it would also make a great present for any bridge playing friend.

Everything you ever wanted to know about doubles.

Birmingham England is the city where Judith Cutler lives and writes and Birmingham is the venue for her crime novels. You can almost smell the sweat and grime of England's second largest city as the action hurries along the streets.

In Dying To Write, her heroine Sophie Rivers (lecturer by profession and sleuth by obligation) finds herself once again in the middle of the action sticking her nose into another murder case, upsetting the local police and falling foul of the baddies. Plot twists, red herrings and a final resolution that will have you panting with relief, this is crime fiction at its best.

And Judith should know as the secretary of the British crime writers association! Judith writes compelling fiction that just demands to be read. I have never read any of her books in over forty eight hours as I simply cannot put them down. Buy, sit down and enjoy a fast paced, page turning ride through a murder mystery. You won't be disappointed!

McGann's voice borders on the hypnotic. He is an exceptional actor to start with and alternates between narrating and being part of the story flawlessly. He's turned three stories from the Short Trips collection (text print which is not included) into a one man performance that muct be beheld. These two tapes make for an excellent entertainment no matter if you are traveling, relaxing or what have you. This is an excellent treat for your ears and your mind's eye. If only it was available in CD.

I have been looking for a book on defensive signals.
This one is indeed the best.
Very thorough about all aspects of signals.
Lots of good examples.
Explanations are clear.
Easy to read.
Really enjoyed it!!!