MSO World: Bridge Articles

The literature of bridge depicts our game's rich history. By 1880 books on whist flooded the market, but when Culbertson arrived in the late 20's he soon made bridge as popular as baseball.

He printed edition after edition of his red book, on play, his blue book, on bidding, and his gold book. His autobiography, The Strange Lives of One Man, is a mixture of fact and fiction, and a great read. By the mid-thirties Culbertson was a rich man and he began to pour funds into promoting world peace and a one-world government. Culbertson's "Total Peace" is still in plentiful supply.

Charles Goren rode the tide of the 4-3-2-1 count, and was a prolific author, despite his stilted lawyer-type style of writing. Goren's "Bridge Complete" was a bible for a generation of players, and is still available new in an updated 5-card major version. Another favourite is "Gorens Bridge Quizzes", revealing his strict but logical approach to bidding, all in the quaintest phrasology. Another classic is "Championship Bridge With Charles Goren", the
entertaining, often amusing, tale of his TV bridge series.

The Aces era is one of bridge's most fascinating, as the USA got serious about the "Italian menace". Ira Corn encouraged Mike Lawrence to write bridge books, but Corn's "Play Bridge with the Aces" is near the top of my recommended list.

Looking for a unique way to improve your game? Try getting hold of a couple of World Championship books and studying the style of the winners. Why did the Italians win the world title for 20 straight years? It's all there in black and white. Plus other wonderful books to stiffen up your game - books by Kelsey, Reese, Kantar, Lawrence, Mollo, Squire, Klinger.

Editor: There is no site quite like Paul Lavings' Postfree Bridge Books, with thousands of books and items on offer, new and second hand. Check it out by clicking on: www.postfree.cc and take advantage of the wounded Aussie dollar.