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Just Plain Bridge
By Ned Downey
Price $10.00, Available from ACBL Unit 471 Website

Most bridge books are aimed at intermediates or experts, except for text books aimed at absolute beginners, such as the ACBL's Audrey Grant series. In between those two extremes, nothing much was available to help the beginner reach the stage where he could profit from reading the more avanced books.

Ned Downey, the popular director/teacher from Maui, has sought to fill that gap with the newly released Just Plain Bridge. Using a style popularized by Mike Lawrence, Ned invites the reader to sit beside him during a series of 36 hands with Ned and his wife Joyce playing against another couple.

The style is light and conversational, and the writing is excellent. Ned explains his thought processes as each hand developes. These are excellent lesson hands, which illustrate good basic declarer play and defense. The bidding is kept deliberately simple, so that any graduate of an Audrey Grant Club Series course can understand it.

What would you lead against 1NT/P/3NT holding:

	8 6 3 2
	9 4
	9 7 4 3 2
	8 7

If you led anything but a heart you might profit from reading this book.

An appendix introduces the reader to the limit raise, reverses, Stayman, Jocoby Transfers and Weak Two Bids, but this is not the place to learn how to cope with the bidding he will encounter in the tournament world. The book is highly recommended for 99ers, and most non-LMs will find something here to improve their game. I liked the book enough to buy several copies to use as gifts.

Ken Lindsey (ACBL Unit 470 Newsletter)