new bridge books
It’s hard to believe that it’s really been more than 10 years since Master Point Press was launched. Since then we’ve published a staggering 150-odd titles, almost all on bridge. Funny to think that back then, my biggest worry was getting enough good manuscripts and authors — but it hasn’t been a problem.
We publish our new titles 3 times a year, so our October books (think Christmas gifts!) are moving into the final stages of production. This time, we really do have something for all tastes. For the mystery lovers on your holiday gift list, Art Harris, the bridge-playing detective from Jim Priebe’s ‘Takeout Double’ is back on the trail of a new murderer. ‘Double Elimination’ is set in upper New York state’s cottage country, and again features our favourite card game as the motive for dark deeds.
Prolific British author Danny Roth, whose ‘Focus on Defence’ and ‘Focus on Declarer Play’ have been long-time favourites, has a new quiz book on your card play: How Good is Your Bridge let’s you test your declarer play and defense, and have fun doing it.
One of our all-time bestsellers, ‘Countdown to Winning Bridge’ by Tim Bourke and Marc Smith, is no longer available in book form. However, it’s returning this fall as an interactive CDROM, using Fred Gitelman’s Bridge Base software — this time you can try all the deals yourself, as often as you want.
Finally, my personal favourite, and maybe an early candidate for Book of the Year next time around: "Misplay these hands with me’ by BRIDGE magazine editor Mark Horton. I grew up with Reese’s classic ‘Play these Hands with me’, and while it has been paid homage to many times (Julian Pottage’s ‘Defend these hands with me’ was a recent superb example) IMHO it has never been done so well as in this book. With the same wry British humor that Reese brought to his own writing, Horton leads you step by step through the play of some fascinating deals; but there is a difference – while the line of play taken is perfectly reasonable, it doesn’t actually result in making the contract! There is always a better line, something the narrator realizes in the post-mortem. The result is a delightful book, one from which the reader can derive as much education as enjoyment.
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