backwash squeeze
You’d probably never guess it, but I’m actually pretty good at getting things done. Somehow when I plan things for the blog, sidetracked becomes the default condition. Take The Backwash Squeeze for example; should have posted a review weeks ago or so, after the lake.
There’s something for everyone in McPherson’s journey across the bridge world. He introduces bridge to the non-playing public (”This is a deck of cards…”); recommends bridge players skip the introduction. I didn’t at first because the writing was engaging, but in the end I moved on pretty quickly. McPherson’s written a travel guide for the bridge world; he gets great interviews out of some of the game’s big personalities, visits the right mix of tournaments & clubs, nods at the past, addresses the predictions of demise.
What McPherson leaves out is as important as what he chooses to reveal. He mentions cheating at a recent European tournament, never mentions women’s or senior bridge. We hear from juniors, caddies, professionals and league officials. Teachers, students, grannies … no Italians, no sponsors. George and I were the most interested in the Dallas/Hamman passages.
Then there was this:
But what about the other movers and shakers of the game? Zia says, “The bridge world is full of interesting guys. A lot of them are idiots, a lot of them are, you know, autistic — deformed mentally. They’re complete nuts. They wouldn’t even fit into the trailer of a movie of life. But when it comes to bridge, suddenly they’re flowers. Guys who look like cabbages urn into beautiful flowers when they start talking about bridge.”
All Zia, that remark. Fantastic, though, don’t you think? My favorite couple of pages: 209-210. A couple of the reviews say the book will appeal more to bridge players than non-bridge players, and that’s probably true. Unfortunate, but true. I wish he’d put the hand diagrams in a note or appendix, but otherwise I think The Backwash Squeeze & Other Improbable Feats is double-dummy. Pick up a copy from your local independent bookseller.
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