Julian Laderman's Picks

About the Book

We asked Julian Laderman to select his five all-time favorite bridge books from Master Point Press and here is what he had to say. Since one pick was a series, we have included only four of the ebooks in this package: In response to your request for my five favorite Master Point Press books, I came up with the following list. I would include The Bridge Technique Series by David Bird & Marc Smith (MUST BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY). I am an advocate of small books. I have seen all too many math students, struggling with a Calculus problem on page 30 of their textbooks, feeling overwhelmed with fear of what lies ahead in the remaining 1200 pages. These 60 page books present information in very manageable chunks. Readers can take a book on a three hour flight and feel quite confident that when they reach their destination, they will know the contents inside-out. More importantly the books are very well written. David Bird and Marc Smith are both top writers. At the end of most chapters they have a section for 'Key Points' and they find space for a few relevant exercises. One of the advantages of choosing this series is that I am actually choosing 12 books and only counting them as one. For defense, I would choose Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense. It is very well organized. Every chapter has separate sections for practice hands, test yourself, solutions, and key ideas. The book includes many examples of Eddie Kantar's typical humor, and his many side comments add much to the learning experience. I think Eddie Kantar has contributed more to bridge education than anyone else in the bridge world. I would include The Complete Book of BOLS Bridge Tips edited by Sally Brock. It is a wonderful collection of articles written by approximately 100 top bridge players and writers. I read it many years ago but I still remember being unable to take a break while reading it. I always had to glance at the next column. Each glance hooked me. One benefit to including this book in my top five is that I get to pick 100 writers. I must include my two books, A Bridge to Simple Squeezes and A Bridge to Inspired Declarer Play. If I did not include them I would feel like a terrible parent disowning his offspring. A touch of humility prevents me from listing all their virtues. I will just list one virtue common to both books. There is heavy emphasis on developing declarer's ability to consider as well as choose the right line of play. For example, in the squeeze book the reader is trained to recognize cards that may function as threat cards in a squeeze even prior to seeing the first example of a squeeze. I enjoyed picking my five favorites. I am looking forward to seeing the choices of others.-- Julian Laderman Thank you, Julian, for the complete analysis. Four of the five books mentioned above are included in this set of downloads: Advanced Bridge Defence, The Complete Book of BOLS Bridge Tips, A Bridge to Simple Squeezes, and A Bridge to Inspired Declarer Play.