The aim of this book is to describe a complete and coherent method of partnership bidding after the opening bidder has announced a balanced hand. Balanced hands are more common than unbalanced hands, so it is important to be able to describe them accurately and efficiently - to show their precise strength and distribution. The scheme proposed here is independent of your bidding system, and so it can be adopted whether you play a natural system such as Acol or Standard American, or a Strong Club system or something more exotic.;Target Market : This title is aimed at the strong improving players and experts.

Bridge is not difficult once you have jumped the first hurdle, but that can seem imposing to anyone who hasn't a clue about Bridge or card games in general. This book strips away the mystery and presents the basics in a wonderfully clear and concise way. It explains everything that is needed to understand the game. In less time than you would imagine you could be playing the wonderfully entertaining game of Bridge with your friends and family. Written in a way that is very easy to follow, this book provides the reader with a very hands on approach to learning the rules and flow of the game. It is a brilliantly simple read and it provides the information a player needs to get started playing.

The BOLS Bridge Tips competition started in 1974, and took place off and on for more than 20 years. During that time, virtually all the world's greatest writers and players contributed their ideas to the series. For the first time ever, the entire collection of BOLS Bridge Tips are gathered here in one volume, edited and organized for easy access by the average player. Included too are biographies and photographs of all the contributors. Not sure what to lead? Can't decide the right bid? Want to make more contracts? Get pointers from the all-time greatest names in bridge -- Reese, Rodwell, Zia, Flint, Goren, Hamman, Wolff, Schenken, Garozzo, Belladonna, Chagas and many more -- they're all represented. All the advice is here in a perfect potpourri for players of every standard.

The Civil War turned the genteel world of Virginia society upside-down for Sallie Brock Putnam. She lived in the Confederate capital of Richmond throughout the war and saw it transformed from a quiet town of culture to a swollen refugee camp, black-market center, prison venue, and hospital complex. As the smoke from nearby battlefields drifted into town, swaggering young soldiers and ambulance trains filled the streets.

Putnam describes the excitement of secession giving way to sacrifice and grim determination, the women of Richmond aiding the war effort, the funerals and hasty weddings, the reduced circumstances of even the "best" families, and the despicable profiteering. Asserting that "every woman was to some extent a politician," she offers keen analyses of military engagements, criticizes political decisions, and provides accounts of the Richmond Bread Riot of 1863 and the inauguration of Jefferson Davis that have been praised by historians. The war brought the battlefield into the house, forcing women into unaccustomed roles and forever changing the old social order.