Backgammon books--a buyer's primer
Chuck Bower
There have been occasional posts about prices of backgammon books.
One person paid $150 for Magriel and THEN wrote in to see if s/he got
a good deal. I think the question should have been asked BEFORE buying!
And my answer is "no".
I can think of two reasons to buy backgammon books--1) to read and
absorb, and 2) to collect. I would guess that if you are primarily
interested in #1 then you can limit yourself to less than 10% of all titles
on the subject. If #2, then presumably you want one of every issue.
Most backgammon books are out-of-print. It's not that tough to get
prices for the in-print books. Out-of-print issues are another story.
Like antiques, the prices can vary WILDLY. For example, Magriel. The
softcover is now in print at $45. At the recent Pittsburgh tournament,
the boutique (owned by Carol Cole but this time being managed by Maurice
Barie) had for sale two used hardbacks with dustjackets. One which was
autographed (but also addressed to a particular person) had a $60 price
tag. The other was about the same price, I think. (BTW, the first few
chapters of the classic were also issued separately entitled "Introduction
to Backgammon". Unless you are a collector, you might as well buy the
full volume.)
I've seen some listings of used BG books with what I considered
OUTRAGEOUS prices. But, nobody is holding a gun to your head. You are
free to pay a steep price. I'd rather look for bargains. (Again, I'm
talking mostly about the out-of-print, collectable stuff.) How do you
get bargains and/or how do you keep from getting fleeced?
This newsgroup is a good place to START. Ask if anyone has a book
you're looking for and/or what it's worth. Write Carol Cole c...@flint.org
and see if she has the book in stock. (She deals with out-of-print
used BG books as well as virtually ALL in-print BG books. Her prices
tend to be up-to-date 'market value' prices.) She may be able to point
you to other dealers if she doesn't happen to have what you are looking for.
I'm sure there are lots of BG bargains at used book stores around
the US (and probably in other parts of the world as well). Obviously
the more out-of-the-way (that is, away from the large metropolitan BG
centers) the more likely you are to get the bargains. I've picked up
quite a few "steals" myself that way, as have other people I know.
BEWARE OF REPRINTS! For example, during the 70's BG craze a book
by Longacre originally published in the 20's was reprinted and sold for
$10-$12 if I remember correctly. Tons of them were reissued. AN ORIGINAL
edition is surely worth a pretty penny, but these reprints are not. I'd
say paying more than a few bucks would be a mistake, and then only if
you are a collector. It's an interesting read from an antiquarian
viewpoint, but you're not likely to find any intellectual nuggets...
Keep in mind that hardcovers carry a premium over softcovers. Many
of the 70's editions came in both. Often the hardcovers are quite rare
while the softcovers are commonplace. The "New York Times Book of BG by"
Jim and Mary Zita Jacoby (son and wife of Ozzie, BTW) is fairly common
(and printed on poor quality paper) in softcover but rather rare in
hardcover, for example.
Some used book stores have a "rare book search service" which is
a network of used book dealers. Problem is, when someone knows you
want something, the price goes up. (I'm sure this is not true of ALL
dealers, but don't be naive!) Still, if you are desparate for a particular
title, this route is likely to produce books, but probably not bargains.
Obviously if you "JUST HAVE TO HAVE THAT BOOK, NOW!" then you are going
to pay the price. If you are patient and enjoy shopping around (for
the thrill of a bargain), then you'll get the good buys. It's up to you.
Chuck
bo...@bigbang.astro.indiana.edu
c_ray on FIBS
John S Mamoun
Chuck Bower (bo...@bigbang.astro.indiana.edu) wrote:
: There have been occasional posts about prices of backgammon books.
: One person paid $150 for Magriel and THEN wrote in to see if s/he got
: a good deal. I think the question should have been asked BEFORE buying!
: And my answer is "no".
: I can think of two reasons to buy backgammon books--1) to read and
: absorb, and 2) to collect. I would guess that if you are primarily
: interested in #1 then you can limit yourself to less than 10% of all titles
: on the subject. If #2, then presumably you want one of every issue.
What's the point of collecting old Backgammon books? The theories
in these books are 90% of the time outdated, and the writing styles
of these books tend to be rather vulgar (Magriel is the shining
exception, since it is a much more rigorous, "scientific" tome).
If anything, most of these old books are monuments to ignorance,
like medical texts written before the 18th century. They should
be tucked away in the dark corners of the nation's libraries and
forgotten, like any books of theories unsubstantiated by
experiments. A $30 neural net program that conveys much more
accurate information in a shorter amount of time than any
book on Backgammon is far more impressive to me than the rarest
most valuable book on the game. The only thing that these old
books are useful for is documenting how ignorantly people used
to think about the game--which isn't very useful information
in the age of scientific Backgammon thought.
Robert-Jan Veldhuizen
On 24-feb-98 02:48:59, John S Mamoun wrote:
[collecting old bg books]
JSM> The only thing that these old
JSM> books are useful for is documenting how ignorantly people used
JSM> to think about the game--which isn't very useful information
JSM> in the age of scientific Backgammon thought.
Maybe there's also a lesson to learn here about the present!
--
Zorba/Robert-Jan
Daniel Murphy
On 24 Feb 1998 01:48:59 GMT, js...@mail1.sas.upenn.edu (John S Mamoun)
wrote:
>Chuck Bower (bo...@bigbang.astro.indiana.edu) wrote:
>: There have been occasional posts about prices of backgammon books.
>: One person paid $150 for Magriel and THEN wrote in to see if s/he got
>: a good deal. I think the question should have been asked BEFORE buying!
>: And my answer is "no".
>
>: I can think of two reasons to buy backgammon books--1) to read and
>: absorb, and 2) to collect. I would guess that if you are primarily
>: interested in #1 then you can limit yourself to less than 10% of all titles
>: on the subject. If #2, then presumably you want one of every issue.
>
>What's the point of collecting old Backgammon books? The theories
>in these books are 90% of the time outdated, and the writing styles
>of these books tend to be rather vulgar (Magriel is the shining
>exception, since it is a much more rigorous, "scientific" tome).
>If anything, most of these old books are monuments to ignorance,
>like medical texts written before the 18th century. They should
>be tucked away in the dark corners of the nation's libraries and
>forgotten, like any books of theories unsubstantiated by
>experiments. A $30 neural net program that conveys much more
>accurate information in a shorter amount of time than any
>book on Backgammon is far more impressive to me than the rarest
>most valuable book on the game. The only thing that these old
>books are useful for is documenting how ignorantly people used
>to think about the game--which isn't very useful information
>in the age of scientific Backgammon thought.
As an owner and reader of a few dozen backgammon books, including five
published in 1930, I can´t agree with John. While a learner´s
"essential and correct backgammon library" is small, there are
rewards, however diminishing, for exploring secondary or historical
sources or even out and out "bad" books, too.
First, far from having a vulgar style, some of the older books have a
literary quality that any modern writer should envy.
Second, there´s something good in every backgammon book: something
that others overlook, or don´t express as clearly or beautifully, or
simply another point of view -- even an incorrect point of view --
that enriches one´s comprehension.
If you understand backgammon well enough to know or at least suspect
when an author is wrong, you can learn a lot from a "bad" book;
read Mabardi's "Vanity Fair's Backgammon to Win," and you have a
complete explanation of the "Greek style" players one still meets from
time to time today who have only one game plan -- running;
read Becker's "Backgammon for Blood" and you learn something about
those other players one meets who have only one game plan -- blitzing.
Figure out what he says that's right, and what's wrong, and you learn
something about your own style and strategy, too;
read Cooke's "Paradoxes and Probabilities" -- and spend some time
figuring out which third or so of the solutions he gives are
incorrect! -- and you can´t help but improve your game;
explore different authors' rationale for their opening move
recommendations, and you take a step beyond simply memorizing
somebody's current table of "best" opening moves.
Finally, of course, somebody has to collect the old books if for no
other reason than to let the rest of us know how bad they are.
_______________________________________________
Daniel Murphy http://www.cityraccoon.com
Chuck Bower
In article <6ct8ub$smm$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>,
John S Mamoun <js...@mail1.sas.upenn.edu> wrote:
>What's the point of collecting old Backgammon books?
I recommend you read Jason Lee's trailer.
>The theories
>in these books are 90% of the time outdated, and the writing styles
>of these books tend to be rather vulgar
Then I can't imagine your opinion of the writing styles in this
newsgroup!
>(Magriel is the shining
>exception, since it is a much more rigorous, "scientific" tome).
So, Magriel is "old".
>If anything, most of these old books are monuments to ignorance,
>like medical texts written before the 18th century. They should
>be tucked away in the dark corners of the nation's libraries and
>forgotten, like any books of theories unsubstantiated by
>experiments. A $30 neural net program that conveys much more
>accurate information in a shorter amount of time than any
>book on Backgammon is far more impressive to me than the rarest
>most valuable book on the game. The only thing that these old
>books are useful for is documenting how ignorantly people used
>to think about the game--which isn't very useful information
>in the age of scientific Backgammon thought.
In the words of Dick Vitale: "LIGHTEN UP, BABY!!!!!" Which
side of the bed did you get up on? Ignorance is in the eye of the
beholder. I suggest you REREAD my post, and also read Daniel
Murphy's. If that doesn't help, maybe tomorrow's dawn will find
you in a better mood. I can only hope....