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Edward McPherson
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The Backwash Squeeze & Other Improbable Feats: A Newcomer's Journey into the World of Bridge Kindle Edition

by Edward McPherson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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There is one card game that towers above all others as the most intelligent, intricate, and psychologically absorbing ever to be invented. It has a rich history. It's played and loved by some of the world's most famous and influential people. And it's not the one that's currently on television twenty-four hours a day.

In 1925 Harold Stirling Vanderbilt invented modern bridge, and a national craze was born. In the 1930s, bridge was even bigger than baseball. Its devotees would eventually include the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Wilt Chamberlain, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who played to unwind before the Normandy invasion. Today bridge players number about twenty-five million in the U.S. alone; current celebrity addicts include Warren Buffett (who goes by the online handle "T-Bone"), Bill Gates, Hugh Hefner, Sting, a sitting Supreme Court justice, and the guys from Radiohead.

In this spirited homage, Edward McPherson recounts the history of the game while attempting to master its deep mysteries in time to compete at the North American Bridge Championships in Chicago. Barely able to shuffle cards let alone play bridge, he sets out to discover why the game became and remains such a popular pastime, stopping in Dallas, Kansas City, Gatlinburg, Gettysburg, Las Vegas, and London. He focuses on a handful of professionals and eager but fumbling amateurs, and the characters he meets convince him that in a game that pits mind against mind, close attention to the cards often reveals much about those sitting at the table. He attempts to learn from bridge's devoted fans—from white-haired grannies and international playboys to teenage pros and billionaires—how its legacy can be preserved for future generations. And along the way, he picks up a playing partner of his own: Tina, a New York octogenarian with sharp card skills and energy to burn.

Insightful, funny, and steeped in respect for bridge, The Backwash Squeeze and Other Improbable Feats is an affectionate view of a grand game by an outsider trying to make his way into the inner circle.

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  1. Print length
    370 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  5. Publication date
    October 13, 2009
  6. File size
    1253 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McPherson is an amusing writer who believes that bridge is a battle between fate and chance mediated by skill. In this lighthearted book, he relates bridge's history and tours its contemporary universe. Originally derived from the British game of whist, the modern version of contract bridge was developed in 1925 by railroad heir Harold Stirling Vanderbilt. McPherson provides snapshots of men such as Ely Culbertson and Charles H. Goren, whose writings and activities spurred a bridge craze in the '30s and '40s. Traveling to Kansas City, Gatlinburg, Tenn., Las Vegas and London, among other locations, McPherson attended tournaments and visited clubs, interviewing famous players and collecting fascinating anecdotes. During classes at the Manhattan Bridge Club, the author became friends with 83-year-old Tina and persuaded her to accompany him to Chicago where the two played as partners in an annual tournament. The author says the bridge-playing population is aging, a process exacerbated by the current preference for poker among younger card players. Although McPherson provides a brief introduction to the rules, those who have played bridge will derive the most enjoyment from this breezy, absorbing account. (July 3)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Like Anthony Holden's Big Deal (1990), this entertaining book takes us inside the sometimes-cutthroat world of a card game that can become a way of life for its devotees. Holden wrote about poker; McPherson writes about bridge, a game that, in one form or another, dates back to the early 1500s, although its most familiar form, contract bridge, wasn't devised until 1925. McPherson was almost entirely unfamiliar with bridge when he decided to write a book about it, and we sit alongside him as he attempts to learn the game. Bridge, he soon discovers, is almost incomprehensibly complex. Its devotees (from ordinary citizens to world leaders) run the gamut from a little bit odd to downright spooky, but the author writes about them with affection; foibles aside, they've all learned to play an almost mind-numbingly difficult game and play it well. Bridge aficionados will enjoy McPherson's lighthearted journey into their world, and readers unfamiliar with the game might find themselves developing a hankering to learn it, just to see if it's really as tough as everybody says. Pitt, David

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000S1MUR2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1253 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 370 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

About the author

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Edward McPherson

Edward McPherson

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Edward McPherson is the author of three nonfiction books and has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Paris Review, Tin House, the American Scholar, the Gettysburg Review, Gulf Coast, Salon, the Southern Review, the New York Observer, I.D., Esopus, Epoch, Catapult, True Story, Guernica, Literary Hub, and Talk, among others. He has received a Pushcart Prize, the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, and the Gesell Award from the University of Minnesota, where he received his MFA. He is a contributing editor of The Common Reader and teaches in the creative writing program at Washington University in St. Louis.

More at https://www.edwardmcpherson.net

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
30 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Hanoi Rondón
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful view into the world of bridge from a beginner's perspective
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2007
Verified Purchase
I got this book because its name and summary somehow caught my attention. It was a very nice experience for the author covers the way he entered the world of bridge and he interviews some interesting famous characters and visits tournaments and clubs sharing his experience and making it a nice read for those interested in bridge, whether they play it already or are looking forward to learning it.

The book doesn't even show a bridge hand diagram so you won't be learning any technical stuff, however it does explain some psychological and social aspects of the game that might be useful for people who already play it. I guess what the author intended was to write a book for people who would be interested in knowing about bridge but also to cater for those playing the game that want to share someone else's experience.

If I could have taken off half a star I would have done it, but it wouldn't be very fair. Some parts of the book can be slow (when the author describes the 'touristic' part of his trips) and other frustrating (when the he can't remember something said by one of the important bridge figures), but this is probably because I already play bridge and was looking forward to learn stuff from the 'masters'. All in all this is a great book recommended for bridge players and those who want to become one (the only 2 types of people in the world).
3 people found this helpful
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Gene Hower
2.0 out of 5 stars The Backwash Squeeze and Other Improbable Feats
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2007
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An interesting book that the author admits was written in the hopes of enticing members of the 25 million bridge players into its purchase. This is not a bridge book that will in any way improve your game nor does it describe in any detail any of the improbable feats that at times occur at the bridge table. There are a few historical bridge tidbits of interest and some interesting discussion of some of the clubs and characters.
Bridge is a great game and if this book helps draw new players in to the fold I wish Mr. Mcpherson every success. Personally, I feel like I was just one of 25 million that hoped for better.
6 people found this helpful
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Skd
3.0 out of 5 stars Backwashed out. Does not really teach the game.
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2016
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Moderately entertaining. More about the history of bridge and tournaments than about the game of bride
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E. Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, engaging portrait of the bridge world
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2007
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This a wonderful book for bridge players, as well as for those are unfamiliar with the game. It offers a fascinating portrait of the game's history and the myriad characters who have played it, past and present (my personal favorites are the colorful denizens of the Manhattan Bridge Club, each of whom McPherson delineates perfectly).

There is also plenty of information about the ins and outs of the game itself. One of the book's many charms is that you feel as if you're learning about the game as McPherson, who was new to bridge when he began, does. That said, it is certainly not "Bridge for Dummies" (thank goodness), so if you're looking solely for a how-to book, this might not be the one for you.

But if you're interested in an extremely well-written, almost Tom Wolfean take on this game and the culture surrounding it, I'd recommend it highly. It was total delight to read.
20 people found this helpful
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LEB
4.0 out of 5 stars Bridge lover
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2010
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This book had a light hearted history of the card game I love. It doesn't make bridge an old folks passtime.

Leb
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David Linn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great holiday gift, even for non-bridge players
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2007
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I bought this book for my Mom who is a newly obsessed bridge player. She loved it! In fact, she loved it so much that I bought a copy for myself. Even for someone like me who has never played a game of bridge, the book is an interesting and enjoyable trip into a world filled with an entertaining history and a cast of characters.
4 people found this helpful
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Carol Strickman
2.0 out of 5 stars Don't Bother
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2017
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Wasn't very good.
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Kevin Larsen
4.0 out of 5 stars Best bridge book, my number one pick.
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2011
Having studied bridge for hours a day for a few months, becoming a good beginner player (there is a lot to learn before you become entitled to call yourself "intermediate") I found this to be the most engaging bridge book I've read or seen, and I have near 15 bridge books in my collection.

It's not a bridge book of the common type, that teaches you how to bid properly or the basics of card play, but it is about something more important, the value of the social aspect, a rich history of the game, important world champion personalities of the game. This book motivates me, and probably anyone that reads it, to play and learn more bridge.

This book is eerily similar to the books  Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players  and  The Making Of A Poker Player . Those books and this chronicle the writer's journey from knowing very little of the game to playing in a national championship. I find these books very helpful in that you can follow along with them in your own quest to become better at the game.

I find this book very light on bridge instruction, but that may be exactly why it's so refreshing. There are so many bridge instruction books to pick from and hardly any, maybe no other, of this type for bridge.

So, my advice, pick it up to better enjoy bridge or to find out what is exciting about bridge. Don't expect to be taught to play bridge. There is a short introduction that tries to teach bridge, but I find it next to impossible to learn from it. It only seems to make sense if you already know how to play.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rajnesh Kathuria
5.0 out of 5 stars An honest, humorous take on a game that is more addictive than nicotine
Reviewed in India on April 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Edward's depiction of his struggles and the pleasures that the game of bridge provides is oddly accurate since, as an outsider (during his first few months), he describes the world of bridge and its unfathomable nuances with an honest, charmingly novice view. Yet, as the book progresses, you can sense that the game is winning him over, one hand at a time.

I thoroughly enjoyed his journey; it's not far removed from the travels of most bridge newbies. A must-read for anyone exploring the world around the game and not just the game itself.
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