Life In 19x19

This is a list of links to book reviews that our members have posted here on L19. If a book is not available in English, the non-English title is written first. Let me know if this post needs editing!


Introductory Books


Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go written by Kageyama Toshiro reviewed by Moyoaji here.

Go! More than a Game written by Peter Shotwell reviewed by Moyoaji here.

First Fundamentals written by Robert Jasiek, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here, TChan001 here, and by Mivo here.

So You Want to Play Go? written by Jonathan Hop reviewed by Breakfast here.


The Opening/Joseki:

The Road Map to Shodan, Volume 2 written by Rob van Zeijst and Richard Bozulich reviewed by bengozen here, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here.

38 basic josekis written by Kiyoshi Kosugi and James Davies reviewed by subotai here.

三村流布石の虎の巻 (Mimura`s Fuseki Bible) written by Mimura Tomoyasu reviewed by Tami here.

アマの知らない布石・絶対の急所 (Absolutely Vital Points in Fuseki that Amateurs Don`t Know) written by Ishida Yoshio, reviewed by Tami here.

The 21st Century Dictionary of Basic Joseki, vol. I written by Takao Shinji, reviewed by John Fairbairn here.

Opening Theory Made Easy written by Otake Hideo, reviewed by SoDesuNe here.

JOSEKI / Volume 2: STRATEGY written by Robert Jasiek, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here, and reviewed by John Fairbairn here.

JOSEKI / Volume 1: FUNDAMENTALS written by Robert Jasiek, reviewed by Nagilum here

All About Joseki written by Jiang MingJiu and Guo Juan, reviewed by Bartleby here.


Problem Collections

A Survey of Basic Tesuji written by Richard Bozulich, reviewed by Dankenzon here.

Life and Death Problems 1 - Basics written by Robert Jasiek reviewed by Bruce Young here, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here.

Get Strong at Tesuji written by Richard Bozulich reviewed by SoDesuNe here.

The most difficult problem ever / Igo Hatsuyoron 120 written by Thomas Redeker, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here

Attacking and Defending Moyos written by Rob Van Zeijst and Richard Bozulich, reviewed by Nagilum here.

求真詰碁 (Kyushin Tsumego) written by Kaku, reviewed by John Fairbairn here.

Creative Life and Death Vol. 1 written by Cho Hye Yeon, reviewed by dankenzon here.

One Thousand and One Life-and-Death Problems written by Richard Bozulich, reviewed by SoDesuNe here.

Winning Go written by Richard Bozulich and Peter Shotwell, reviewed by daal here

Graded Go Problems for Dan Players Volume Seven - translation of a popular Nihon Ki-in collection reviewed by Kirkmc here.

Graded Go Problems for Dan Players Volumes 1&2 reviewed by explo here.


Game Collections

Commented games of Lee Sedol, Volume 2 written by Lee Sedol reviewed by drmwc here.

1971 Honinbo tournament reviewed by LovroKlc here.

Catching Scent of Victory written by O Rissei, reviewed by daal here.


Strategy and Tactics

The Way to Create a Strong and Thick Game written by Hane Naoki, reviewed by Shenoute here.

An Encyclopedia of Go Principles written by Richard Bozulich, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here.

이창호 함정수 10배 쉽게 배우기 (Yi Ch'ang-ho Hamete 10-Times Easier to Learn) written by Yi Ch'ang-ho and Seong Ki-chang, reviewed by Logan here.

Tactical Reading written by Robert Jasiek, reviewed by Robert Jasiek see link here, reviewed by Kirby here, reviewed by RBerenguel here.

The Chinese Opening: The Sure-Win Strategy written by Kato Masao reviewed by moyoaji here.

Fighting Fundamentals written by Robert Jasiek reviewed by daal here, reviewed by Ruben Berenguel here, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here, reviewed by bengozen here.

打ち込みの基本 (The Basics of Invasion) written by Hane Naoki, reviewed by FredK here.

형세반단 or 私の形勢判断 (Evaluating positions (?)) written by Yi Ch’ang-ho reviewed/presented by John Fairbairn here.

Improve your intuition: attack and defense written by Takagawa Kaku reviewed by NoSkill here.

The Direction of Play written by Kajiwara Takeo, reviewed by moyoaji here.

36 Stratagems Applied to Go written by Ma Xiaochun, reviewed by Gogameguru here.

Takao Shinji`s Introductory Series Igo: from Beginner to Shodan incl.: 囲碁　高尾紳路の布石入門　初級から初段まで(Introduction to Fuseki), , 囲碁　高尾紳路の布石から中盤入門　初級から初段まで(Introduction to the Transition from Fuseki to Middlegame), , and 囲碁　高尾紳路の中盤　初級から初段まで (Introduction to the Middlegame) written by Takao Shinji, reviewed by Tami here.

本手の打ち方が分かるほん (Understanding How to Play Honte) written by Hane Naoki, reviewed by Tami here.

アマが理解できない４つの常識 (The Four Common Sense Principles that Amateurs Can't Grasp) written by Takemiya Masaki, reviewed by Tami here.

Golden Opportunities written by Rin Kaiho, reviewed by emeraldemon here.

Tesuji written by James Davies, reviewed by SoDesuNe here.

The Basics Of Go Strategy written by Richard Bozulich reviewed by Nagilum here.

趙治勲流地取り戦法 (Cho Chikun's territory-taking style) written by Cho Chikun reviewed by John Fairbairn here.

アマの知らない打ち込み対策事典 (Catalogue of countermeasures to invasions that amateurs don't know) written by Awaji Shuzo 9-dan reviewed by John Fairbairn here, reviewed by Tami here.

This is Haengma written by Kim Sung-rae reviewed by Kirkmc here.

阶梯围棋教室 (Step by Step Weiqi Classroom), written by Huang Xiwen 6p editor (主编) and Nie Weiping 9p honorary editor (名誉主编) reviewed by Bartleby here.

New Moves by Alexander Dinerstein reviewed by John Fairbairn here.

How Not To Play Go by Yan Zhou reviewed by Andd here.

囲碁の力を強くする本 (The Book to Increase Your Fighting Strength at Go) written by Segoe Kensaku (瀬越憲作), reviewed by Bartleby here.

围棋休闲小丛 (Weiqi Small Book Collection), written by 王志鹏 (Wang Zhipeng), reviewed by Bartleby here.

100 Tips for Amateur Players written by Youngsun Yoon reviewed by Bartleby here.

Magic of Placements published by the Nihon Ki-in reviewed by Kirkmc here.


Other Books:

Meijin of Meijins - The Life and Times of Honinbo Shuei by John Fairbairn, reviewed by Robert Jasiek here.

The Life of Honibo Shuei by John Fairbairn, described by John Fairbairn here, reviewed by gogameguru here.

Reflections on the Game of Go - The Empty Board: 1994-2004 by William Cobb reviewed by Kirkmc here.

I think this is a excellent idea.
Or maybe a new sub-forum with only review threads is better/easier?

/Mats

mohsart wrote:Or maybe a new sub-forum with only review threads is better/easier?

I second that proposal. A sub-forum with one thread per book would be better - people often have different opinions about a book.

SpongeBob wrote: - people often have different opinions about a book.

Well, sure, but since a number of people have taken the time to write a review and express their opinion, I think it would be nice to be able to access these quickly and easily when trying to decide on a book to buy. Of course it would also be good to have several reviews for each book.

I personally prefer a list such as the one I made over a sub-forum because sub-forums just tend to bury useful information imo., and a list nonetheless provides the function of linking to the thread where the book of interest has been discussed. We already have a similar sticky post in the beginner's forum, and I think that that has worked pretty well.

I'd vote for a thread per book. It allows for exchanges about different opinions, and could lead to interesting discussions.

Why not both!?

quantumf wrote:Why not both!?

Because people won't post comments in both places, right?

I think a subforum isn't necessary. Why should reviews be separate from discussion?

The product review section of GD was one of my favorite parts of the site, it was, however, just too buggy to use when I left in 2008. Something like that would be a great rescource since there are so many great books to choose from now.

Gresil wrote:I think a subforum isn't necessary. Why should reviews be separate from discussion?

Because finding a review is much easier that way, it becomes more like the list proposed by the OP, without the work required to maintain that list.
Sure, it's not necessary, but could still be useful.

And I'd prefer one thread per book.

/Mats

[admin]
Great idea, Daal. I just stickied this thread. ( and added the word 'index' to the subject - hope that's ok with you - I can change it back if you wish ) BTW, this only works if you take responsibility for it for life.

As an admin, I have no preference in the sticky vs sub-forum debate. But I know how to sticky something with no problems, whereas I have accidentally mangled threads when creating a sub-forum.
I did the safe and easy change first. This is not to say that there can't be a sub-forum later, or both.
[/admin]

EDIT: Speaking as a member: After some reflection, I think that an index is needed, even if there is a sub-forum.
1) People may start multiple threads on one book, either in the sub-forum or elsewhere.
2) They may start threads about multiple books ( eg: "Three books every go player should own" or "best joseki books" )
2) There may be useful comments about books in other forums that can't comfortably be ripped out of that thread and moved.

Joaz Banbeck wrote:EDIT: Speaking as a member: After some reflection, I think that an index is needed, even if there is a sub-forum.
1) People may start multiple threads on one book, either in the sub-forum or elsewhere.
2) They may start threads about multiple books ( eg: "Three books every go player should own" or "best joseki books" )
2) There may be useful comments about books in other forums that can't comfortably be ripped out of that thread and moved.

These exceptions could be addressed within the current go books forum.

I think the purpose of creating this new one would be strictly for reviews on that specific book. It would probably work best with one book per thread... perhaps the first post would contain basic info about the book?

FYI... no promises but I am looking into a rating bbcode so you can rate within a 5 star rating system or something...

*EDIT*

got the star rating working....

[starrating][/starrating]
can be used now by inputting the following bbcode... should come in handy for other things too...

I happen to be believe that association go journals have let their members down badly by not more vigorously pursuing book reviews, and so anything that fills that gap is to be welcomed.

But it has struck me as slightly odd that no-one appears yet to have mentioned Sensei's Library as a repository, rather than L19. There is a new thread on SL that seems to point to premature senescence of that site. Maybe a decision should first be made, by the community, whether L19 or SL is the best place for book reviews.

My own view is that SL needs a major makeover, but if it gets that, it would be the best place.

In case I am accused, as an author, of self interest in this, I can show that I have been on record as urging more book reviews well before my current spate of Slate & Shell books. I have also made some effort to find out why go associations fail to carry more reviews. Publishers are certainly willing to provide free review copies. Editors of journals are certainly willing to carry them (though perhaps are not very energetic in chasing them up). Readers certainly seem to want them, judging by the questions and comments on L19 and SL.

It is much harder to establish why there are so few reviewers. The promise of a free book doesn't seem to be very attractive, which is a little odd when you consider how often people here pipe up about wanting but not being able to afford books. Why don't they contact publishers and offer to do a review in return for a book? But that may be an irrelevance. I have probably contributed a dozen or so longish book reviews to the go forums, and in every case I bought the book first. My sense of reviews by other people, here and in journals, is that they, too, buy the books first.

The biggest factor, or so I have been told by someone who has been intimately connected with go books and whose views I respect, is that reviewers (and editors) are terrified of getting a book they don't like and having to say negative things. There are easy ways round that, though admittedly they possibly require professional writing experience, but in any case there seem to be plenty of people here willing to give candid opinions about books, not least when they can hide behind pseudonyms. So I conclude there may be other factors. One slightly off-the-wall explanation may be that, as this is a niche market, very many people who want books buy most of them automatically, sight unseen, and so reduce the pool of potential reviewers and also the need for reviews. At any rate, a good explanation of the phenomenon would be valuable to many people.

John Fairbairn wrote:But it has struck me as slightly odd that no-one appears yet to have mentioned Sensei's Library as a repository, rather than L19. There is a new thread on SL that seems to point to premature senescence of that site. Maybe a decision should first be made, by the community, whether L19 or SL is the best place for book reviews.

My own view is that SL needs a major makeover, but if it gets that, it would be the best place.

I agree that as things stand, Sensei's Library is better suited for formal book presentations, and its page on Go Books: http://senseis.xmp.net/?GoBooks already contains a nice list of links to both internal and external information. L19 on the other hand, while perhaps not being an ideal repository of information, is better suited for discussion, and in the scope of book discussions, some people have presented their opinions in the form of a review, and it seems worthwhile and not too difficult to highlight this content.

Certainly it's no problem to copy these reviews or place links to them on the appropriate SL page, but it seems also to be the case that some people seem more comfortable expressing their views here, where they don't have quite the same connotation of being authoritative as they do on SL.

While this is not the place for a discussion on the respective merits of SL and L19, it is worth mentioning that Back in GD days, there was a section on book and product reviews and when it broke there were many who asked about it. There is still a link to it on the Go Books page at SL...

daal wrote:Certainly it's no problem to copy these reviews or place links to them on the appropriate SL page, but it seems also to be the case that some people seem more comfortable expressing their views here, where they don't have quite the same connotation of being authoritative as they do on SL.

We could nudge people to:
1) State whether they're comfortable with us reposting their reviews,
2) Repost them on SL themselves if they are comfortable.