All reviews are by Darwin...I'm working on expanding my book collection...if you have a favorite that you think everyone should own, then toss me an E-mail. I can't afford to buy every book on billiards, but I'd like to know what other people rate as their favorite book! Thanks... Darwin

WILLIE MOSCONI ON POCKET BILLIARDS Author - Willie Mosconi Publisher - Crown Publishers, Inc. Format - 143 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $7.00 This book is a must even if only for the nostalgia it brings! Mosconi's book has an original publication date of 1951, hence the quality of the photography doesn't stand up to today's glossy prints and overhead shots. This in no way diminishes the master's instructional information. After a brief introduction to the history of billiards and some basic fundamentals, Willie explains the importance of position play in billiards, with examples given in 14.1 continuation, or as Mosconi calls it 'The Championship Game'. I just wish he'd been born about twenty five years later so we all could have seen the master play in his prime!

THE 99 CRITICAL SHOTS IN POOL Author - Ray Martin and Rosser Reeves Publisher - Times Books Format - 220 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $13.00 This book stands out as being different from most other billiard books. It contains the obligatory section on fundamentals and a glossary of terms, but thats where the familiarity ends. The meat of this book is the "99 critical shots". The average player will recognize the majority of these shots, such as stop, follow, or even drag draw shots. But if you haven't played pool extensively with top players, some of the "ghost" ball shots, kiss shots, and frozen ball shots may not be so obvious. This is an excellant book to take to the pool hall and practice the shots one by one! This book can improve any pocket billiard game such as eight or nine ball, but it should be considered required reading if you're interested in one-pocket or straight pool! Excluding luck, you can't make a shot if you don't know how to "see" it first! Highly recommended!

BYRNE'S STANDARD BOOK OF POOL AND BILLIARDS Author - Robert Byrne Publisher - Harcourt Brace and Company Format - 333 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $18.00 A very good book for beginners looking for a place to start. It covers the basics such as grip, bridge, stance, and equipment care. Robert does a good job of covering the fundamentals of stroke, spin, position play, strategy, and practice routines. Half of the book is dedicated to Billiards, also known as 3-Cushion! Highly recommended for beginners and intermediate players!

BYRNE'S ADVANCED TECHNIQUE IN POOL AND BILLIARDS Author - Robert Byrne Publisher - Harcourt Brace and Company Format - 238 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $17.95 A good enough book that the binding on my copy is starting to show wear! This book is a billiard enthusiast's delight! If you paid attention to the title, you will know it's not really meant for beginners looking for fundamentals! It's chock full of goodies: basic physics of billiards, truths and myths, instruction, and my favorite, nostalgic stories and anecdotes from the past! If you're into 3-rail (a subject not found in many other billiard books!), Robert does an excellent job of showing you how to make simple tickies, common 3-rails, play defense, and a little about the diamond system! Highly recommended!

BYRNE'S Treasury of Trick Shots in Pool and Billiards Author - Robert Byrne Publisher - Harcourt Brace and Company Format - 292 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $19.00 I'll be reviewing this book shortly......Please check back later, Darwin

Byrne's Book of Great Pool Stories Author - Robert Byrne Publisher - Harcourt Brace and Company Format - 302 Pg - No Illustrations Price - $18.00 This is a nice collection of 31 short stories by various authors. Some of the shorts are humorous, some are serious, and some are a little off the wall such as aliens playing pool. Some of the authors include Walter Tevis, Leo Tolstoy, and Danny McGoorty. Very nice light reading about pool!

STEVE MIZERAK'S COMPLETE BOOK OF POOL Author - Steve Mizerak with Micheal E. Panozzo Publisher - Contemporary Books Format - 195 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $13.95 This is a good, all purpose, general book on billiards. There's tons of photos, articles, and anecdotes on the interesting history of billiards. (This book has some of the most intriguing stories about unusual characters and events in billiards I've seen anywhere!). The "Miz" also covers some basic pool terms, fundamentals and gives us a brief auto-biography including his outstanding straight pool accompishments and talks about the making of the famous LITE beer commercial. A few trick shots and practice routines are included, but it doesn't contain the extensive coverage of position play, when compared to several other books, and, which I had expected from a World Champion.

PLAY YOUR BEST POOL Author - Phil Capelle Publisher - Billiards Press Format - 442 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $29.95 If I could only recommend one book out of all of the pool books in publication for new to intermediate players to purchase, this is it! In my opinion, it is the best comprehensive book on billiard instruction. It not only covers the basic fundamentals, but also covers strategy and a great section on the mental game and how to set goals to improve. If you are a new league player and want to move up in your game, then this is the book to buy. Yes, only practice makes perfect...but you need to know what to practice..and how to accomplish it before you start! Highly recommended!!

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards Author - Mike Shamos Publisher - Lyons and Burford Format - 308 Pg - mainly B&W with some Color Photos Price - $35.00 This is a combination of an Encyclopedia and Glossary about Billiards. It's probably one of the most extensive books of Billiards and Billiard related information. If you interested in where some of the modern day terminology had its origins, then browsing this book may satisfy some of your curiosities. Mike Shamos has done a wealth of footwork in putting all of this information together. As the name Encyclopedia implies, the information is mostly factual and historical. This is not a book on how to play pool or the latest players, but it is a very nice addiition to anyones library!

SHOOTING POOL Author - Mike Shamos Publisher - Artisan Format - 144 Pg - Color Photos Price - $30.00 Looking for that big coffee table book about Billiards? Well this is it...this baby is choc-full of BIG color photos of some of your favorite players, places to play and billiard paraphernalia. Mike Shamos teamed up with photographer George Bennet to produce a Glossy cornucopia just waiting to impress your friends about your affiliation with the game of pool. It's very tastefully done and points billiards in the right direction and gives it the respect it deserves! Very nicely done!

POOL History, Strategies, and Legends Author - Mike Shamos Publisher - Friedman/Fairfax Publishers Format - 128 Pg - Color and B & W Photos Price - $12.95 I've always found that the most important part of being a good photographer, is being able to capture ordinary subjects, and make them appear interesting and worthwhile. That's exactly what Mike Shamos has done with Billiards in this book! Of course he did have some help, as Billiards has been far from ordinary since its' inception! You not only get to learn about events, but where did some of the names come from, such as billiards, pool, cue, and bank. He also covers great moments in history, people, hustlers and equipment (like why is the cloth green?). This book may not improve your game, but knowing about the history of billiards has helped make my game much more interesting and enjoyable! Plus, I just like the nifty old pictures!

ADVANCED POOL Author - George Fels Publisher - Contemporary Books Format - 180 Pg - B & W Illustrations Price - $12.95 I'll be reviewing this book shortly......Please check back later, Darwin

HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THIS? Author - George Fels Publisher - Contemporary Books Format - 129 Pg - B & W Illustrations Price - $12.95 This books purpose is straight forward. It's not about stances, grips, or strokes. It's not about picking out the right cue or rules of the game. It is however about strategy, postion play, running out, and safety opportunities. There is page after page of game scenarios for Straight pool (14.1), Eight ball and of course Nine ball. George shows you how to plan your runnouts, and the common mistakes and traps to avoid. The only complaint I have is that I have to be sure my reading glasses are on hand to read the small numbers on the balls, which is neccesary to follow the instruction given! Bigger illustrations and a larger book size would eliminate this flaw!

PLAYING OFF THE RAIL Author - David McCumber Publisher - Avon Books Format - 367 Pg - B & W Illustrations Price - $12.50 David McCumber gives us an inside look at the life of a stakehorse and his meal ticket, the road player. This is no HUSTLER or COLOR OF MONEY. There is no intricate, weaving plot, just a meandering story.... and no dramatic climax, only the end of the line. I love pool, therefore I found some pleasures in reading the humorous stories and anecedotes of shady characters and their unusual lifestyles and habits. Unfortunately I've seen more cues snapped, balls hurled, pros knocked out (literaly), and bigger action in my own home town in the last 3 months than in this book! It may be interesting reading for avid pool players, but I don't think it will get the general public excited, or have enough charisma, or an interesting enough plot, to ever be seen on the silver screen! Don't get me wrong... It's not a bad piece of work, I guess I was just expected a little more!

BILLIARDS - THE OFFICIAL RULES AND RECORDS BOOK Editor - BCA Rules Committee Publisher - Billiard Congress of America Format - 160 Pg - B & W Photos and Illustrations Price - $4.95 This is the latest copy of what is considered to be the "BIBLE" of billiards. When you get ready to play some serious pool, the BCA rulebook is an essential. There are two main reasons why you should have a copy. One is so you, and everyone else you play, will be using the same roadmap and not have any confusion of where you are going. The other reason is to support the BCA, both financially and with the acceptance of a structured set of rules. I believe it is only by this means that we can establish accepted, standardized world rules and finally get billiards into the Olympics!

BILLIARDS DIGEST Editor - Mike Panozzo Publisher - Luby Publishing Format - Magazine - Color Photos and Illustrations Price - $3.95 Newstand Price A very good, high gloss magazine that helps give billiards a classier image. They have great instructional articles by expert players, top player profiles, event coverage, and they keep on top of the latest upscale places to play billiards. All this, plus some billiard history by Mike Shamos and interesting stories by George Fels make it well worth keeping my subscription renewed! Two changes I would like to see are less politically-biased commentary and posting of tournaments and events before they occur!

Yea, I know... I'll put more work into this page later... but right now I'm out shooting pool.....

Riders in the Storm - The Doors