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Main
Date: 22 Mar 2008 10:17:20
From: samsloan
Subject: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent to
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Late last night I sent "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H.
Watson to the printers for reprinting.
It should be out and available for sale in ten days to two weeks. When
it comes out it will be available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
Does anybody have the dust cover for this book and for the other
Watson Book "Watson on the Play of the Hand"? I have several copies of
these books but only the hard cover book, not the dust cover. I really
need the dust cover to make my own cover.
After that comes out I will also be reprinting the next Watson book,
which will appear at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
read Watson's "Outline of Contract Bridge" first, for the simple
reason that it is short enough to digest. The section on The Play of
the Hand is only 149 pages and I could get through that much more
easily than the 492 page longer book.
Sam Sloan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
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Date: 21 Apr 2008 18:11:25
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
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The two Watson books on bridge are out now. The reprinting of these
books was completed last week.
You will be able to see that my reprint is a vast improvement over the
1958 Sam Fry reprint. My fonts are larger and clearer. His were
smaller and a bit fuzzy as his book was basically a photocopy.
In short, my reprints are 1000% better than the previous reprint.
This is because of the benefits of modern high technology. It is now
possible for a reprint to come out clearer and better than the
original.
My three reprinted bridge books are available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
Sam Sloan
On 22, 1:17 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> Late last night I sent "The Outline of ContractBridge" by Louis H.Watson to the printers for reprinting.
>
> It should be out and available for sale in ten days to two weeks. When
> it comes out it will be available on Amazon at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
>
> Does anybody have the dust cover for this book and for the other Watson Book "Watson on the Play of the Hand"? I have several copies of
> these books but only the hard cover book, not the dust cover. I really
> need the dust cover to make my own cover.
>
> After that comes out I will also be reprinting the next Watson book,
> which will appear at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
>
> I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
> read Watson's"Outline of Contract Bridge" first, for the simple
> reason that it is short enough to digest. The section on The Play of
> the Hand is only 149 pages and I could get through that much more
> easily than the 492 page longer book.
>
> Sam Sloan
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
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Date: 30 Mar 2008 05:29:15
From: Rob
Subject: Soup From SLoan
|
On 30, 6:23 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> On 27, 12:24 pm, Rob <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On 27, 8:26 am, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > On 27, 5:28 am, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > > Why don't you tell them about the report of Peter Leko's death? Or s=
hall I?
>
> > > > Peter Leko is a well known Hungarian chess player. Sam Sloan is ... =
well you
> > > > have gotten a whiff of Sam Sloan recently, so you have some idea wha=
t he is.
>
> > > > Sam Sloan, before he became a publisher, used to pretend that he was=
,
> > > > among other things, a journalist. One day he reported that Peter Lek=
o, who
> > > > is a live and well, had died. This became a joke on the chess news g=
roups,
> > > > because it describes Sloan's regard for the truth so well.
>
> > > > Not much later Sloan disappeared from his favorite news group
> > > > (rec.games.chess.politics)
> > > > which I sometimes read for entertainment, apparently because
> > > > he hadn't paid his phone bill. So I posted the spoof that he had die=
d.
>
> > > The "Peter Leko is Dead" incident was a hoax that took place on Dec 1=
> > > 2002 at 11:46 pm, which is nearly six years ago.
>
> > > It was first reported on ICC that Peter Leko was dead by a hoaxer who
> > > has never been identified. I heard that Peter Leko was dead almost
> > > simultaneously from several sources, all of whom turned out to have
> > > seen it on ICC.
>
> > > I reported it to the chess newsgroups and to readers of my email
> > > lists. Several others did as well, including Susan Polgar who
> > > broadcast it on WCN, the World Chess Network.
>
> > > Only nine hours later, I reported that it had been a hoax. This is the=
> > > part of the story that J=FCrgen R. fails to mention every time he brin=
gs
> > > this up, that not only was I one of many who fell for the hoax but
> > > also I was among the first to report that it had been a hoax.
>
> > > J=FCrgen R. also fails to mention that Susan Polgar who is Hungarian
> > > like Peter Leko and had actually grown up with him in Budapest, also
> > > reported that Peter Leko was dead.
>
> > > Almost every news reporter has fallen for a hoax at one time or
> > > another. Dan Rather still to this day refuses to admit that the
> > > infamous "Killian Documents" were a hoax.
>
> > > None of this justifies the report by J=FCrgen R. that I was dead, nor
> > > his claim now that I had failed to pay my telephone bill nor his many
> > > other false statements that J=FCrgen R. (who remains anonymous) has
> > > posted about me over the years.
>
> > > Sam Sloan
>
> > Adam Beneschan and the Bridge Community,
> > Please be aware that you will begin to become infested with zillions
> > of cross-posts from Sam Sloan. In short measure his simple interest in
> > your game will distort his significance beyond all measure. Please be
> > fore warned and prepared. Do not exibit the least interest in his
> > projects as you will become embroiled in useless conflicts which can
> > only damage your game. Pray he does not attempt to entrench himself in
> > your national organizations or they may soon become targets for his
> > frivilous lawsuits. Frivilous though they may be they still require a
> > defense and cost thousands of dollars to simply respond to prior to
> > dismissal.
> > Best of luck!
> > Rob
>
<Sloan Drivel snipped >
Beware of Mohammed <The Liar > Sloan
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Date: 30 Mar 2008 04:23:37
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Dear Bridge Player: Beware Sam Sloan
|
On 27, 12:24 pm, Rob <[email protected] > wrote:
> On 27, 8:26 am, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On 27, 5:28 am, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > > Why don't you tell them about the report of Peter Leko's death? Or sha=
ll I?
>
> > > Peter Leko is a well known Hungarian chess player. Sam Sloan is ... we=
ll you
> > > have gotten a whiff of Sam Sloan recently, so you have some idea what =
he is.
>
> > > Sam Sloan, before he became a publisher, used to pretend that he was,
> > > among other things, a journalist. One day he reported that Peter Leko,=
who
> > > is a live and well, had died. This became a joke on the chess news gro=
ups,
> > > because it describes Sloan's regard for the truth so well.
>
> > > Not much later Sloan disappeared from his favorite news group
> > > (rec.games.chess.politics)
> > > which I sometimes read for entertainment, apparently because
> > > he hadn't paid his phone bill. So I posted the spoof that he had died.=
>
> > The "Peter Leko is Dead" incident was a hoax that took place on Dec 1
> > 2002 at 11:46 pm, which is nearly six years ago.
>
> > It was first reported on ICC that Peter Leko was dead by a hoaxer who
> > has never been identified. I heard that Peter Leko was dead almost
> > simultaneously from several sources, all of whom turned out to have
> > seen it on ICC.
>
> > I reported it to the chess newsgroups and to readers of my email
> > lists. Several others did as well, including Susan Polgar who
> > broadcast it on WCN, the World Chess Network.
>
> > Only nine hours later, I reported that it had been a hoax. This is the
> > part of the story that J=FCrgen R. fails to mention every time he brings=
> > this up, that not only was I one of many who fell for the hoax but
> > also I was among the first to report that it had been a hoax.
>
> > J=FCrgen R. also fails to mention that Susan Polgar who is Hungarian
> > like Peter Leko and had actually grown up with him in Budapest, also
> > reported that Peter Leko was dead.
>
> > Almost every news reporter has fallen for a hoax at one time or
> > another. Dan Rather still to this day refuses to admit that the
> > infamous "Killian Documents" were a hoax.
>
> > None of this justifies the report by J=FCrgen R. that I was dead, nor
> > his claim now that I had failed to pay my telephone bill nor his many
> > other false statements that J=FCrgen R. (who remains anonymous) has
> > posted about me over the years.
>
> > Sam Sloan
>
> Adam Beneschan and the Bridge Community,
> Please be aware that you will begin to become infested with zillions
> of cross-posts from Sam Sloan. In short measure his simple interest in
> your game will distort his significance beyond all measure. Please be
> fore warned and prepared. Do not exibit the least interest in his
> projects as you will become embroiled in useless conflicts which can
> only damage your game. Pray he does not attempt to entrench himself in
> your national organizations or they may soon become targets for his
> frivilous lawsuits. Frivilous though they may be they still require a
> defense and cost thousands of dollars to simply respond to prior to
> dismissal.
> Best of luck!
> Rob
Please note that Rob, who posted the above, is not a chess player at
all. He is not a member of the United States Chess Federation, much
less an official of one. He has no USCF rating. He has never played a
rated game of chess in his life. He has never had any status or
position in chess.
He has applied several times for jobs working for the USCF and has
been turned down every time.
He became known as Rob ("The Robber") Mitchell after there were
complaints from potential investors that he had been trying to swindle
them. He had been going around claiming that he had a contract with
Bobby Fischer to play a chess match for $14 million and he wanted for
investors to give him $35,000 front money to organize the match. Of
course, Bobby Fischer had signed no such contract and had never even
heard of Rob Mitchell.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 29 Mar 2008 17:37:54
From: Tim
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
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On 29, 8:03 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> I just this minute sent the book "Watson on the Play of the Hand at
> Contract Bridge" to the printers. This is the famous book that every
> strong bridge player in the world has read and studied in great
> detail.
I doubt that is the case. But, we're unlikely to find out by polling
RGB.
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Date: 01 Apr 2008 00:32:10
From:
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent to the printers
|
On Sat, 29 2008 17:37:54 -0700 (PDT), Tim <[email protected] > wrote:
>On 29, 8:03 pm, samsloan <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I just this minute sent the book "Watson on the Play of the Hand at
>> Contract Bridge" to the printers. This is the famous book that every
>> strong bridge player in the world has read and studied in great
>> detail.
>
>I doubt that is the case. But, we're unlikely to find out by polling
>RGB.
This has nothing to do with chess. Stop Spamming unless you want your
own 'group' spammed. This constant idiotic spamming of offtopic
newsgroups that make you a target sloan. I have NO sympathy for your
pathetic attemts against the USCF because you are too stupid to figure
out that non chess items should NOT be posted to chess newsgroups.
J.LOhner
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Date: 29 Mar 2008 17:03:50
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
I just this minute sent the book "Watson on the Play of the Hand at
Contract Bridge" to the printers. This is the famous book that every
strong bridge player in the world has read and studied in great
detail.
When the book comes out in about ten days or less, it will appear at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
I need especially to thank Tim Bourke. He sent me a scan of the cover
of the original book. The cover itself contains useful information. I
have restored the cover to its original perfect condition and put it
on the book.
I am also re-doing the other Watson book for the same reason: That is
the book entitled "The Outline of Contract Bridge: Part I Contract
Bidding Part II The Play of the Hand". Thanks again to Tim Bourke I am
in the process of putting the original cover on that book as well.
That book is available now at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
but without the original cover yet.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 28 Mar 2008 13:18:54
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 22, 1:17 pm, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> Late last night I sent "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H.
> Watson to the printers for reprinting.
>
> It should be out and available for sale in ten days to two weeks. When
> it comes out it will be available on Amazon at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
The book is out, published today. See:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
However, thanks to Tim Bourke I now have a copy of the original cover.
I will be putting the original cover on the book in a few days.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 26 Mar 2008 19:41:12
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 26, 6:43 pm, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> There is no point correcting your misconceptions about copyright law,
> but one thing is certain: You have no right to most of the books
> that you are copying and trying to sell.
Readers here should be made aware that J=FCrgen R. is an Internet gadfly
who has a long history of attacking me all the time.
It was J=FCrgen R. who announced that I was dead, a report that was
widely believed at the time. See:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.chess.politics/msg/3f2a877bdcae8075=
What had really happened is that I was moving and lost my Internet
connection for about two weeks. By the time I got back online and
discovered the "Sam Sloan dead" thread, there had been one hundred
postings about my supposed "death" and even church prayers had been
extended for me. Even two of my children thought that I was really
dead.
Recently J=FCrgen R. has been saying that my reprinted books are made at
Kinko Copies. Anybody who has seen my books and has seen the
incredibly high quality of production knows that this is not true.
Now J=FCrgen R. is saying that my reprints violate copyright laws. I can
assure the readers here that in every case I have checked the
copyright status carefully. In the case of my books, where the authors
are still alive, I have signed contracts with the authors to print or
reprint their books. And example is Elista Diaries where a former
world chess champion asked me to reprint his book. (Book sales are
down worldwide and many major book publishers have gone out of
business. Suddenly I have become the book publisher of choice. I have
published 37 books in the last year and a half. (Note that the number
went up over what it was a few days ago.))
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891978
Regarding the Watson books, Louis Watson died in 1936. His widow
reried only one year later. He had no kids. Under copyright law in
effect at that time, the copyright had to be renewed in exactly the
28th year or else it had expired. The copyright was not renewed. Thus,
the book is in public domain and I or anybody else has the right to
reprint it. The first book of the two books will be out in the next
two or three days.
As this has been going on for several years, I probably should sue him
but, like so many Internet posters, J=FCrgen R. is a fake name. Nobody
knows what his real name is.
Sam Sloan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
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Date: 26 Mar 2008 15:47:21
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 26, 7:24 am, J=FCrgen R. <[email protected] > wrote:
> "Carl" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitragnews:7e66c3bf-1dd5-4252=
[email protected]...
>
>
>
> > On 25, 7:47 pm, David Babcock <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> > the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> >> > the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
> >> > which Ace =3D 4, King =3D 3, Queen =3D 2 and Jack =3D 1 is introduced=
on page
> >> > 72 of the Harkness Book.
>
> >> From Milton's Work's _Contract Bridge_ (1927):
>
> >> "Reckon an Ace as 4, a King as 3, a Queen as 2, and a Jack as 1." (p.
> >> 28).
>
> >> On a related matter, I have spoken with Amazon about the
> >> misattribution of the authorship of the Harkness reprint to Goren in
> >> the listing on their site; their customer support representative
> >> appreciated the information, repeated everything back to me (at his
> >> suggestion), and said he is forwarding the information to a
> >> supervisor. Perhaps Mr. Sloan's hope that the error will be corrected
> >> is just a bit closer to realization.
>
> >> David
>
> > Amazon Customer Support is the galactic opposite of eBay. They
> > actually listen and then act on the information. I manage several
> > forums, of which one is for book sellers. 99% of the members speak
> > well of Amazon.
>
> This may be so; however, even for Amazon it isn't a simple matter to
> determine
> who owns a Copyright. Sloan seems to be selecting books that might either =
be
> in the public domain or under Copyright that isn't likely to be defended.
>
> The grossest error he has made so far is to copy a book by G.M. Kasparyan
> (Domination in 2545 Endgame Studies). This is an important book that went
> through several editions in Russia. Kasparyan died in 1995, so the Copyrig=
ht
> cannot have expired. The English translation was published by 'Progress',
> which didn't survive the ravages of Capitalism. Most likely one or another=
> of the Oligarchs holds the rights to the book lists of Progress and Mir,
> the foreign language publishers in the days of the Soviets; and sooner or
> later they will realize that these are valuable.
The Kasparyan book was published in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union
did not honor international copyright law and pirated many, many books
published in the West. An example is "My 60 Memorable Games" by Bobby
Fischer.
Since the Soviet Union did not recognize our copyrights, we do not
recognize their's.
Also, the Kasparyan book was itself a copyright violation. Kasparyan
himself composed only a few of the problems in the book. The rest were
created by other composers. For example, the Kasparyan book cites "365
Selected Chess Endgames" by Norman T. Whitaker. Whitaker was an
American. I knew him well. (Nothing to do with the Lindbergh
kidnapping though.)
I have reprinted both the Whitaker book and the Kasparyan book. See:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891846
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891870
Somebody on this group, it may have been J=FCrgen R. himself, contacted
the Russian State Press when my reprint of the Kasparyan book came out
last year, and reported back here that they have no rights to and no
interest in the Kasparyan book.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 25 Mar 2008 18:51:17
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 25, 6:47 pm, David Babcock <[email protected] > wrote:
> > the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> > the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
> > which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
> > 72 of the Harkness Book.
>
> From Milton's Work's _Contract Bridge_ (1927):
>
> "Reckon an Ace as 4, a King as 3, a Queen as 2, and a Jack as 1." (p.
> 28).
>
> On a related matter, I have spoken with Amazon about the
> misattribution of the authorship of the Harkness reprint to Goren in
> the listing on their site; their customer support representative
> appreciated the information, repeated everything back to me (at his
> suggestion), and said he is forwarding the information to a
> supervisor. Perhaps Mr. Sloan's hope that the error will be corrected
> is just a bit closer to realization.
>
> David
Thank you very much. It certainly bothers me that they list Charles
Goren as the author rather than Harkness first because Goren is much
more popular among bridge players and readers and some will feel no
doubt feel misled when they find out that the book is actually by
Harkness, and secondly because I reprinted the book priily as a
tribute to Harkness since I have also reprinted two of his chess
books.
Thank you again.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 25 Mar 2008 17:38:54
From: Carl
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 25, 7:47 pm, David Babcock <[email protected] > wrote:
> > the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> > the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
> > which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
> > 72 of the Harkness Book.
>
> From Milton's Work's _Contract Bridge_ (1927):
>
> "Reckon an Ace as 4, a King as 3, a Queen as 2, and a Jack as 1." (p.
> 28).
>
> On a related matter, I have spoken with Amazon about the
> misattribution of the authorship of the Harkness reprint to Goren in
> the listing on their site; their customer support representative
> appreciated the information, repeated everything back to me (at his
> suggestion), and said he is forwarding the information to a
> supervisor. Perhaps Mr. Sloan's hope that the error will be corrected
> is just a bit closer to realization.
>
> David
Amazon Customer Support is the galactic opposite of eBay. They
actually listen and then act on the information. I manage several
forums, of which one is for book sellers. 99% of the members speak
well of Amazon.
|
| | |
Date: 26 Mar 2008 13:24:40
From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?J=FCrgen_R.?=
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent to the printers
|
"Carl" <[email protected] > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:7e66c3bf-1dd5-4252-85cb-0886ffcd3058@a23g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> On 25, 7:47 pm, David Babcock <[email protected]> wrote:
>> > the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
>> > the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
>> > which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
>> > 72 of the Harkness Book.
>>
>> From Milton's Work's _Contract Bridge_ (1927):
>>
>> "Reckon an Ace as 4, a King as 3, a Queen as 2, and a Jack as 1." (p.
>> 28).
>>
>> On a related matter, I have spoken with Amazon about the
>> misattribution of the authorship of the Harkness reprint to Goren in
>> the listing on their site; their customer support representative
>> appreciated the information, repeated everything back to me (at his
>> suggestion), and said he is forwarding the information to a
>> supervisor. Perhaps Mr. Sloan's hope that the error will be corrected
>> is just a bit closer to realization.
>>
>> David
>
> Amazon Customer Support is the galactic opposite of eBay. They
> actually listen and then act on the information. I manage several
> forums, of which one is for book sellers. 99% of the members speak
> well of Amazon.
>
This may be so; however, even for Amazon it isn't a simple matter to
determine
who owns a Copyright. Sloan seems to be selecting books that might either be
in the public domain or under Copyright that isn't likely to be defended.
The grossest error he has made so far is to copy a book by G.M. Kasparyan
(Domination in 2545 Endgame Studies). This is an important book that went
through several editions in Russia. Kasparyan died in 1995, so the Copyright
cannot have expired. The English translation was published by 'Progress',
which didn't survive the ravages of Capitalism. Most likely one or another
of the Oligarchs holds the rights to the book lists of Progress and Mir,
the foreign language publishers in the days of the Soviets; and sooner or
later
they will realize that these are valuable.
|
| |
Date: 25 Mar 2008 16:47:07
From: David Babcock
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
> the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
> which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
> 72 of the Harkness Book.
From Milton's Work's _Contract Bridge_ (1927):
"Reckon an Ace as 4, a King as 3, a Queen as 2, and a Jack as 1." (p.
28).
On a related matter, I have spoken with Amazon about the
misattribution of the authorship of the Harkness reprint to Goren in
the listing on their site; their customer support representative
appreciated the information, repeated everything back to me (at his
suggestion), and said he is forwarding the information to a
supervisor. Perhaps Mr. Sloan's hope that the error will be corrected
is just a bit closer to realization.
David
|
| |
Date: 25 Mar 2008 09:39:50
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 25, 1:10 am, tin Ambuhl <[email protected] > wrote:
> samsloan wrote:
> > I can assure you that I have studied the subject, I know copyright law
> > very well, and I have consulted with the Copyright Office and the
> > Library of Congress in Washington DC.
>
> > I know what I am doing.
>
> For certain values of "know what [you] are doing." Republishing Kenneth
> Harkness's trivial re-presentation of Culbertson, a book of little
> interest in its time and almost none now, republishing Watson's _outline
> of Contract Bridge_, which even you suggest ignoring half of, a half
> that is a minimalist rehashing of Culbertson's books; republishing the
> unexpanded and uncorrected version of Watson's _Play of the Hand_: all
> these suggest that you haven't a clue what you are doing.
Sorry, but you are mistaken. The book, Invitation to Bridge by Kenneth
Harkness, is not a "trivial re-presentation of Culbertson". It has
nothing to do with the Culbertson System. The term "honor tricks" is
never mentioned in the Harkness book.
Rather, the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding. The system under
which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
72 of the Harkness Book.
Also, Harkness was a professional writer who happened to play bridge,
as opposed to other authors who were professional bridge players who
happened to write too. Harkness worked as a writer and editor of radio
articles and textbooks before he got involved in chess and bridge. I
am not qualified to make a comparison but I would imagine that his
explanations are easier to read and understand than that of other
writers.
Regarding "The Outline of Contract Bridge", I briefly considered
reprinting just the part that deals with The Play of the Hand for
which Watson is famous, but since the play of the hand is affected by
the bidding, I had to leave that in. Also, as Watson points out, there
is a best contract for every deal and in principle every correct
bidding system should reach the same contract. Of course, we realize
that this is just in theory, as in practice it does not work out that
way.
I have been through every page of the original 1934 book "Watson on
the Play of the Hand at Contract Bridge" and compared it with the 1958
update by Sam Fry and I am unable to find any changes at all in the
text. Sam Fry just added 12 pages at the end, which is the equivalent
of two or three issues of a daily newspaper column. Sam Fry also added
footnotes to the bottom of some of the pages, but I am unable to find
any other changes. The original Watson book was not even retyped. It
was just a photocopy of the original.
When my book comes out next week, you will be able to see clearly that
my books are much better. The fonts will be larger, clearer and easier
to read. The pages will be blown up and bigger. I took several of my
new books to Foxwoods this past weekend and everybody who saw them
agreed that the print quality is superior to that of the original
books.
Sam Sloan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
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Date: 25 Mar 2008 13:20:49
From: Martin Ambuhl
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been
|
samsloan wrote:
> On 25, 1:10 am, tin Ambuhl <[email protected]> wrote:
>> samsloan wrote:
>>> I can assure you that I have studied the subject, I know copyright law
>>> very well, and I have consulted with the Copyright Office and the
>>> Library of Congress in Washington DC.
>>> I know what I am doing.
>> For certain values of "know what [you] are doing." Republishing Kenneth
>> Harkness's trivial re-presentation of Culbertson, a book of little
>> interest in its time and almost none now, republishing Watson's _outline
>> of Contract Bridge_, which even you suggest ignoring half of, a half
>> that is a minimalist rehashing of Culbertson's books; republishing the
>> unexpanded and uncorrected version of Watson's _Play of the Hand_: all
>> these suggest that you haven't a clue what you are doing.
>
> Sorry, but you are mistaken. The book, Invitation to Bridge by Kenneth
> Harkness, is not a "trivial re-presentation of Culbertson". It has
> nothing to do with the Culbertson System. The term "honor tricks" is
> never mentioned in the Harkness book.
Again proving you haven't a clue.
1) An evaluation technique is not a bidding system.
2) Ely Culbertson published books using point-count evaluation, and
after his death his wife Jo taught point-count evaluation
exclusively. "Culbertson" and "honor tricks" by no means
imply each other
3) Goren's methods of 1950 were nothing more than Culbertson's with
a short-suit count for distribution instead of the exactly
equivalent long-suit count the Culbertsons were using, but with
additional conceptual errors.
>
> Rather, the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding.
This is simply a lie. You have been told, for example, of Goren's
_Point Count Bidding_ (a year before Harkness)
_Standard Book of Bidding_ (6 years before Harkness)
_Contract Bridge in a Nutshell_ (4 years before Harkness)
_Contract Bridge Complete_ (8 years before Harkness)
And all of the last three had gone through at least two editions (the
last through 4) before Harkness's book.
You have been told this; you ignored it; now you lie pretending that it
isn't true.
Further, Goren was a real champion. Harkness was not. Goren's writing
was extremely accessible, and has the virtue of being the real thing.
Why would anyone bother with Harkness's completely inconsequential
scribblings?
> The system under
> which Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1 is introduced on page
> 72 of the Harkness Book.
And page 1 of Goren's _Contract Bridge Complete_. What's your point?
As I said, you haven't a damn clue. You don't know anything about
bridge, the history of bidding systems, or the history of bridge
publication. You clearly have no idea about what is worth reprinting.
You are attempting to fool the few people more clueless than yourself.
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Date: 26 Mar 2008 02:50:02
From: Nomen Nescio
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 25, 12:20 pm, [email protected] (tin Ambuhl) wrote:
> samsloan wrote:
> > On 25, 1:10 am, tin Ambuhl <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> samsloan wrote:
> >>> I can assure you that I have studied the subject, I know copyright law
> >>> very well, and I have consulted with the Copyright Office and the
> >>> Library of Congress in Washington DC.
> >>> I know what I am doing.
> >> For certain values of "know what [you] are doing." Republishing Kenneth
> >> Harkness's trivial re-presentation of Culbertson, a book of little
> >> interest in its time and almost none now, republishing Watson's _outline
> >> of Contract Bridge_, which even you suggest ignoring half of, a half
> >> that is a minimalist rehashing of Culbertson's books; republishing the
> >> unexpanded and uncorrected version of Watson's _Play of the Hand_: all
> >> these suggest that you haven't a clue what you are doing.
> >
> > Sorry, but you are mistaken. The book, Invitation to Bridge by Kenneth
> > Harkness, is not a "trivial re-presentation of Culbertson". It has
> > nothing to do with the Culbertson System. The term "honor tricks" is
> > never mentioned in the Harkness book.
>
> Again proving you haven't a clue.
> 1) An evaluation technique is not a bidding system.
> 2) Ely Culbertson published books using point-count evaluation, and
> after his death his wife Jo taught point-count evaluation
> exclusively. "Culbertson" and "honor tricks" by no means
> imply each other
> 3) Goren's methods of 1950 were nothing more than Culbertson's with
> a short-suit count for distribution instead of the exactly
> equivalent long-suit count the Culbertsons were using, but with
> additional conceptual errors.
> >
> > Rather, the Harkness book is one of the very first books to introduce
> > the "Goren Standard American" system of bidding.
>
> This is simply a lie.
Sorry, but I do not tell lies.
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Date: 24 Mar 2008 22:17:12
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
I can assure you that I have studied the subject, I know copyright law
very well, and I have consulted with the Copyright Office and the
Library of Congress in Washington DC.
I know what I am doing.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 25 Mar 2008 02:10:33
From: Martin Ambuhl
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been
|
samsloan wrote:
> I can assure you that I have studied the subject, I know copyright law
> very well, and I have consulted with the Copyright Office and the
> Library of Congress in Washington DC.
>
> I know what I am doing.
For certain values of "know what [you] are doing." Republishing Kenneth
Harkness's trivial re-presentation of Culbertson, a book of little
interest in its time and almost none now, republishing Watson's _outline
of Contract Bridge_, which even you suggest ignoring half of, a half
that is a minimalist rehashing of Culbertson's books; republishing the
unexpanded and uncorrected version of Watson's _Play of the Hand_: all
these suggest that you haven't a clue what you are doing.
|
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Date: 23 Mar 2008 04:46:01
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 23, 1:24 am, David Babcock <[email protected] > wrote:
> > I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
> > read Watson's "Outline of Contract Bridge" first
>
> because you are aware of its existence. Most newcomers to the game of
> bridge won't recognize the name Louis Watson any more than they will
> the name Kenneth Harkness, and, preferring new books to old as you
> note so many people do, my guess is that they will buy the books their
> friends or teachers recommend, or they will browse at the local
> Borders or B&N and find something there rather than take a chance on
> publishers' blurbs on Amazon.
>
> The reviews that will come out in Bridge Bulletin and The Bridge World
> and perhaps other magazines (you have sent out or will be sending out
> review copies of your titles of course) may help, though a survey
> commissioned by ACBL a couple of years back found that the vast
> majority of bridge players in the US had never heard of ACBL, so they
> would not see the Bulletin review-to-be anyway. Otherwise I'm just
> not clear on how your intended customers will encounter your
> products. The good news is that the ket doesn't much care what I
> or any other individual consumer thinks. Only time will tell.
>
> David
Thank you for your helpful suggestions.
The truth is that I never heard of Louis Watson myself until a few
weeks ago. I always thought that Charles Goren was the World's
Greatest Bridge Player. Silly me!!
It was my old friend Richard Laver, a chess master and Math Professor
at the University of Colorado who played as my bridge partner 40 years
ago, who started writing me about these Watson books upon learning
that I had recently restarted my publishing company, The Ishi Press
(that underwent a hiatus of 10 years without publishing any new
books).
Due to the wonders of new print-on-demand technology if I can just
sell around 20 to 30 books I will break even and thus far almost all
of my books have done that with the notable exception with the Kenneth
Harkness book "Invitation to Bridge". I have published 34 books in the
past year and a half. If you ever get to see one of them, you will see
that the print and production qualities are superior to the original
books. (By the way, do not believe my long time detractors such as
"Rob" and "Jeron" who will try to tell you that I make my books at
Kinko Copies. I use a very high quality printer.)
The serious bridge players will know that Louis Watson was a great
player who tragically died in 1936 at age 29 and whose books are still
studied today by all the top players. That is where I hope my ket
to be.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 22 Mar 2008 23:24:20
From: David Babcock
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
> I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
> read Watson's "Outline of Contract Bridge" first
because you are aware of its existence. Most newcomers to the game of
bridge won't recognize the name Louis Watson any more than they will
the name Kenneth Harkness, and, preferring new books to old as you
note so many people do, my guess is that they will buy the books their
friends or teachers recommend, or they will browse at the local
Borders or B&N and find something there rather than take a chance on
publishers' blurbs on Amazon.
The reviews that will come out in Bridge Bulletin and The Bridge World
and perhaps other magazines (you have sent out or will be sending out
review copies of your titles of course) may help, though a survey
commissioned by ACBL a couple of years back found that the vast
majority of bridge players in the US had never heard of ACBL, so they
would not see the Bulletin review-to-be anyway. Otherwise I'm just
not clear on how your intended customers will encounter your
products. The good news is that the ket doesn't much care what I
or any other individual consumer thinks. Only time will tell.
David
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Date: 22 Mar 2008 18:49:32
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent
|
On 22, 5:40 pm, "Tyler Eaves" <[email protected] > wrote:
> samsloan wrote:
> > Late last night I sent "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H.
> > Watson to the printers for reprinting.
>
> > It should be out and available for sale in ten days to two weeks. When
> > it comes out it will be available on Amazon at:
>
> >http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
>
> > Does anybody have the dust cover for this book and for the other
> > Watson Book "Watson on the Play of the Hand"? I have several copies of
> > these books but only the hard cover book, not the dust cover. I really
> > need the dust cover to make my own cover.
>
> > After that comes out I will also be reprinting the next Watson book,
> > which will appear at:
>
> >http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
>
> > I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
> > read Watson's "Outline of Contract Bridge" first, for the simple
> > reason that it is short enough to digest. The section on The Play of
> > the Hand is only 149 pages and I could get through that much more
> > easily than the 492 page longer book.
>
> > Sam Sloan
>
> >http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
>
> Uh, you realise "Play of the Hand" is still in-print, right?
>
> --
What is "in print" is "Watson's Classic Book on the Play of the Hand
at Bridge By Louis H. Watson New Edition Enlarged and Modernized by
Sam Fry, Jr." published in 1958 by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
That book is entirely different from the book that I am reprinting,
which is entitled "The Outline of Contract Bridge: Part I Contract
Bidding, Part II The Play of the Hand". Not a single word is the same.
In addition, the 1958 book says =A9 1958 by Sterling Publishing Co.,
Inc. That is a false copyright notice. I know this because I have
encountered another "copyright" by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.,
which turned out just to be a copy of a book published in the Soviet
Union in 1923 by an author who had died in the Soviet Union in 1942.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 22 Mar 2008 21:40:41
From: Tyler Eaves
Subject: Re: "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H. Watson has been sent to the printers
|
samsloan wrote:
> Late last night I sent "The Outline of Contract Bridge" by Louis H.
> Watson to the printers for reprinting.
>
> It should be out and available for sale in ten days to two weeks. When
> it comes out it will be available on Amazon at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/092389182X
>
> Does anybody have the dust cover for this book and for the other
> Watson Book "Watson on the Play of the Hand"? I have several copies of
> these books but only the hard cover book, not the dust cover. I really
> need the dust cover to make my own cover.
>
> After that comes out I will also be reprinting the next Watson book,
> which will appear at:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891749
>
> I know that if I were going to start playing bridge again, I would
> read Watson's "Outline of Contract Bridge" first, for the simple
> reason that it is short enough to digest. The section on The Play of
> the Hand is only 149 pages and I could get through that much more
> easily than the 492 page longer book.
>
> Sam Sloan
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0923891943
Uh, you realise "Play of the Hand" is still in-print, right?
--
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