Go! More Than a Game: Revised Edition

by Peter Shotwell

Master the fascinating game of Go with this expert guidebook. Go is a two-player board game that first originated in ancient China but is also very popular in Japan and Korea. There is significant strategy and philosophy involved in the game, and the number of possible games is vast--even when compared to chess. Go has enthralled hundreds of millions of people in Asia, where it is an integral part of the culture. In the West, many have learned of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080483475X
• ISBN13: 9780804834759
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 7.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Not a laundry list

I was disappointed to read the last comment since I know the author and what he was trying to do and, as a go teacher, have seen his technique work on many people. As he stated on the first page ("How to Use This Book"), he was not trying to write a book that would just be thrown away after its contents were learned. That is for laundry list books and there are several hundred of them available in English for various stages of one's go career. What he wanted to do was to introduce readers to the dynamics of go playing--go is a game, after all, and not a course in school. What he advised the reader to do was to go as far as possible through the games in the book until they were stuck, then play alot (and, yes, also look at the laundry list books!), then come back, play some more and etc. That way, say over a period of time (and not just with one reading, as it looks like some commentators have done), one would get the feel for playing on, first simple 9 x 9 boards, then 13 x 13 and finally the full, complex, 19 x 19 size. By the time one finished, one would be completely conversant with any go player, and know much of go's 4,000 year-old culture and history. That doesn't mean you would *know* all of the techniques--only by playing and studying can you do that--but you would *know about* most of them and, you would also know what you *didn't know* and needed to. In other words, because of the immense amount of ground and the different levels it covers, the book is meant to be a launching pad into the world of go, and that it does admirably and certainly far better than any other beginner's book!

Go really is more than a game

This wonderful book was given to me and it is so good that I want others to know about it. No wonder that David Carlton, who reviews books for the American Go Association, called it the "best one-volume introduction to go!" Just for the history of the game, it is a valuable reference and the learning of the game is easy and fun. And by the way, there is plenty about ko and there are plenty of variations (in reference to two of the readers' comments)--it is not meant to be a problem book--there are plenty of those around. It is more like a companion and guide to thinking intelligently about the game. Now I know what the "Dark School of Taoism" contributed and how King Yao came down from the heavens with his board and stones and what "The Thirty Six Strategies are! Thank you, Tuttle, for putting this fine book out!

Way above average

I am a long-time tournament chess player who is seeking to get beyond just knowing the basic rules of Go. This new title seems to offer a lot more bang for the buck than others I've reviewed. It even looks like a better buy than any single volume in the highly-regarded Janice Kim series (which has apparently risen in price due to high demand). Cost being no object, it would surely be better to own the first two or three books in that series, but given the price I think this offers better value in a single volume.It's nicely written and handsomely laid out, and seems quite up-to-date (with information about playing on the Internet and the current [weak] state of Go-playing software).I have over 250 chess books and consider myself quite knowledgeable in that field. This is, however, my first Go book. I fully acknowledge not having the experience to definitively judge quality as well as a long-time tournament player or teacher could. But having been around the block in life and having looked at a lot of Go titles before choosing, I can pretty strongly say that you could do a LOT worse.In its price range, this fine new book could well become THE one to have.

It can tell beginners what go really is

My friends have been after me for a long time, ever since I learned to play this game in Japan, where I have been teaching for the last ten years. I went out of my way to write this review because, for other go players like me, this book is really incredible. The short introduction tells what go meant for all the different people who have played it for so long for so many reasons. The how-to-play section is the best I have seen for gradually introducing the game without the usual emphasis on doing problems, which is too much like giving out homework. Then, they can take a quick look at what it will be like playing on bigger boards. They may not understand it, but it is like a great taste to advanced go! They are given encouragement to keep playing and taste all the joys of playing. Then there is the complete history of the game! What a great service Mr. Shotwell and his helpers have done for the go community!

Wow!

This book is sensational. The other beginning go books I looked at had about a tenth of the information about killer techniques, plus this one has the whole story of the greatest game I've ever learned--and I know alot of them. I gave one to my mom and she is hooked, too. You just play the games out and the game comes to you.