Customer Reviews

Go and Go-Moku: The Oriental Board Games

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This pioneering book was written when go was less well-known in the west, and Lasker's access to strong players and to the centuries-old tradition of go teaching was limited. Because present-day authors do not suffer from these disadvantages, recent English-language books tend to be clearer and better organized for beginners. _Go and Go Moku_ also betrays its age by its occasionally nonstandard terminology, which alone is sufficient reason for beginners to avoid this book.

Of the many excellent English-language introductions to go, my favorite is Kaoru Iwamoto's _Go For Beginners_.

As a beginner just learning the game, this is not the way to go (sorry). Lasker was world chess champion for 27 years, losing it in 1921. This book is written from that rarified perspective.He will jump into a complex series of moves for a couple of pages, totally losing the reader on the logic and reasons for the progression, and then after another page say the explanation is probably not appropriate for beginners and/or there are many exceptions to what he just wrote. The diagrams are generally hard to follow, and aren't particularly clarified by the accompanying text. There is one complete game recorded move by move between masters Karigane and Honinbo played in 1926 which is instructive. But if this is the first book on go one is exposed to, it might do more to discourage than to help one experience the enjoyment the game can provide.

I agree with the others that this book is not for the beginner, but I have found it quite helpful, as every move shown has a purpose, and you have to work a bit to figure it out. If you enjoy figuring things out for yourself, and are willing to do some work, this is the Go book for you.

As the other reviews say, the bulk of this book is raw lists of moves, with explinations, and complicated variations. You absolutely need a board to follow along. Also, this isn't for the rank beginner.

Some things are hard to follow, and it takes time, and it takes patience, and even some thought, but it's worth it. When you force yourself to think about the examples in this book, and really understand them all, you'll find that you have actually learned quite a bit.

The last two reviews are right on the mark about this book. If you are a beginner, try anything but this book.

The examples are both confusing and hard to follow -- the diagrams do nothing to help. The author's method for noting the moves just adds to the confusion -- he never takes the time to explain it! And it is true -- the text is dry, dry and DRY. The author may know his subject, but it is very hard to extract that knowledge from this book.

The author, Edward Lasker, was a chess master and a Go master, competing at the world level as a player of both games. His name and fame has helped to sell both the 1934 and 1960 versions of this book. It has remained in print for a long time.

The book is logically structured, with chapters progressing through Fundamentals, Elementary Tactics, and Basic Strategy to Advanced Strategy and The Game of Go-Moku. The layout convention of the Go board placed on the same part of each right-hand page even contributes to a "board-side" feel to the book. It breaks down in the narrative and explanations. Rather than clear instruction, it has the feel of an expert going over familiar ground to an imagined audience of fellow experts, who can fill in gaps and do without explanations. Intended for beginning players, it should have been written with beginners in mind.

I picked up the book to help me understand Go while working on an assignment for an artificial intelligence programming class. I soon sought help elsewhere. I was not daunted by its age when initially selecting the book, as often books on long-established board games age well--Paul Magriel's Backgammon is one example. Even considering that Go is a subtle and complex game, this book does not introduce it clearly or with sufficient explanation. Other reviewers have suggested good alternatives for Go initiates. I will add the suggestion that a brief web search for "go software download" will yield gaming and simulation software that should be part of any modern study of Go.

This book does not cover the game well. It is not crisp nor insightful.