Go! More Than a Game: Revised Edition [Paperback]

Peter Shotwell (Author)

Book Description

Invented 2500-4000 years ago, the game of 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 its pleasures, especially after the game appeared in a number of hit movies, TV series, and books, and was included on major Internet game sites. By eliciting the highest powers of rational thought, the game draws players, not just for the thrills of competition, but because they feel it enhances their mental, artistic, and even spiritual lives.

Go! More Than a Game uses the most modern methods of teaching, so that, in a few minutes, anyone can understand the two basic rules that generate the game. The object of Go is surrounding territory, but the problem is that while you are doing this, the opponent may be surrounding you! In a series of exciting teaching games, you will watch as Go's beautiful complexities begin to unfold in intertwining patterns of black and white stones. These games progress from small 9x9 boards to 13x13 and then to the traditional 19x19 size.

Go! More Than a Game has been completely revised by the author based on new data about the history of early go and the Confucians who wrote about it. This popular book includes updated information such as the impact of computer versions on the game, the mysterious new developments of Go combininatroics, advances in Combinatorial Game Theory and a look at the current international professional playing scene.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Shotwell is an internationally known expert on the relationship of Go to Eastern and Western philosophy, literature, and history. He has been writing about Go for nearly twenty years and has lived in China, Tibet, and Japan while researching the origins and background of the game.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 1st edition (August 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080483475X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804834759
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Taoist mysticism and a fair introduction to Go, December 19, 2004

By 

David C. Oshel "grikdog" (Cedar Rapids, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Go! More Than a Game: Revised Edition (Paperback)

There are two games of Go, the forest-and-trees welter of confusion that a beginner sees, and the game within the game that everyone else comes to terms with. Shotwell's book can bring you past the boulders of confusion and leave you standing beside the deep water. Whether you swim or not... :) He's also a geisha, in the well-known Reischauer/Culture of Japan academic style, so much of the book is full of reverent Taoist and Kung Fu mysticism which may be fun, but should be transcended as soon as you "see" the inner game. It's beside the point. Bottom line, I like this book. It nudged my game forward. That said, if you want to learn Go, you should get a good computer Go game, like Go4++ (Windows, commercial) or Sente Goban (Mac OS X, freeware), dumb it down and play until you win. Then come back to this book. There's a lot of satisfaction in that first win against a computer, and it helps the book make sense.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a laundry list, May 31, 2005

By 

A Go Teacher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go! More Than a Game: Revised Edition (Paperback)

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!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way above average, December 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Go! More Than a Game: Revised Edition (Paperback)

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.