The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards (Paperback)

by David G. Alciatore (Author) "Pool, the game of knocking spheres around a table into holes, has created delight for millions of people over many centuries..." (more)
Key Phrases: cue ball path, rail cut shot, rail grove, English Figure, Holy Grail, Bunjee Jumper (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
If you think the best pool players are leather-jacketed badasses who quit school at 12 to shark sailors out of their paychecks, think again. Pool involves complex physical principles that aren't taught until long after the delinquents have departed the academy. "Dr. Dave," both a professor of mechanical engineering and a Billiards Digest columnist, has written a textbook-style how-to that focuses on the game's fundamental principles. It's loaded with excellent color diagrams, decent photographs, and useful sidebars. He's a Web geek, too--there are dozens of cross-references to his site, where free videos demonstrate the lessons on the page. (The site even offers technical proofs!) There's so much information packed in here that learners who prefer a prosy approach may be put off. It's written clearly, though, and for the nuts-and-bolts crowd--make that the graphing-calculator and circuit-board set--it's hard to imagine a better primer. Reminiscent of Jack Koehler's excellent The Science of Pocket Billiards (1989). Pool is for nerds--and that's cool. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Master one of the world’s most popular games with the help of a mechanical engineering professor who has a passion for pool. More than 80 principles of the game, presented with 250-plus precisely scaled illustrations and photographs, offer players of all levels a thorough overview of the fundamentals of 8-ball and 9-ball, including grip and stance, basic shots, position play and strategy, bank and kick shots, and advanced techniques such as carom and jump shots.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; 1st edition (August 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402714289
• ISBN-13: 978-1402714283
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,658 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Billiard and Pool Book!, November 15, 2004

By	Justin Elliott (State College, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is exceptionally good. It's also WAY cheaper than it should be. It easily beats the other billiard books that I looked at. I luckily ran across this book while looking at (and reading!) many, many other books in the local "Large Popular Bookstore", and I'm glad that I chose this one. This is my first billiard book, and probably my last. It starts at the basics and goes through to the advanced topics. The book is very well written and the diagrams are superb and concise. The online content that he provided on his website is just icing on the cake. I also bought the DVD that contains all of the videos on his website, along with additional commentary, based on the quality of his book. If you're deciding on which billiard book to get, this should be the one. I strongly recommend this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author comments, September 1, 2004

By	David Alciatore, PhD "Dr. Dave" (Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews

Hi. I'm Dr. Dave, the author of "The Illustrated Principles of Pool and Billiards." Thank you for considering my book. I have worked very hard to create the best book possible by doing lots of independent research and by reading countless other books. I've done my best to make the book as easy to read as possible by using many full-color illustrations and by identifying all of the key principles in pool. I have also created a CD-ROM, DVD, and extensive website (www.engr.colostate.edu/pool) to supplement the book and enhance your learning experience. I hope you will find these resources useful and recommend them to other players. Good luck with your game!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The pool book I've always wanted, September 8, 2004

By	Jered Wenderoth (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I stumbled across Dr. Dave's website via the American Poolplayer Association website a few weeks ago. The free advice Dr. Dave gives on that website was invaluable, particularly the 30 and 90 degree rules. Both were concepts I was intuitively aware of, but never understood from a physics perspective.

When I saw that Dr. Dave had a book coming out, I knew it was going to be just what I always wanted. From simple tips for fundamentals to the physics behind complex ball effects, this book has it all, and makes it easy to follow. That fact that it's all grounded in math and physics makes it even more appealing. And the clear, concise writing style and understandable diagrams are icing on the cake.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves pool and wonders why the balls do what they do. Personally, I'm going to browbeat both of my pool teams into buying copies.