Five Weeks to Winning Bridge [Paperback]

Alfred Sheinwold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1960

“Five Weeks to Winning Bridge” is the book most frequently recommended and most often read by beginning bridge players. It is divided into 35 chapters, one for each day of the week over a seven week period. Each chapter is about 15 pages long, enough for a new player to read and absorb in a day. Thus, at the end of 35 days or 5 weeks, the reader should be a competent bridge player. This book describes the Standard American bidding system. Although still the most widely known system, there have been a proliferation of bidding systems. The reader should be prepared to play under other systems. The reader should be aware that this book primarily describes Rubber Bridge play. Nowadays, most bridge play is duplicate. In spite of these developments, this book remains the one more players start off with than any other book. Thus, it should be required reading for all bridge players. If offers the clearest and most easy-to-read description of bridge.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alfred Sheinwold was born on January 26, 1912. He was an American bridge player, administrator, international team captain and prolific author of books about bridge. He was, with Edgar Kaplan, co-developer of the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system. Among other administrative assignments that he accepted, Sheinwold chaired the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) National Laws Commission from 1964 to 1975, and the ACBL Appeals Committee from 1966 to 1970. He also was the Editor of the ACBL Bulletin from 1952 to 1958. Sheinwold was born in London, England and emigrated to the United States as a young man. He soon became well known as a bridge writer and editor, and started work as an editor for Ely Culbertson's magazine, The Bridge World, in 1934, where he held the posts of technical editor, then managing editor, and then senior editor. After Edgar Kaplan purchased The Bridge World, Sheinwold became one of four expert members on the rotating directorship of the Master Solvers Club, from 1967–1980. During WWII, Sheinwold interrupted his bridge career to serve as Chief Code and Cipher Expert in the Office of Strategic Services for the United States. During the period of the development of the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system, Sheinwold was particularly successful in national level tournament bridge in the United States. He won the Chicago event (subsequently known as the Reisinger) in 1958 and the Spring National Men's Teams in 1964, was on the runner-up team for the Vanderbilt (also 1958), and had many regional wins. Sheinwold was often sought as captain by US teams that were pursuing national and international championships. He captained the 1985 US team that won the Bermuda Bowl, and also the 1975 US team that placed second in the same event. Sheinwold is best known for his syndicated newspaper column, which ran for more than 30 years. He also prepared the AutoBridge hands and discussions, and authored Five Weeks to Winning Bridge, which has sold more than a million copies. He was principal author of The Kaplan-Sheinwold System of Winning Bridge, the first extended description of the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system. Sheinwold's smooth, encouraging writing style made him the most popular bridge author of his time. Sheinwold died of a heart attack in Sherman Oaks, California on March 8, 1997 at the age of 85. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 548 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (January 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671687700
• ISBN-13: 978-0671687700
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #791,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars IT'S GREAT EXCEPT FOR ONE THING, January 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Weeks to Winning Bridge (Paperback)

While Alfred Sheinwold's FIVE WEEKS TO WINNING BRIDGE is out of print, it's no surprise that it still commands good prices used. For this is one of the best if not THE best all-in-one introductions to bridge, which will take the total newbie into the mysteries of bidding, play, strategy, and defense, with wit and efficiency both.

Although this volume was first produced in 1960, it would probably still be in print if not for the fact that most bridge players (home-style and duplicate both) now play a version of bridge called "five-card majors," which will not permit the player to open "one heart" or "one spade," even if s/he has four great cards in that suit -- it has to be five cards or more.

Still, so excellent is this book that it might well be worth the beginner's time to seek it out used. I still use and treasure mine. Thanks for reading this! Allen Smalling, amateur Amazon reviewer.

NOTE: This update and the rest of the review were written in June of 2008 although the review carries the older date and doesn't identify me. But it is mine!

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible of Beginner Bridge Books, December 31, 1999

By 

William M. Begert (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Weeks to Winning Bridge (Paperback)

No other book can match Sheinwold's "Five Weeks to Winning Bridge" for introductory level Bridge. Simply put, this book details the fundamentals of the game without condescending to its readers -- ever. Sheinwold is smart, concise, logical, droll - everything one wants in an instructor. While the book lacks discussion of important modern conventions (having been written decades ago), the lion's share is still extremely relevant and will prepare any card-playing novice for parlor play. I have gone back to Sheinwold again and again for solace, refreshers, and just plain pleasure. I wholeheartedly, unreservedly, and without hesitation recommend this magical book for anyone interested in learning to play Bridge.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-organized introduction to bridge., July 6, 2003

By 

neurotome "neurotome" (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 5 Weeks To Winning Bridge (Paperback)

This book is so fun and easy to read, it actually got me, a non-player, interested in bridge. Then when the internet came along, I was able to play easily using the Yahoo! servers. That's when I picked it up again.

It's organized logically: 35 lessons, 1 per day for 5 weeks, in the following order: rules, scoring, bids, notrumps, rebids, slams, competitive bids, doubles, finesse, squeezes, and on to esoteric tips that only the masters need to learn about. It covers the conventions naturally, as they come up, and also lets you know which ones are frequently needed and which are "once in a blue moon." There are plenty of examples and self-tests along the way, which let you know if you need to reread a section.

Best of all is the writing - Sheinwold is witty, making you feel like an insider to the world of smart bridge playing. If you're a beginner, you'll find him lucid and easy to follow; even a pro should take tips from the later sections. You needn't get far through the book before you start wishing you had a better partner, which I think is probably the ultimate test of any bridge book.

Sheinwold himself is an interesting fellow - a native of Great Britain, he grew up in the USA, then headed the Department of Codes and Ciphers of the O.S.S. during World War II. He returned to bridge when the war was over, making his living at playing and writing about bridge.

This book was written in 1959, but isn't dated at all, and its long life should be the best testimony to its merit. There are two very, very mildly misogynistic jokes ("who can ever tell what a woman is thinking?" is the worse of them) scattered in the text, which were well within the bounds of repartee in 1959, but which don't seem appropriate in 2003. That's the only bad thing I can find to say.

If you have any interest in bridge, you ought to read this book!