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Book Reviews
Here are some reviews from the British Go Journal and the American Go Journal of some Go instructional books, and also some Go-related novels. The order here is roughly the date order of the reviews. Click on the header Title to sort into alphabetical order.
Other reviews: David Carlton's Go Bibliography and Sensei's Library or publishers' websites.
| Title | From |
|---|---|
| 4-4 Point Joseki - A Brief Introduction |
BGJ 173 Autumn 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by William Cobb A slim book, 40 pages of A6, which provides a manageable start to the subject of joseki, aimed perhaps at 18- 12 kyu. The first half outlines common 4-4 joseki, important for both even and handicap games. There... |
| Elementary Go Series; Vol 2 - 38 Basic Joseki |
BGJ 173 Autumn 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by James Davies This book is an old favourite, first published in 1975 but showing its age with the omission of modern variations. That said, it is a useful introduction for kyu players, and short enough that one can attempt to... |
| Whole Board Thinking in Joseki |
BGJ 173 Autumn 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Yilun Yang This comes in two volumes, the first on 3-4 point low kakari and the second on 3-4 point high and far approaches. The cover beautifully illustrates the thinking behind the book. Problems come in a group of 2 or 3,... |
| Get Strong Series; Get Strong at Joseki |
BGJ 173 Autumn 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Richard Bozulich There are three volumes, each covering a different set of common joseki. The books are divided so that the problems explore three themes. One is ‘choosing the right joseki’ in the context of the whole... |
| 21st Century Dictionary of Basic Joseki |
BGJ 173 Autumn 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Takao Shinji This is a 2010 update of the respected Ishida’s Dictionary of Basic Joseki (3 volumes). There are two substantial volumes of nearly 300 pages each, the first of which addresses 3-4 point openings and the... |
| Reducing Territorial Frameworks; Kiseido |
BGJ 172 Summer 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Shuko Fujisawa There is more to this slim 1980 volume of 200 pages of A5 than meets the eye. The book starts with a section expounding and illustrating principles and side benefits of reduction. The middle half of the... |
| Invasions AND Reductions; Slate and Shell |
BGJ 172 Summer 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Iwamoto Kaoru Published in 2014, these two books are a rewrite of a single earlier book on the same subjects. They are presented as an encyclopedia of some 20 common formations, typically based on a corner with one or... |
| Attacking and Defending Moyos; Kiseido |
BGJ 172 Summer 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by von Zeist and Bozulich This is Volume 7 of the Mastering the Basics series and is further confirmation that the word ‘basics’ is not to be taken too literally. The book starts with an interesting discussion of general... |
| Get Strong Series; Vol 5 - Get Strong at Invading |
BGJ 172 Summer 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Richard Bozulich This is a volume consisting of 171 problems about invading. It’s divided up into sections on invasions on the side, invasions in the corner, and invading large territories, which is a lot to cover in a... |
| Vital Points and Skilful Finesse for Sabaki; Hinoki Press |
BGJ 172 Summer 2015, Author: Roger Huyshe by Yoda Norimoto Only when you have understood the meaning of light and heavy formations, is it time to move on to the more subtle concept of sabaki. Sabaki is the result where weak or invading stones emerge with some... |
| Elementary Go Series; Vol 6 - The Endgame |
BGJ 171 Spring 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Davies/Ogawa Davies’ book sets out clearly the basic theory of endgame, including sente relationships and counting. It is clear from experiment, namely the quiz at the 2014 Shropshire Go Tournament, that even solid SDK... |
| Get Strong Series; Vol 7 - Get Strong at the Endgame |
BGJ 171 Spring 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Richard Bozulich The book opens with 42 whole-board 11x11 problems which one is invited to try at the beginning then again after studying the body of the book. This is a novel approach which will well-reward readers who... |
| Monkey Jump Workshop |
BGJ 171 Spring 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Richard Hunter The Workshop begins with the monkey jump at its simplest: a basic reduction against a solid territory. The standard counter-moves are analysed before moving on to explore how things change when the... |
| 200 Endgame Problems |
BGJ 171 Spring 2015, Reviewer: Roger Huyshe by Shirae Haruhiko The first section, ”Basic Problems”, contains 100 problems of a fairly didactic bent, introducing common endgame tesujis, with variations of the same tesuji appearing in several problems in a row to... |
| The Meijin's Retirement Game |
BGJ 160 Summer 2012 |
| Patterns of the Sanrensei |
BGJ 160 Summer 2012 |
| How Not to Play Go |
BGJ 159 Spring 2012 |
| Understanding Dan Level Play |
BGJ 159 Spring 2012 |
| Master Play: The Playing Styles of Seven Top Pros |
BGJ 158 Winter 2011/12 |
| The 21st Century Dictionary of Basic Joseki, Vol. 1 |
BGJ 158 Winter 2011/12 |