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BGonline.org Forums
Backgammon for Losers--Kudos to Chris and Simon
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Backgammon for Losers (Chris Bray)
Date: Tuesday, 19 January 2016, at 5:31 p.m.
Thank you for this post, Chris. What we had here is a most interesting situation.
Simon Hill, a true student of the game and lover of the game, had a desire to write a book that he hoped would interest and excite more people to study backgammon. He knows that the more people who study the game, and the more they know, they more they will play and become addicted to it, as we all are. So he set out to write something that would interest the casual player and also improve the game of the more serious player. He included fun stories, anecdotes, quotes and personal experiences to add to the technical imformation and show some of the excitement and fun of the game.
Simon is a fine player, but certainly not an "expert" as you (Chris) and others who have written extremely excellent technical books and articles on the game. So he solicited my help with the technical matters, and I believe I did a pretty good job of it, providing a lot of key material and insights, and of course, he added many of his own and classic information from other sources.
He very generously priced the book at $10.00 so that it would be bought and read by many more...no way could he make money for his many months of effort and financial investment at that price. But he made one mistake.
He rushed to publish as he was excited and enthusiastic about getting it out, and in so doing there were many typos and technical errors, a few bad examples, all of which you (Chris) and others pointed out. At the same time, there was a lot of wonderful stuff in the book.
What Simon did next we most admirable. Instead of being nasty and vindictive about the criticisms, he engaged you, and me, to correct the errors and improve the book and go to all the expense and trouble of coming up with a completely revised edition. And it is a beauty!
I applaud Simon for giving this wonderful gift to the backgammon community, and to you for your first honest criticism, and then your excellent help to improve the product. And I am also proud to have been involved in a book that I know will be an excellent aid and incentive for many more people to play more backgammon.
I think everyone will enjoy reading this book, and no matter what your level of play, you will get much out of it.
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