Eddie Kantar Teaches Modern Bridge Defense

Rating:
Summary: Award-winner, great Defense expertise for intermediate play!
Review: Eddie Kantar is one of the most highly regarded teaching experts in today's world of bridge. This award winning 1999 book is strictly for learning how to defend, where after all every player spends a great deal of time, with usually little formal instruction to help the process. The writing and illustrations of every point are sound and thorough, yet at a level suitable for advanced beginners and intermediate players.

Discussion of techniques and illustrative examples are supplemented beautifully with test samples after every chapter, with solutions provided to help reinforce the teaching presented earlier. The chapter summaries in themselves form a terrific primer on the art of gaining more tricks on defense. Highly recommended!


Rating:
Summary: Great Teacher
Review: Kantar today is more noted as a bridge instructor than a bridge player. But one must remember that he is both and his latest book demonstrated both the instructional and practical sides. It is (as usual) clear, concise and ro the point. I like Kantar's prose, his ease of explanation and the way he sets just the right tone. Of course, he discusses the bid, the opponent and, most important, keeping track of the play while counting the cards (the one thing that separates the professional from the amateur). Good book with tons of examples.

Rating:
Summary: Clearly laid-out principles and summaries on defensive play
Review: Perhaps Kantar's best book yet. Basic concepts for the intermediate player by one of the best authors of books on defense. Clearly laid-out principles and summaries. Intermediate defense play has never been explained better. Awarded American Bridge Teachers' Association "1999 Best Intermediate Bridge Book of the Year."

Rating:
Summary: Best book on defending I've found
Review: This is a great book for intermediate players wanting to get better. Let's face it - you're going to be playing defense half of the time but few books cover this subject well. I've also read his book, Advanced Bridge Defense, and it is good but this is the place to start. Each chapter includes some practice problems to help you remember the points made. Kantar even itemizes the points to be covered in the beginning and then summarizes them at the end - a great teaching aid. Top this off with the fact that he has a great writing style that makes it fun to read and you have a real winner.

Rating:
Summary: Read it at least 5 times, it's worth it
Review: This is a great book on defense, because Kantar covers almost every intermediate situation comprehensively and give you black and white rules for every situation. He doesn't in this book consider varied leading/signalling conventions but just gives one way to play, but that's fine as he explains his method clearly and shows why he recommends everything he does. I'd recommend it to every player.