Review of "Go! More than a Game"
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:48 pm
This was my first go book. It was recommended to me by the middle school teacher who ran our go club (a middle school club in the US - uncommon but real). I read most of it in 8th grade, but came back to it when I picked up go again in college.
Unlike most beginners books this one takes the time to fully cover the history and cultural impact of go. I've always enjoyed learning history so this book was great for me. Covering everything from ancient legends to the ear-reddening game to modern computer go, I came away from this book with a great knowledge of what the game of go means. (About 30-40% of the book is strictly the history and culture of go)
When it comes to learning how to play go, there are probably better books. The book's flow in teaching is 9x9 to 13x13 to 19x19 games, but this is not necessarily the best way to teach go as the three board sizes have very different openings and playstyles. It does also have chapters covering game concepts - the chapter on shape is particularly good - but a lot of the learning comes from the game reviews: two professional 9x9 games and amateur 13x13 and 19x19 games. Only one 19x19 game is reviewed and Shotwell takes the time to discuss some larger strategy topics, but manages to keep the review to the basics. Again, complete game reviews are probably not the best way for true beginners to learn as it leaves a lot of questions, but it is nice for new players to see what full games look like.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book. I was able to learn some nice beginner moves (like the clamp) and also got a wealth of knowledge about go. If you want to learn more than just how to play go, I would recommend this book. On the other hand, if you don't care to learn about go beyond the board then this book is probably not for you.
Even if you've already read a beginner book, but you also want to learn go history, this book would still be decent for players up to about 20 kyu, but a strict go history book would probably be better for higher level players as the game concepts covered are meant for beginners.
Unlike most beginners books this one takes the time to fully cover the history and cultural impact of go. I've always enjoyed learning history so this book was great for me. Covering everything from ancient legends to the ear-reddening game to modern computer go, I came away from this book with a great knowledge of what the game of go means. (About 30-40% of the book is strictly the history and culture of go)
When it comes to learning how to play go, there are probably better books. The book's flow in teaching is 9x9 to 13x13 to 19x19 games, but this is not necessarily the best way to teach go as the three board sizes have very different openings and playstyles. It does also have chapters covering game concepts - the chapter on shape is particularly good - but a lot of the learning comes from the game reviews: two professional 9x9 games and amateur 13x13 and 19x19 games. Only one 19x19 game is reviewed and Shotwell takes the time to discuss some larger strategy topics, but manages to keep the review to the basics. Again, complete game reviews are probably not the best way for true beginners to learn as it leaves a lot of questions, but it is nice for new players to see what full games look like.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book. I was able to learn some nice beginner moves (like the clamp) and also got a wealth of knowledge about go. If you want to learn more than just how to play go, I would recommend this book. On the other hand, if you don't care to learn about go beyond the board then this book is probably not for you.
Even if you've already read a beginner book, but you also want to learn go history, this book would still be decent for players up to about 20 kyu, but a strict go history book would probably be better for higher level players as the game concepts covered are meant for beginners.
