Play Or Defend?


Book Description

This is an unusual problem book in the style of Diosy's There Must Be a Way, in that the reader is shown all four hands and asked whether declarer or defense should prevail with best play. A fascinating challenge for the advancing player.




Defense in the 21st Century


Book Description

This is the 3rd in the American Contract Bridge League's series of bridge books for beginning and advancing players. Successfully used for over 20 years, this edition has been updated to reflect modern theory. Lessons include Opening Leads vs. Notrump Contracts, Opening Leads vs. Suit Contracts, Third-Hand Play, Second-Hand Play, Defensive Signals, Developing Defensive Tricks, Interfering with Declarer, Making a Plan, and the new bonus lesson on Negative Doubles.




Protect and Defend


Book Description

On a cold day in January, President-elect Kerry Kilcannon takes the oath of office—and within days makes his first, most important move: appointing a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Kilcannon’s choice is a female judge with a brilliant record. And a secret. While the Senate spars over Caroline Masters’s nomination, an inflammatory abortion rights case is making its way toward the judge—and will explode into the headlines. Suddenly, the most divisive issue in America turns the President’s nomination into all-out war. And from Judge Masters to a conservative, war-hero senator facing a crisis of conscience and a fifteen-year-old girl battling for her future, no one will be safe.




Winning the Right Game


Book Description

How to succeed in an era of ecosystem-based disruption: strategies and tools for offense, defense, timing, and leadership in a changing competitive landscape. The basis of competition is changing. Are you prepared? Rivalry is shifting from well-defined industries to broader ecosystems: automobiles to mobility platforms; banking to fintech; television broadcasting to video streaming. Your competitors are coming from new directions and pursuing different goals from those of your familiar rivals. In this world, succeeding with the old rules can mean losing the new game. Winning the Right Game introduces the concepts, tools, and frameworks necessary to confront the threat of ecosystem disruption and to develop the strategies that will let your organization play ecosystem offense. To succeed in this world, you need to change your perspective on competition, growth, and leadership. In this book, strategy expert Ron Adner offers a new way of thinking, illustrating breakthrough ideas with compelling cases. How did a strategy of ecosystem defense save Wayfair and Spotify from being crushed by giants Amazon and Apple? How did Oprah Winfrey redraw industry boundaries to transition from television host to multimedia mogul? How did a shift to an alignment mindset enable Microsoft's cloud-based revival? Each was rooted in a new approach to competitors, partners, and timing that you can apply to your own organization. For today's leaders the difference between success and failure is no longer simply winning, but rather being sure that you are winning the right game.




Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense


Book Description

Covers defensive strategies, interferences, ways of counting the hand, extra trump tricks, falsecarding, and lead-directing doubles.




Rules of Play


Book Description

An impassioned look at games and game design that offers the most ambitious framework for understanding them to date. As pop culture, games are as important as film or television—but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of Play Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Play as a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance. Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Play is a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.




In Defense of Witches


Book Description

Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is a “brilliant, well-documented” celebration (Le Monde) by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution. Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed? Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct descendants to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions. With fiery prose and arguments that range from the scholarly to the cultural, In Defense of Witches seeks to unite the mythic image of the witch with modern women who live their lives on their own terms.




The Defense


Book Description




Defend the Dawn


Book Description

In the eagerly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Defy The Night author Brigid Kemmerer continues her electrifying series with more royal intrigue, more sizzling romance, and shocking twists that will leave readers breathless. What will they sacrifice to save their kingdom? Their honor? Their love? Their lives? Tessa Cade has gone from masked outlaw to palace advisor, but even with her newfound power, she can't stop the sickness still raging. And the kingdom's supply of Moonflower elixir dwindles all the while. Prince Corrick is trying to find a new way to lead, but it isn't easy to repair the rift between the royals and the people--or the one growing between himself and Tessa. When an emissary from a neighboring kingdom arrives with an intriguing offer, Tessa and Corrick set out on an uncertain journey to find a new source of the lifesaving elixir. But with tensions brewing on deck and the sea swirling below, Tessa and Corrick must decide who they can trust--including each other. But they're shocked to discover that a craven betrayal may be much closer than they think . . .




Bridge For Dummies


Book Description

You can play bridge all over the world, and wherever you go, you can make new friends automatically by starting up a game of bridge. What exactly is it about bridge that fascinates countless millions, has fascinated countless millions, and will continue to fascinate countless millions? In a nutshell, Bridge is a social game: You play with a partner and two opponents. Right off the bat you have four people together. Inevitably, you meet a host of new friends with a strong common bond, the game of bridge. Bridge is a challenging game: Each hand is an adventure; each hand presents a unique set of conditions that you react to and solve. You have to do a little thinking. Bridge is a game of psychology: If you fancy yourself a keen observer of human behavior, look no further. You have found your niche. Players aren’t supposed to show any emotion during the play, but there are always a few leaks in the dam. Bridge is fun: Hours become minutes! Playing bridge can mean endless hours of pleasure, a host of new friends, and many laughs. If you’re an absolute bridge beginner, you need the hand-held tour of the game that Bridge For Dummies can give you. Take your time getting to know the fundamentals, carefully examine the real-life examples, and get a feel for the basics before you start to play. Even if you have played bridge before, this book still has much to offer you. Author Eddie Kantar condenses his fifty years of experience with the game into tips and hints that can make you a better player. Start with a birds-eye view of bridge and begin with techniques for taking tricks in a notrump contract. Move on from there to cover the following aspects of the game and more: Counting and taking sure tricks Working with trump suits Finessing for extra winners Grasping the importance of bidding Knowing when to pass and when to rebid Slam bidding Keeping score Playing defense After you play a few hands, you may find that you can’t stop playing bridge. If this happens, call a doctor – you may be a bridgeaholic. The only cure for your addiction is play, play, play. In order to satisfy your craving for bridge, Bridge For Dummies will help you connect with bridge clubs, tournaments, computerized games, and even online partnerships.