If you wanted to know about great mystery or procedural crime fiction, I would point to writers like Jeffrey Deaver, Kathy Reichs, or Deon Meyer.
But since this is a bridge column and I assume that you are a bridge player, I can also guess that you are here to learn more about things that surround the Greatest Card Game In The World.
Bridge writing is a vast pool of excellent, useful things that people have said about cards (and what to do with them).
If you’re only starting to read bridge writing now, there are some writers who are as integral to the game as Thompson to Gonzo – and eventually, someone will recommend one of their books as Masters Of Their Genre.
Here are 6 great bridge writers you should know.
1. Agatha Christie
One can never say that Christie was not a bridge writer.
Dame Agatha Christie didn’t write bridge lesson books, but also didn’t need to in order to make bridge integral to her work. Within Christie fiction, the bridge game was often detailed (and absolutely integral to the unfolding of the plot).
2. Alan Truscott
As bridge writer, most will get to know Alan Truscott (who passed away in 2005) as the author of the New York Times bridge column for just over a 40 year stretch.
Thirteen books in total are credited to Truscott, including Bridge In Three Weeks, The Bidding Dictionary, and The Great Bridge Scandal.
Where would you like to begin?
3. Alfred Sheinwold
Alfred Sheinwold wrote Five Weeks To Winning Bridge – and that was one of the first bridge books that I personally got into. The book remains a bestseller, and is the first Sheinwold text that I would recommend to readers getting to know him (or the game).
He also authored a particularly long-term bridge column, and wrote other card books that include 101 Best Card Games For Children.
4. Audrey Grant
The Audrey Grant’s Better Bridge Series is something that all bridge players inevitably hear about, read about, or see a link about. It’s an official ACBL bridge series meant to pass on information about playing the game of bridge – and it’s undeniably useful to anyone.
Grant also writes her own column about contracts, and heads Better Bridge Magazine together with her blog.
She’s a pretty busy bridge player.
5. Jude Goodwin
Jude Goodwin is a writer, bridge player, and poet. She also wrote several bridge resources that will be of use to parents with card-playing kids. Including Teach Me To Play.
Bridge books for kids are a rarity, and Goodwin’s work is an excellent way to ease kids into a complex game.
6. Kim Frazer
Kim Frazer is a bridge writer that I could say we technically borrowed from another sport – competitive shooting. While she spends a great deal of her time in another sport, Frazer takes to bridge well – and her book Gaining The Mental Edge At Bridge was selected as a Master Point Press award-winner.
If you want to learn tactical strategies for the bridge table, read it.