Books about Pool

AMoney

AMoney

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can anyone out there recommend some good books to read about pool? Not necessarily just instructional books, but also books with stories, etc.
 
Cornbread Red: Pool's Greatest Money Player (Paperback)
by Bob Henning

A Mind for Pool: How to Master the Mental Game
by Philip B. Capelle

Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering the Mental Game of Pocket Billiards by Ph.D., Bob Fancher

Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots: 350 Moves Every Player Should Know by Robert Byrne

The Science of Pocket Billiards by Jack H. Koehler

Byrne's Advanced Technique in Pool and Billiards by Robert Byrne

Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards by Robert Byrne
 
AMoney said:
Can anyone out there recommend some good books to read about pool? Not necessarily just instructional books, but also books with stories, etc.
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The most entertaining billiard book I've ever read is McGoorty by Robert Byrne. Danny McGoorty was mostly a 3-C player but was a pool hustler early in life. He was an alcoholic but gave up the booze in his 50's. He tells his life story in this book and it is quite a story. He died in 1970, I think, but knew all the champions from Greenleaf to Hoppe to Ceulemans, also Minnesota Fats and many others. He expresses himself in a very colorful way and is honest about his failings in life. A great book and a poignant one also.

Among more recent books I enjoyed Danny DiLiberto's book Road Player. Equally good is Playing Off The Rail by David McCumber. Neither of these is anywhere near as good as McGoorty, however.
 
I like the book Hustler Days,it gives stories of the lives of Fats,Wimpy and the legendary Jersey Red,great book.Willies Game was also a good read.
 
Pleasures of Small Motions. Great book on the mental aspect of the game. Really helped my game.

99 Critical Shots. Shot making and identifying and some position.

Banking with the Beard. It's the bank shot bible.
 
I second "Hustler Days", and I also reccomend "Cornbread Red: Pools Greatest Money Player" for some more good pool stories.
 
In terms of instructional books, we can't leave out Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool. No pool library should be without one.
 
My thoughts exactly

Rich93 said:
The most entertaining billiard book I've ever read is McGoorty by Robert Byrne. Danny McGoorty was mostly a 3-C player but was a pool hustler early in life. He was an alcoholic but gave up the booze in his 50's. He tells his life story in this book and it is quite a story. He died in 1970, I think, but knew all the champions from Greenleaf to Hoppe to Ceulemans, also Minnesota Fats and many others. He expresses himself in a very colorful way and is honest about his failings in life. A great book and a poignant one also.

Among more recent books I enjoyed Danny DiLiberto's book Road Player. Equally good is Playing Off The Rail by David McCumber. Neither of these is anywhere near as good as McGoorty, however.
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Exactly.

Ken
 
Thanks for sharing everyone, a few of these will end up on the "Christmas list for myself"
 
IMO for pool stories and entertainment, "Rags to Rifleman" gives them all the orange crush.....well at least the 7 and the last three!
 
VIProfessor said:
In terms of instructional books, we can't leave out Phil Capelle's Play Your Best Pool. No pool library should be without one.
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I agree, this is a must have.

I would also add All of Phil Capelle's Books: Play Your Best 9-ball, The Mind Game, Play Your Best 8-ball, Play your best Straight pool, Capelle's practicing pool.

also:
Upscale 9-Ball by Jack Koehler, The Pro Book by Bob Henning,

The best books on sytems and kicking techniques: The Billiard Atlas 1-4 by Walt Harris (4 books)

The best Author for the mind game is Dr. Bob Rotella
I have 3 books: Golf is a game of confidence, The golf of your dreams and Golf is not a game of perfect.
Don't get confused because these books have golf in the title. These are excellent if you are an athlete in any kind of sport.

Hope this helps.:)
 
AMoney said:
Can anyone out there recommend some good books to read about pool? Not necessarily just instructional books, but also books with stories, etc.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned "The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies" by Fats and Tom Fox. OK, so it's largely fiction, but it is very entertaining, and it pretty much made the Fats legend. It has recently been reprinted, I think. Byrne: Great Pool Stories; Dyer: Hustler Days; McCumber: Playing off the Rail; Byrne: McGoorty (also recently republished with the pictures present)... Here is a previous post on the topic of non-instructional books:

If you're tired of instruction, but crave something pool related,
you might want to check out the following. The biographical
and/or historical stuff is not entirely fiction, but I think much
of it qualifies. -- Bob

"The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson" is available from the publisher. I posted a link recently.

Byrne, "Great Pool Stories"
Walter Tevis, "The Hustler" and "Color of Money"
Dyer, "Hustler Days"
Byrne, "McGoorty"
Bentivegna, "Banking with the Beard"
Tom Fox and Fats, "The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies"
McCumber, "Playing Off the Rail"
Grady, "Bet High, Kiss Low"
Mosconi and Cohen, "Willie's Game"
Grissim, "Billiards"
Fels, "Legends of Pool"
Ricketts, "Walter Lindrum - Billiards Phenomenon"
Hoppe, "Thirty Years of Billiards"
"Brunswick: The Story of an American Company"
WW Woody, "Buddy Hall, Rags to Rifleman"
Thomas Fensch, "The Lions and the Lambs"
Joe Davis, "The Breaks Came My Way," autobiography
Ned Polsky, "Hustlers, Beats and Others"
Clive Everton, "The History of Snooker and Billiards"
Gordon Burn, "Pocket Money, Bad boys, business heads and boom time snooke"
Art Tully, "How to Hustle Your Friends at Pool"
Gerald E. Huber, "Green Felt Jungle"
Bob Henning, "Cornbread Red: Pool's Greatest Money Player"
Alex Higgins, "Alex, Through the Looking Glass"
Jon Bradshaw, "Fast Company"
Chris Rhys, "Snooker Disasters and Bizarre Records"
Mike Shamos, "The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards"
also: "Pool" and "Shooting Pool"
Stein and Rubino, "Billiard Encyclopedia"
Fred Walther, "Minnesota Fats, Never Behind the Eight Ball"
William Hendricks, "History of Billiards"
Peter Linhard, "How to Get By without Working"
 
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For beginners, Ewa Mataya Laurance's book: The Complete Idiots Guide to Pool and Billiards, is a good read. It has easy to understand instructions and many short anecdotes scattered throughout it. It has a glossary of pool definitions and a Hall-of-Fame section. Also in the back of the book is a list of billiard table makers, suppliers, etc. This book won't wow the advanced players, but it's a pretty good book overall.

Maniac
 
Bob, you left mine out.

Bob Jewett said:
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned "The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies" by Fats and Tom Fox. OK, so it's largely fiction, but it is very entertaining, and it pretty much made the Fats legend. It has recently been reprinted, I think. Byrne: Great Pool Stories; Dyer: Hustler Days; McCumber: Playing off the Rail; Byrne: McGoorty (also recently republished with the pictures present)... Here is a previous post on the topic of non-instructional books:

If you're tired of instruction, but crave something pool related,
you might want to check out the following. The biographical
and/or historical stuff is not entirely fiction, but I think much
of it qualifies. -- Bob

"The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson" is available from the publisher. I posted a link recently.

Byrne, "Great Pool Stories"
Walter Tevis, "The Hustler" and "Color of Money"
Dyer, "Hustler Days"
Byrne, "McGoorty"
Tom Fox and Fats, "The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies"
McCumber, "Playing Off the Rail"
Grady, "Bet High, Kiss Low"
Mosconi and Cohen, "Willie's Game"
Grissim, "Billiards"
Fels, "Legends of Pool"
Ricketts, "Walter Lindrum - Billiards Phenomenon"
Hoppe, "Thirty Years of Billiards"
"Brunswick: The Story of an American Company"
WW Woody, "Buddy Hall, Rags to Rifleman"
Thomas Fensch, "The Lions and the Lambs"
Joe Davis, "The Breaks Came My Way," autobiography
Ned Polsky, "Hustlers, Beats and Others"
Clive Everton, "The History of Snooker and Billiards"
Gordon Burn, "Pocket Money, Bad boys, business heads and boom time snooke"
Art Tully, "How to Hustle Your Friends at Pool"
Gerald E. Huber, "Green Felt Jungle"
Bob Henning, "Cornbread Red: Pool's Greatest Money Player"
Alex Higgins, "Alex, Through the Looking Glass"
Jon Bradshaw, "Fast Company"
Chris Rhys, "Snooker Disasters and Bizarre Records"
Mike Shamos, "The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards"
also: "Pool" and "Shooting Pool"
Stein and Rubino, "Billiard Encyclopedia"
Fred Walther, "Minnesota Fats, Never Behind the Eight Ball"
William Hendricks, "History of Billiards"
Peter Linhard, "How to Get By without Working"
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Bob, I cant believe you left my book "Banking With The Beard" off your list. Even though the book is mostly instruction, at least 25% of it is old pool road stories. Plus, my stories are first-hand accounts, I didnt need to do research or conduct interviews as some did, I was there in the trenches. However, I forgive you, I'm sure it was just an oversight.

the Beard
 
freddy the beard said:
Bob, I cant believe you left my book "Banking With The Beard" off your list. ..
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What do you mean, Freddy? It's right there after McGoorty. ;)
 
AMoney said:
Can anyone out there recommend some good books to read about pool? Not necessarily just instructional books, but also books with stories, etc.
Click to expand...

For good reads, I recommend a bunch of books, but most are unavailable, out of print, or just plain tough to get.




Billiards: Hustlers & Heroes, Legends & Lies, and the Search for Higher Truth on the Green Felt, by John Grissim. 1979

- This included several stories including action from Johnston City, a score for Fat Minny, and the introduction of Efren Reyes to the US pool world.



Hustler Days: Minnesota Fats, Wimpy Lassiter, Jersey Red, and America’s Great Age of Pool, by R. A. Dyer. 2003

- A newer book concentrating on the titled names, also with much about the Johnston City tournaments. Well written, but not the same flare as Grissim.




The Wonder Boys, Mike Mason.

- Written by one of our AZBers, Mike Mason, it is currently on the top of my list of "books that have a the best shot to become a movie." The fact-based book is centered in Massachusetts during the Vietnam War era. That is, in the aftermath glory days of the movie The Hustler , when amateur matchups was a spectator sport. It's about a young man and his two best friends reporting their life as pool players and as young adults in a very tough time in our history.




Also, see this site: http://blog.booklistonline.com/category/book-lists/

Fred <~~~ would write a book, if patience wasn't a virtue
 
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