Play Great Pool is a hardback book by the two authors who love pool as much as any of us.
I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime and I doubt that you have or will either.
The two of them have created the ultimate textbook on pocket billiards.
I have not had the opportunity to read the entire book and have just begun reading it. The book is separated into 4 parts and 42 chapters and 240 pages. Each page is the size of a letterhead, 8 1/2" x 11". The type looks to be about 10pt in size. Trust me, in my short read and scan there does not appear to be a moment of rambling and the thoughts are well constructed as well as the sentences. Being a typesetter, I did notice a word that was accidentally left out but I won't say anything about it.
While the Foreword shares that suggests that the main thing that this book concentrates on is the development of a sound stroke, with a quick glance at the table of contents, you can see that this subject is vast but covered thoroughly, from a beginning tutorial on how to use the book. No, this is not a quick read type of book. This is a school textbook that has taken many years to create and bring to your table but it is filled with clearly stated thoughts that clearly go against the grain of some of the old teachings of pool. Mark and Don have taken the bull by the horns and are attempting to remove all doubt that ordinary individuals like you and I can learn to play pool at a very high level.
I do believe that this book will become one of THE CLASSICS of pool. From what I have read and scanned, it is remarkably well-written, easy to understand and written in a format that is easy to follow or easy to go to different sections that you might find the need to revisit more frequently.
Part 1 is the Components of the Shooting System and has ten chapters.
Part 2 is Applying the Shooting system and has 19 chapters.
Part 3 is Spec-Ops Billiards for the Highly-Motivated Player
Part 4 is Stories and Acknowledgments.
The subject matter covers far too many to list here. While the book is not an inexpensive book, I trust that many who can afford it, will call it a "valuable" tool for pool excellence. For those who might have trouble coming up with the cash for this very important book but do, will not regret it, in my opinion. For those who will never spend the money, you should at least go to Mark Wilson's webpage which you can go to by clicking here >>>>>. If you read nothing else, read the NAVY SEAL story. You will get a feel for the talent that Mark possesses as a writer as well as the modesty that makes Mark's ability to articulate the finer points of pool even more impressive. If you've ever met Mark, you already know he isn't quick to talk about all of his personal accomplishments. His partner in this venture, Dr. Donald Wardell, likewise is quiet about his accomplishments but is well know in the pool industry as well as the medical profession. It is Don's pursuit of excellence that models the story that Mark tells about his unique encounter with the Navy Seals. The combined efforts of these two have produced a pocket billiard book worthy of consideration for any pool aficionado.
Thank you Mark and Don for a fine book on pocket billiards that will provide me and many others with a lifetime of valuable information to learn from and to share with others.
JoeyA
I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime and I doubt that you have or will either.
The two of them have created the ultimate textbook on pocket billiards.
I have not had the opportunity to read the entire book and have just begun reading it. The book is separated into 4 parts and 42 chapters and 240 pages. Each page is the size of a letterhead, 8 1/2" x 11". The type looks to be about 10pt in size. Trust me, in my short read and scan there does not appear to be a moment of rambling and the thoughts are well constructed as well as the sentences. Being a typesetter, I did notice a word that was accidentally left out but I won't say anything about it.
While the Foreword shares that suggests that the main thing that this book concentrates on is the development of a sound stroke, with a quick glance at the table of contents, you can see that this subject is vast but covered thoroughly, from a beginning tutorial on how to use the book. No, this is not a quick read type of book. This is a school textbook that has taken many years to create and bring to your table but it is filled with clearly stated thoughts that clearly go against the grain of some of the old teachings of pool. Mark and Don have taken the bull by the horns and are attempting to remove all doubt that ordinary individuals like you and I can learn to play pool at a very high level.
I do believe that this book will become one of THE CLASSICS of pool. From what I have read and scanned, it is remarkably well-written, easy to understand and written in a format that is easy to follow or easy to go to different sections that you might find the need to revisit more frequently.
Part 1 is the Components of the Shooting System and has ten chapters.
Part 2 is Applying the Shooting system and has 19 chapters.
Part 3 is Spec-Ops Billiards for the Highly-Motivated Player
Part 4 is Stories and Acknowledgments.
The subject matter covers far too many to list here. While the book is not an inexpensive book, I trust that many who can afford it, will call it a "valuable" tool for pool excellence. For those who might have trouble coming up with the cash for this very important book but do, will not regret it, in my opinion. For those who will never spend the money, you should at least go to Mark Wilson's webpage which you can go to by clicking here >>>>>. If you read nothing else, read the NAVY SEAL story. You will get a feel for the talent that Mark possesses as a writer as well as the modesty that makes Mark's ability to articulate the finer points of pool even more impressive. If you've ever met Mark, you already know he isn't quick to talk about all of his personal accomplishments. His partner in this venture, Dr. Donald Wardell, likewise is quiet about his accomplishments but is well know in the pool industry as well as the medical profession. It is Don's pursuit of excellence that models the story that Mark tells about his unique encounter with the Navy Seals. The combined efforts of these two have produced a pocket billiard book worthy of consideration for any pool aficionado.
Thank you Mark and Don for a fine book on pocket billiards that will provide me and many others with a lifetime of valuable information to learn from and to share with others.
JoeyA
). Those like elvicash who have read every pool book know that much of the material in this book is completely new and groundbreaking - it has never been done before. Neither Mark nor I care at all if anyone buys it; we just wanted to leave it as a legacy to his life's work and get it into the Library of Congress. I think it has done it fairly well. The info in the first 6 chapters is not really found in any pool book ever; and Part III on applying Navy Seal training principles to learning pool is also quite unique. His structured training regimen to teach YOURSELF to play at a high level is likewise unique.