next pool book choice

I'm just curious about what people like more about Byrne's book over Capelle's? Phil's books generally get very good reviews, however, I've never read a book from Byrne's, so I can't speak to his information or writing style.
 
I suggest you read it and see for yourself. A small monitary investment that is well worth it.

Steve
 
pooltchr said:
I suggest you read it and see for yourself. A small monitary investment that is well worth it.

Steve
Click to expand...
Steve, which Byrne Book? There are at least two that I know about. Would it depend on my skill level? If so, I am a skill level 5 in APA.
 
DrGonzo said:
I'm just curious about what people like more about Byrne's book over Capelle's? Phil's books generally get very good reviews, however, I've never read a book from Byrne's, so I can't speak to his information or writing style.
Click to expand...
Byrne has information that other authors don't cover. He was trained as an engineer and became an editor and then a professional writer. His writing style is compact and frequently amusing. He takes care to be sure that what he writes is true. His first book includes a section on carom billiards that is the most complete introduction to the game available in English.

Capelle covers his subjects very thoroughly -- I would describe them as standard stuff in depth. I think he is now full time writing about and teaching pool. I particularly like his "Capelle on 9 Ball" that came with a video of a match between Archer and Reyes that Capelle analyzes in detail. I find his writing style quite verbose.

As far as which to get, I would also recommend Byrne's "New Standard Book..." first, but I think anyone who wants to become a student of the game should get all three instructional books by Byrne plus his book on trick shots plus "McGoorty," along with all the books by Capelle, Fels, Martin, Mosconi and Alciatore. I would suggest that they skim each of the books and then go back to specific sections as their games improve and they start to really need the knowledge.

In all cases, I think the student needs to be prepared to encounter information that is not quite right. Sometimes it is the student who misreads what's written and sometimes the author's just plain wrong. Often the student simply needs to get better before what the author said is true. The student needs to keep asking, "Is this true for my game?"
 
The perfect response....

Pooltchr...to show why people shouldn't ask questions.Asking a question about what makes one teaching book better than another should not be answered with "Just read it and find out for yourself." To me, someone who is fairly new to the game, this makes you look petty, and hurts the sport.

Edit: Thank you Bob...
 
I'm sorry you feel I was being petty. The OP asked for opinions on which of the two books would be the better choice, and you can see that at least 3 instructors all agreed that Byrne would be the one.
Byrne really set the bar pretty high with his books, and not too many pool books have reached that level, in my opinion.
I think that most players who read Bryne's book would probably end up agreeing.

Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top