Your favourite books (not only poker)

[punter11235]

Hello !

I am going to buy some books. Some missing from my poker library, some chess books , some books about other games...
I wonder if there is a book which you really can recommend, which you are real happy to read and you were simply delighted by.
Areas that interested me :
-gambling , poker
-games (chess, go , backgammon, other "classical" games)
-computer programming
-stockmarket, also currency market (forex etc)
-psychology (also sociology)
-mathematic
-philosophy

THanks for suggestions

[Jordan Olsommer]

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-computer programming

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"Code" (Microsoft Press, forget the author's name) is an excellent introduction

"Hackers" by Steven Levy is a must read if you're at all interested in the history, or just for profiles of some pretty bad-ass guys. (There's a book called "Out of their minds" in the same vein, but I think the only way you can get it is used on amazon)

And if you have done some programming and want to get much better at it, Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming" series is an absolute must.

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-stockmarket, also currency market (forex etc)

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"One up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch
"A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market" by John Allen Paulos
"Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb

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-psychology (also sociology)

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"Phantoms in the Brain" by VS Ramachandran (quite possibly the single greatest book I've ever read; if you for whatever reason decide to pick one book from this list to read, I'd make it this one).
"A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness" by VS Ramachandran
"The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks
'How We Know What Isn't So" by Thomas Gilovich

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-mathematic

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"Innumeracy" and "Beyond Numeracy" by John Allen Paulos are great books esp. if you want a readable introduction to a broad range of advanced mathematical concepts
"The Art and Craft of Problem Solving" by Paul Zeitz (good book, but more of a textbook)

pretty much anything by W.W. Sawyer

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-philosophy

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"The Stoic Art of Living" by Tom Morris
"If Aristotle Ran General Motors" by Tom Morris
"The Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu (my personal favorite translation is by Stephen Mitchell)
"The History of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell
"The Passions" by Robert C. Solomon (if you've ever seen the movie "waking life", you might remember him as the professor giving the miniature lecture on existentialism at the beginning)


Those are some books that I've really enjoyed over the years; perhaps you will enjoy them as well.

[gila]

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-philosophy

THanks for suggestions

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"Basic Writings" and "Poetry, Language, Thought" - Heidegger
"Ich und Du" and "Eclipse of God" - Martin Buber
"Religion and Nothingness" - Keiji Nishitani
"An Inquiry Into the Good" - Kitaro Nishida
"The Meditations" - Marcus Aurelius

[punter11235]

THanks for great replys. I will definitely buy some of those ( a few Ive already read or skim through).
I will buy some of these based on other internet reviews.

Everyone must read George Orwell's "1984" and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World". Don't bother with "Brave New World Revisited" though.

[raisins]

One of my favorite books is about the life and work of conceptual artist Robert Irwin. The book is mostly about art and an artist who is looking to go beyond the pictorial. He is very interested in the nature of perception so there is material in there that touches on psychology and philosophy. Robert Irwin also supported himself for a good portion of his life by playing the horses and there is a chapter with his thoughts on gambling that is probably the most interesting writing I've ever come across on gambling, not that it will necessarily improve your game but his take is unique.

I second the recommendation for Fooled by Randomness. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is probably known to you but it must be mentioned. The Market Wizards series is good reading as well.

The Crowd and Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds are both (mass) psychology books that are also about the market. For straight psychology I would read Uncommon Therapy which is about Milton Erickson. I think hypnosis is an important and perhaps understated phenomenon in psychology. Two good books on it are Therapeutic Trances by Stephen Gilligan and Trancework by Michael Yapko.

You know who the mainstays in philosophy are. My advice is to read the ones who are good writers (Plato, Nietzsche) and get the rest through commentaries. Bernard Williams is a modern philosopher who is a good writer and stands outside of the recent stream of literary criticism / post-modernism. The article on him in Wikipedia is pretty good and will let you know if you would be interested in him. Another article that gives a good presentation of him is his obituary by the classicist Martha Nussbaum; it is available on the web. For philosophy more in the sense of "worldly wisdom" here are some authors: Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Heraclitus, Lao Tsu (I agree with the Stephen Mitchell translation recommendation), Baltasar Gracian, Francois de la Rochefoucauld.

For math, I haven't read it yet but I've heard some good things about Who is Foruier?

For backgammon you know about Magriel and Robertie. In a recent thread Robertie recommended Classic Backgammon Revisited by Bagai to me. Some day I'll have the opportunity to get into it.

That enough books?

regards,

raisins

[punter11235]

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That enough books?


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Yes. Thanks guys for great responses. I wont buy all these at once but I have a nice little list for following months /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Jonas Wa]

Add a good math book:
Principles of Mathematical Analysis (Walter Rudin)

[maurile]

[ QUOTE ]
"Phantoms in the Brain" by VS Ramachandran (quite possibly the single greatest book I've ever read; if you for whatever reason decide to pick one book from this list to read, I'd make it this one).

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I second this. I absolutely couldn't put this book down. It's full of fascinating stuff.

[Kama45]

Are there punters in other sports other than American football?

[punter11235]

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Are there punters in other sports other than American football?

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Main Entry: punt·er
Pronunciation: 'p&n-t&r
Function: noun
: one that punts : as a chiefly British : a person who gambles ; especially : one who bets against a bookmaker b : one who uses a punt in boating c : one who punts a ball

If you ask about c) there are probably not any other sports. But of course there are many in a) sense.

Best wishes

[Kama45]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are there punters in other sports other than American football?

[/ QUOTE ]

Main Entry: punt·er
Pronunciation: 'p&n-t&r
Function: noun
: one that punts : as a chiefly British : a person who gambles ; especially : one who bets against a bookmaker b : one who uses a punt in boating c : one who punts a ball

If you ask about c) there are probably not any other sports. But of course there are many in a) sense.

Best wishes

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Touche. I learn something new everyday! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[King Yao]

gambling: sports betting

Sharp Sports Gambling by Stanford Wong

It's not a 'how to handicap' book, but it has a bunch of useful tools for the sophisticated bettor. Don't read it if you are a beginner bettor, it won't help as much.

Disclosure: Stanford Wong is the publisher of my book.

[chopchoi]

Just read Schopenhauer's Prize Essay on Freedom of the Will.
It's an interesting subject, and he presents his points far more lucidly than any other writer I have come accross, although, IMHO, he screws it up at the end.

[gildwulf]

Philosophy- The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt. It does a good job of explaining why laboring (not 'work', 'labor') at McDonalds is so unfulfilling:P

The Extended Phenotype
Richard Dawkins
if you find this to deep, try Selfish Gene, then go on to the former.

[paulish]

- gambling , poker:
The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0486285979/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/002-0037956-2294422?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books) by S.W.Erdnase, 1902.
Increasing your EV by cheating.
The Card Counters Guide to Casino Surveillance (http://conjelco.com/bj.html) by D.V.Cellini, 2003.
Cheating won't do you any good if you get caught.
Motto: If you try and don't succeed, cheat. Repeat until caught. Then lie.

- chess:
Englund-Gambit (https://www.schachversand.de/e/detail/buecher/89.html) by Stefan Bücker, 1988.
I actually have signed version of this book. Although I don't play much chess now, I still only have one response to 1.d4; 1...e5!
1.d4 e5! 2.de Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7!
a) 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2
a1) 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Rb1 Qa3 8.Rb3 Qa5 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Qc5 unclear (NCO)
a2) 6.Bc3?? Bb4 7.Qd2 Bxc3 8.Qxc3 Qc1#
b) 4.Qd5 f6! 5. ef Nxf6 6.Qb3 d5 7.Bf4 Bd7! 8.Qxb7 Rxb8 9.Qxc7 Qb4+ 10.Nd2 Qxb2 11.Rxb1 Qxb1+! 12.Nxb1 Rxb1+ 13.Kd2 Ne4+ 14.Kd3 15.Nxf2+ +-

- philosophy:
On Bullshit (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0691122946/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/002-0037956-2294422?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books) by Harry G. Frankfurt, 2005.

[punter11235]

[ QUOTE ]
The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation by S.W.Erdnase, 1902.
Increasing your EV by cheating.

The Card Counters Guide to Casino Surveillance by D.V.Cellini, 2003.


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It must be interesting but its not exactly my area of interest.


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Englund-Gambit by Stefan Bücker, 1988.

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I was competetive player and I still play some chess. This book is not for competetive players... (cause 1..e5 ? is very weak move at that level)

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On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt, 2005.

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Seems interesting...

Thanks for suggestions /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Malone Brown]

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On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt, 2005.

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Seems interesting...

Thanks for suggestions /images/graemlins/wink.gif

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It's not

[ghcnoob]

For chess Reassess your Chess by Jeremy Silman or The Amateur's Mind by Silman are brilliant. He is funny and highly instructional. Chess to Enjoy by Soltis has some interesting curiosities, like a Mate in 256 (it really works!) Though that is in descriptive notation.

[paulish]

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Englund-Gambit by Stefan Bücker, 1988.

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I was competetive player and I still play some chess. This book is not for competetive players... (cause 1..e5 ? is very weak move at that level)

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well, I won't say that any of the gambits I play are sound. But there are some high rated players who use these funky openings regularly. You gain alot by taking your opponent out of their book-lines; here is an example;

Me vs. David Smerdon (2327) IM
Simultaneous Match, Brisbane 2001
1.e4 e6 2.b3!? d5 3.Bb2 de 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Qd4 6.0-0-0 Nc6 7.f3 ef 8.Nxf3 Qb4 9.Nb5 Bd6 10.Ba3 Qa5 11.Bxd6 cd 12.Nxd6+ Kf8 13.Kb2 Bd7 14.Nxb7 +/-

I have been in contact with people on the net, who have made sickening long analysis of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?

You don't want to face these guys in a live game.

My personal rep, consisted of the following;
1.e4 c5 2.b4 (Sicilian Wing Gambit)
1.e4 e6 2.b3 (Reti Variation/Papa Gambit)
1.e4 d6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 (Fantasy Variation)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 ed 3.c3 dc 4.Bc4 (Danish Gambit)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 (Elephant Gambit)
1.d4 e5 (Englund)

Not sound, but practical. put some preassure on your opponent, and he will make mistakes.

[oreogod]

reading Rise and Fall of the Third Reich right now along w/ Inside the 3rd Reich Memoirs by Albert Speer. Great stuff.

Downloaded the movie Downfall about the last days of WWII from the Nazi/Hitlers pov. Great movie, so I thought Id read some history.

[SNOWBALL138]

Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe
Faust by Goethe
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels
Are You My Mother? by Eastman
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Mother Courage by Bertholt Brecht
Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky
The Social Contract by Rousseau
The Republic by Plato
The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner


None of my favorite books are poker books.

[gila]

"Hymns and Fragments" Friedrich Holderlin
"Book of Hours" Rainer Maria Rilke

[SNOWBALL138]

Rilke is great. Did you like Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge?
Reading his works with the knowledge that his parents wanted a girl and his mom made him wear dresses is an eye opener.

[Leavenfish]

Chess: The King by Jan Donner (a great collection of Donners best essays...for about a year I refused to read the last 20 or so pages because...it would then be over and I could not bear the thought)

Poker: Gambling Theory and Other Topics by someone named Malmuth.

And overall: The Importance and Consumption of Bread and Wheat Based Products by Angus P. Littleworth; 1849

---Leavenfish