Author : Graham Frankel
Comments : A carefully crafted book with a serious look at the way the Game in the UK has been drifting over the last 50 years. Plenty of food for thought. There is no doubt that the other European Nations have been leaving us behind in the organisation and administration of our game and I suspect that there are many others like Graham who feel there is a need for change. A interesting take on the introduction of synthetic bat coverings over the last 70 years. All of course recognised by Ivor Montagu in his far sighted ‘problems of racket standardisation’ of 1959.
Author : Tom Lodziak
Comments : Tom describes himself as a decent amateur player, but there is little doubt that he is a very good coach, and the tactics and tips he teaches will help you to new heights. Some action photographs would be nice.
Author : Jeff Weston
Comments : An amusing book dedicated to the author’s three loves of Football, Boxing and Table Tennis, with about a third of the book taken up by each sport. The Table Tennis section covers the articles published in The Bolton News between 2013-2016 and has considerable interest to the Bolton TT fraternity, but to outsiders the interest is limited.
I do like the expression ‘Table Tennis Dens’, which sums up our local league venues most aptly.
Author : R. Fullen
Comments : I have finally found time to digest all 361 pages of this monumental work. I don’t think I have ever read a book that has made me stop and think so much, and so often. In my opinion it is probably the best ever for the advanced player or the good coach. Such issues as different play with the 40mm ball, different styles with the plastic ball, and different techniques with the women’s game, are all dealt with in detail. A great book – but I certainly would not recommend it for the beginner, (it might put them off for life). The fact that it is a series of articles, lectures, and seminars can make it heavy going in places, and the lack of progressive structure leads to some topics being covered on several occasions. Well done! What more could you ask for? A few action photos would be nice..
Author : Ian Marshall
Comments : Ian Marshall is a Table Tennis Coach of distinction, and the former school teacher changed his career to pursue his Table Tennis interest, and became a writer of great repute with the ITTF. Rozeanu was born in 1921 and this book is published to commemorate the 100 years since her birth and the story of almost certainly the greatest female player the game has ever produced, Rozeanu achieved her successes despite her difficulties with the restrictive Rumanian regime, and the discriminatory treatment she received because of her Jewish heritage. A fascinating read, Was this really happening only 70 years ago?
Author : Mateo Levi
Comments : One of those annoying little self published Amazon booklets. Selling price varies but if you are paying more than 25p you are being robbed. Absolute Junk.
Author : Larry Hodges
Comments : The Amazon website was a little vague as to who was the author of this book and having acquired a copy, I can see why. It is because the author’s name does not appear on front or rear covers, nor in the frontispiece. Neither does the date of publication appear anywhere. However by scouring the pages it is a simple enough matter to deduce that the author is Larry Hodges. The content of the book is helpful, thorough and interesting. Photographs are plentiful and useful, but perhaps a more modern cover photo could have been used, rather than the Gatien one of 25 years ago. I would have preferred the pages to have been numbered and although the ‘Table of Contents’ list shows a section ‘About the Author’, mine is missing. I enjoyed the book, but the lack of some of the finishing detail was a disappointment.
Author : William Rees
Comments : A very entertaining tale of the Authors’ belated return to the game he so enjoyed many years ago. However this time the author lives and plays in the South of France. A most amusing book describing the trials, tribulations, struggles, and limited successes of his game. What a shame the book only ran to 71 pages! I greatly enjoyed it. I hope there is more to come.
Author : Charles Cranel
Comments : The laminated cover photo has been used at least 3 times by 3 different authors. The author of this one suggests the rules of International competition say the ball ‘should be a high bouncing hollw celluloid ball’ ??? I would advocate that anyone buying a book on ‘How To Play’ should choose a book by a suitably qualified player or coach. I would certainly not recommend this book to any pupil of mine..
Author : Graham Frankel
Comments : Graham Frankel, who did a good job on his ‘Ping’ of 2020, reaches out with his first fictional account of a young lady he has called Kate Beavis. The book describes Kate’s development and the family issues and also the growth of the fictional Shawton TTC. I agree with the front cover description of ‘an inspiring Table Tennis Story’.The intriguing story is well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book does som e futuristic estimates of how our game will progress into standardisation of racquets, no coaching between games, professional players, amongst others. I wonder?? I remember the sadly missed Maurice Goldstein telling me in about 1980 ‘We should never have allowed the bloody sponge in the first place’. Things don’t always change for the better.