[amulet]

david,

i think your personal dislike is showing, in your discussion of writing standards is incorrect. i am qualified on a few subjects. backgammon that you mention is one of those subjects. others include, the motion picture business and the making of motion pictures, molecular biology particularly when it applies to certain types of cancer research, and big game fishing. i find that a great deal of what i read is either incorrect, poorly written, or both.

i will use backgammon as an example because many 2+2'ers play backgammon. bill robertie won 2 world championships, and decided to write about backgammon. many other expert players had also written backgammon books. what has made robertie's books so good is exactly what you mentioned "that you either be a superb practitioner of the subject and a very good thinker and explainer, or a very good practitioner and a superb thinker and explainer." in robertie's case he is a superb practitioner and an excellent explainer, but this is unusual. many of the other world class player's backgammon books were not good, and many of the other writers backgammon books were also not good. it is unusual to write excellent books. however, many of the non excellent books on a subject still are helpful. in a perfect world they might not exist. but they still educate the non expert. again, some of the information is not as good as would exist in the prefect world, but is helpful. here is an example from my recent past. i read a series of articles on marlin fishing by a poor writer, and an ok fishing captain. i discounted a great deal of what he wrote. but in these articles where a few interesting ideas. i then went to brazil to marlin fish, and on a slow day, tried one of his ideas. we tagged and released an 800lb plus marlin. over the next few weeks, we used this one idea to tag and release several other large marlin.

i think the feud between 2+2 and lee jones is useless, and now making you and mason look bad. i have no idea how it started, but i do know you that both of should stop continuing it. lee jones did not start this thread, and if you and mason were just correcting his ideas in the article, that would be ok. but you both clearly single out jones every chance you get, and you are both acting foolish.

harrington and robertie wrote 2 great books. i doubt anyone can affect the sales. and i really don't believe that was jones intention. he has praised their book on multiple occasions. you and mason need to see beyond your personal dislike.

furthermore, low limit hold em vol 3 is a decent book. a book that will help the players it was written for. i am not saying it is the best book for said players, but they will improve a lot.

two plus two clearly has the best poker books. the information in the 2+2 book is unrivaled. however, some of the writers are not great at clearly explaining what they are writing about. some are terrific at explaining. it varies considerably even within 2+2.

when i make a motion picture, i sometimes think, "this could make a superb picture", and i sometimes think "this is a good piece of business" - rarely do i think both about the same picture. and i never think "this could make a superb picture, but no one will go to see it". it is the same in most of the publishing world. i speak with editors and heads of major publishing houses daily. they are in business to make money. art and information have become secondary to commerce within the publishing business. 2 +2 is only slightly unique in that i assume mason has passed on books that did not meet his standers, but he thought would sell. mason is doing that to make money in the long term - because he is protecting the brand.

most of the poker books being published are pieces of business to the publisher; the editors and publishers have no real idea if they are good poker books. that is the country we live in. and low limit hold em vol 3, is far better them most of the books published on poker.

i apologize if the rambled. but i am on my way to the airport and therefore dictated this. i am tired of the venom that exists on 2+2 -- which should be a place to learn and share ideas. a friendly helpful place.

it would be nice to see you respond to more posts with your expertise.

(dictated but not read).