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36th out of 39 books
—
7 voters
Theory & Practice of Gamesmanship
For any gameplayer, here's a book that focuses on the subject of gamesmanship as a civilized art as old as the competitive spirit in man. Stephen Potter points out "the true Gamesman is always the Good Sportman".
Paperback, 125 pages
Published
January 1st 2010
by Moyer Bell
(first published 1947)
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This was on my dad's bookshelf when I was a kid, but I didn't discover it until late in high school. If Monty Python were to trace the roots of their art, they end up here. Potter is a brilliant, dry wit, and understatedly so. This is the only book I know where the text reads itself in a British accent.
Potter teaches the sometimes-subtle art of "one-upmanship", expanding on a philosophy dedicated to winning in sport and applying it to life at large. In one thousand years, Potter's The Theory and
...more
Stephen Potter was all the rage in the late 1950s, and there was a film based on his books starring Terry Thomas. Leslie Philips and co. They are all about how to manipulate people and put them down. I thought the book a bit too small-minded, sadistic and sour for my taste. Machiavelli rewritten for the golf club. Indeed, the makers of the film seem to have shared my opinion, coming off the manipulation at the end in favour of such values as generosity, honesty etc, just so the film could have a...more
An idea that I'm surprised hasn't been imitated more: a satire masquerading as a self-help manual. While pretending to instruct you in the various tricks you can use to make your opponents feel uncomfortable, Potter takes generally quite successful pot-shots at all sorts of targets. The most obvious one is, of course, the ridiculous lengths people will go to in order to win games, but there are few aspects of British society that escape unscathed. He's completely deadpan throughout; in fact, whe...more
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While his subsequent books didn't delight me as much as this one, Gamesmanship is a hilarious send up of British theories of sports. Or something. It's not like I know great examples of the thing he's spoofing, but he's so good at it. The "Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating" doesn't begin to get at the various methods--and the absolutely delightful names of said methods--for getting into your opponents head. Light, and oh, so much fun. Loved it.
Sharks don't learn the art of eating smaller fish by reading a book like this. But, the gamesman is a shark that should read this one. There are two reasons for this. First, reading it will give the gamesman an opportunity to look at himself and laugh. Second, it contains a few comments that may benefit the gamesman. For example, a footnote buried at the bottom of one page reminds the gamesman that love is more important than gamesmanship. Also, appendix IV reminds the gamesman to enjoy his food...more
Dec 31, 2009
Valerie
added it
I encountered this book in my mid-teens, when I haunted the library in order to avoid bullying (by faculty mostly) at school. I thought it quite funny, but I fear some people have taken it all too seriously.
Dated and extremely British but sprinkled with a few chuckles and laughs. Interesting to see the evolution of some of these topics and how they have been reused through the years by other authors.
Sep 04, 2011
Amol Gupta
marked it as to-read
"Choti Si Baat" a very light bollywood movie is inspired "indirectly" from works of Stephen Potter.
Short, sweet, and to the point.
In a 1920's British cheater kinda way.
In a 1920's British cheater kinda way.
I didn't find this one quite as funny as the other Stephen Potter books.
Sep 02, 2007
Brother Grimley
added it
One of the greatest and funniest books ever written by an Englishman.
A fun little book about how to game the system.
May 22, 2013
Dalmar Namazi
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May 08, 2013
Rythm
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Apr 29, 2013
Diogo Silva
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Apr 28, 2013
Joe Perschy
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Apr 23, 2013
Jim Dyer
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Apr 02, 2013
Matt
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Mar 19, 2013
Bosa Mora
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Mar 10, 2013
John Petrie
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Mar 09, 2013
Wendy Clark
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Mar 01, 2013
Maya Tateyama
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Jan 15, 2013
Matthew Kyawmyint
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Jan 11, 2013
Suzanne
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Jan 07, 2013
David Mcaughtry
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