What do you think?
Rate this book
Defend With Your Life
Excellent Book
150 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 1981
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 3, 2026
Terence Reese in Defend with your life argues that the way we've always done things is mostly just habit dressed up as wisdom. I felt like the case was strong in the first half and thinner in the second, where the examples start repeating. Still, it'll make you question stuff you've never thought twice about. Worth your time if you like books that poke at assumptions.
October 30, 2026
Not gonna lie, I thought I'd outgrown this kind of story, and Defend with your life proved me wrong. Reese, Terence takes familiar bones and puts real heart into them, no fluff, no cynicism. It won't blow your mind, but it'll warm your hands. Good for comfort readers, skip if you crave something edgy.
Read
February 14, 2012Terence Reese and Eddie Kantar wrote this book. One of their names tend to be missing from the authors' list, which I don't understand why.
Something about Terence Reese. He's the most beloved bridge author ever lived. I have been entertained and educated by his humorous yet penetrating bridge writings since when I was not really into this game. This book is one of the "dry" books he wrote, nonetheless a deep one.
The title makes total senses for someone who knows bridge. Typically, bridge play is divided into declarership and defense. This book is about the latter. Unlikely declaring, when defending you don't see anybody else' hand except yourself's. That makes the defense play hugely dependent on precise counting, good memorization, and thorough logic. Defense is the play with much less control of all hands, so it requires much more imagination. That's why it fascinates me.
Like any game, bridge mimics life. Every bridge game can be thought of as the first and the last one you've ever played. Losing is normal, just like winning. When you do the best you can to play the best defense possible, you are defending with your life - literally so in the world of bridge.
Unfortunately, Terence Reese was not able to defend his own bridge life. He was caught with cheating during the Buenos Aires affair in 1965 by the great American player Jay Becker. Since then he was banned from playing for Britain team and occupied himself completely with backgammon and authoring books - which is good news for bridge readers like myself.
Something about Terence Reese. He's the most beloved bridge author ever lived. I have been entertained and educated by his humorous yet penetrating bridge writings since when I was not really into this game. This book is one of the "dry" books he wrote, nonetheless a deep one.
The title makes total senses for someone who knows bridge. Typically, bridge play is divided into declarership and defense. This book is about the latter. Unlikely declaring, when defending you don't see anybody else' hand except yourself's. That makes the defense play hugely dependent on precise counting, good memorization, and thorough logic. Defense is the play with much less control of all hands, so it requires much more imagination. That's why it fascinates me.
Like any game, bridge mimics life. Every bridge game can be thought of as the first and the last one you've ever played. Losing is normal, just like winning. When you do the best you can to play the best defense possible, you are defending with your life - literally so in the world of bridge.
Unfortunately, Terence Reese was not able to defend his own bridge life. He was caught with cheating during the Buenos Aires affair in 1965 by the great American player Jay Becker. Since then he was banned from playing for Britain team and occupied himself completely with backgammon and authoring books - which is good news for bridge readers like myself.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews