@Cynique, my cousin self-published this book a couple of years ago.  I was updating her profile and this book made me think of you, for what I hope are obvious reasons. My cousin has a Ph.D. in computational linguistics, and has published several book since she retired.

This is certainly a subject that is near and dear to my heart, Troy. I love Bridge which is very much the game of choice of many people in my age bracket, especially those who attended college because Bridge had always been popular on campuses up until it was displaced, starting around the '60s by the influx of the Bid Whist and Spade generation and then eventually the video gamers. I play it mainly on-line now because I don't get out and about much any more. Because Bridge is now accessible on line, more and more young people are discovering this fascinating challenging game, and taking it up.

Chicago has a fairly active community of Bridge players, mostly retirees and since they are organized, I'm assuming they are members of national Bridge groups.

 

Yeah I have to believe they are part of the larger Bridge organization.  I read the book years ago, so I don't remember.

My first exposure to the game of Bridge was on television sitcoms, it was a game white women, played while their husbands were at work.  I've never seen anyone play the game and I have no idea what the rules are, though I seem to recall someone telling me it being similar to bid whist.

I grew up playing spades. I'm not even sure when I learned to play. The game is so very simple, almost on the level of playing "I Declare War."  The real fun comes from the trash talking. It is also a game anyone can pick up, you can play it inebriated, and it does not require too much concentration.  I played spades for the first time in a long time and we had a ball.  

It sounds like Bridge requires a lot more thought than Spades, maybe not on the order of Chess, but certainly more than Spades.  Spades, an interesting name for the game considering who plays it