Bridge's First Hippie

Fascinating autobiography of the controversial three-times world bridge champion who brought the sensibility and dress sense of 1960s San Francisco to the staid bridge scene. Peter Weichsel has won three world bridge championships, twenty-five North American titles and became a member of the Bridge Hall of Fame in 2004. He has been part of great teams (C.C. Wei's Precision Team in the 1970s, and the Aces later on), and has won everything it is possible to win in the game. But that's just his bridge career. This autobiography tells the story of the man behind those accomplishments. Weichsel has always marched to his own tune, from his Jewish immigrant years in New York to experiencing the 60s culture in San Francisco and living through periods as a sports betting baron, a pool shark, and even a mob hit target. There's great bridge in here, of course, and lots of it. This is a man who has spent almost 60 years playing with and against the best in the world, and he pulls no punches when it comes to partners and opponents -- or, indeed, his own failings. The chapter on cheating at bridge, at the very top levels, will be of particular interest in view of the upheaval in the world game that this problem continues to cause.