The Theory & Practice of Gamesmanship: or The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating - Hardcover

Stephen Potter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1909653144 ISBN 13: 9781909653146

Publisher: Elliott & Thompson, 2013

Synopsis

There have been many books written on games, play and the right tactics. This is different. Gamesmanship is the art of winning. When playing sports or games, there are times when even the best of us can find ourselves up against superior opponents, with little hope of winning while playing within the spirit of the game. Gamesmanship is the practice of resorting to sly tactics that, while of course remaining well within the rules, might be considered a little underhand. Stephen Potter's classic manual is a hilarious look at the ways of disrupting an opponent's rhythm, from throwaway remarks to put them off to using body language to induce overconfidence. His tongue-in-cheek humour sublimely straight-faced, Potter gives examples of successful gamesmanship, which continues to be practised by sportsmen around the world. The ultimate in polite psychological warfare, Gamesmanship will appeal strongly to any sportsman open to bending the rules - without actually breaking them - in pursuit of victory, and is a timeless comedy of English manners.

About this title

Review:

"Potter's book is a classic." -- Barry Fantoni, The Oldie

"Book fetishists will delight in an elegant new hardback edition of Stephen Potter's Gamesmanship, which reads as beautifully as it always did." --Marcus Berkmann, The Spectator (best funny books for Christmas)

About the Author:

Stephen Potter (1900-1969) was an academic, producer and author, best known for his classic The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship and series of sequels. He taught at Birkbeck College, before joining the BBC as a writer/producer in 1937. After the Second World War, Potter became a freelance writer and wrote the series of bestselling books which made his name. He lived in Aldeborough, Sussex, and was good friends with Benjamin Britten. He died of pneumonia in 1969.

About this edition

• Publisher: Elliott & Thompson
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1909653144
• ISBN 13: 9781909653146
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128