Trying to Find "The Go Companion"

Hello folks!

I’m trying to find a copy of “The Go Companion” by John Fairbairn and T. Mark Hall.

The book was published by Slate & Shell in 2009. It was favorably reviewed by the British Go Assoc. However, Slate & Shell doesn’t seem to be publishing it anymore. Furthermore, there are no copies on Amazon. Most interestingly of all, a search on WorldCat for libraries comes up with a single copy world-wide in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in the Netherlands.

Has anyone read the book here and would anyone have any thoughts as to where I could find a copy?

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Evanston Go club returns a Google search hit, I’m sorry but that’s all I can find.

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Thanks, Gia. I saw Evanston, too. They have it as part of their lending library. The issue there, of course, is that they’re in Chicago and I’m in Boston. :smiley:

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Have you tried asking on the https://lifein19x19.com forum?

It seems that at least one of the authors, John Fairbairn, is quite active on that site.

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I’ve tried to find this specific book myself and came up empty handed, although didn’t post on L19. But previous discussions there greatly overstated how easy it is to find many books, so it’s frustrating. I assume it’s more difficult than just emailing a manuscript to SmartGo but I wish more old books were available digitally at least… insert the futurama take my money meme

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I don’t think you will find it easily. These out of print books become almost impossible to find. Even books printed after The Go Companion.

But you are in luck. Fairbairn has “The Incident Room” for sale on Amazon. It is a collection of short articles covering the history of rule conflicts and various game incidents. And then there is also the old GoGoD encyclopaedia which is full of historical stories and more “modern” (2000s) articles on Go.

Other news for fans of out of print books – the much requested Kamakura is back in print in a new format (Amazon print on demand).

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Thanks Yebeliz. Didn’t know about lifein19x19.

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I saw “The Incident Room” on Amazon, yes, and put it on my wish list.

It does look like the best shot for material like what is in “The Go Companion” may well be the GoGoD CD, yes.

It’s not the go companion book, but if you like John and T Mark’s writings on miscellaneous topics you’ll like his coffee break series GoGoD Coffee [or Tea] Break Games Index • Life In 19x19

Our just browse John’s posts there. He posts a lot, though takes breaks when he gets disappointed with the lack of activity. So go post there and you’ll get more from him!

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My goodness, it’s the same continent, the same country even :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

<jk ofc>

Maybe you could ask whether they’d lend AND send via snail mail?

I’ve been reading through the GoGoD Encyclopedia here and there and keeping a list of my favorite articles. I made a post on L19x19 but I’ll copy my notes here. See if this interests you and if it does pick up the GoGoD Encyclopedia. I recommend:

-Ishida Yoshio’s tribute to Kato Masao (…/TBase/Players/KatoByIshida.htm). A nice story from his long friend. Comes with 2 game commentaries.
-HASHIMOTO UTARO - His first visit to China… (…/TBase/Players/HashimotoInCn.htm). Just an interesting story. But I was already interested in Hashimoto.
–New in Go 21. Genan’s Supernova - beginning of the endgame (…/NewInGo/Shukai_1.htm). I enjoyed the history. I didn’t study the problems.
–New In Go 52 CSI Go Board was a neat test.
–News In Go 59 Goldilocks and the Three Ladders. This is silly but I like the story. Got wild at the end.
–New In Go 72 Fujisawa Hideyuki
–“Go under sentence of death” – I read this article first and it was more lighthearted than the one below. It tells of how Go was played by prisoners before they were tried with war crimes. Apparently one of them had a board at home that was retrieved upon approval of the Allied commander. This story of how the top Ministers and Officers were Go players reminded me of older Japanese history when monks and generals were avid players of Go. Maybe there is something to Go philosophy applying more broadly. This article mentions how Segoe Kensaku taught the prisoners. Segoe comes up in the next story.
–“Go in wartime Japan - and the Atom Bomb game” – this is a good long article (about a short-flight long). Reading the part about the school kids, including Segoe’s sons, returning home from the city hideously injured or half dead really got to me. Maybe this is too relevant today. Other stories in the artcle were less horrific and more thrilling. Like Segoe, Hashimoto, and Go Seigen dodging submarine and Kitani dropping a 4-man machine gun. There’s also a lot about Iwamoto in here. I’d put this as my top favorite article for now.

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My favorite bookseller, ABE books, only has " Go Consultants: Suzuki Tamejiro and Segoe Kensaku Against Kitani Minoru and Go Seigen", by Fairbairn, John; Hall, T. Mark, Published by Slate & Shell, Richmond, VA, 2009. It is $125.

I think it’s a different book… OP is looking for “The Go Companion

edit: oops misread you, didn’t see “only has”… fwiw SmartGo books has Go Consultants in digital form for less than $125

Thanks, @cdavis.7m! I’m highly considering the GoGoD Encyclopedia. There are dated articles in it, but you’ll find that anywhere, I think, and in general GoGoD has a rather good reputation.

Thanks for giving me some details!

I did come across

and remembered this thread. I’ve ordered things from go spiele, books, stones, sets, and was happy.

I presume it’s in stock?

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Hebsacker (that site) is fine, but your link does not work for me, and searching there for “companion” finds nothing. Perhaps it is only sporadically available, perhaps one can arrange to be notified of availability.

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