WILLIAM AUGUST

Mr. William J. August was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1926, and is of Palm Beach, Florida. He attended school until his enlistment in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his return, Mr. William August attended Cornell University, where he was first exposed to the game of bridge.

Mr. William J. August is a bridge teacher, bridge author, bridge columnist, certified bridge director and former bridge club owner. He was affiliated with the Goren International from 1962 to 1976, giving bridge lectures on ship cruises and teaching bridge classes for training bridge teachers. He was the author of several pamphlets on bidding and directing, teaching texts, and a duplicate bridge instructional club directors manual, articles for the International Bridge Press Association.

Mr. William J. August was the creator of the August Two-Diamond convention, now known more popularly as the Two-Way Stayman. He created also with Mr. Easley Blackwood the method of formulating the present day Mastepoint Awards.

He was the former President and Vice-President of the New England Bridge conference and also the Vice-President of the American Bridge Teachers Association. During the administration of Mr. Easley Blackwood, Mr. William J. August was a special consultant to the ACBL regarding club matters, membership and club, unit, and league relations.

Mr. William J. August has won many regional titles including Long Island Master Pairs in 1969, the Southeastern Open Teams in 1970, the New England Master Pairs in 1974, the Summer North American Bridge Championship Secondary Mens Swiss in 1990. He also won the North American Men's Team Championship at the Summer Nationals in 1990.

Mr. William J. August was chosen by Mr. Donald Trump to be the Bridge Pro at the prestigious Mar-A-Lago Club. Mr. William J. August earned Life Master bridge status in 1961. He has been the subject of a Sports Illustrated feature article, as well as the host of his own radio bridge talk show, We're Talking Bridge with Bill August. Mr. William J. August currently lives in the state of Florida, where he continues to play and write about the game he loves. Select: http://www.floridaunit128.org/.

His books include:

A Logical Approach To Standard Bidding: Course No. 2, A., 1974

Defensive Bidding: Part I. Why When And How To Overcall, 1992

Defensive Bidding: Part II. Why, When And How To Use The Take-Out Double, 1992

Defensive Bidding: Part III. Why When & How To Balance Or Re-Open The Bidding, 1993

Director's Set-Up Manual For Club Duplicates And Pair Game, 1973

Bridge: Light Up - Your Understanding of Bidding, c1995, Publisher: Rutledge Books, Bethel, Connecticut, ISBN: 0964393700, LC: 95069001; also 1995, Publisher: Netsource District Services, ISBN-10: 0964393700 and ISBN-13: 978-0964393707

We quote from the inside flap of his book: Bridge: Light Up Your Understanding of Bidding, by Mr. William J. August, is designed to appeal to the intellect of the individual bridge player, focusing on concepts which, when utilized in the correct fashion, will improve one's game tenfold. Understanding bidding and then doing it correctly will also increase a player's appreciation for the game of bridge itself.

Mr. William J. August approaches the bidding process in an organized fashion, providing easily understandable guidelines to follow, unlike many bridge books on the market, which tend to make bridge bidding complex. Mr. William J. August has gathered opinions and strategies from some of the best players in the world. This road map of sorts is not limited to one player's perspective, but the collective views of those who've been most successful over many years, whether in or out of competition.

Easy to understand, easy to follow, and cleverly illustrated and designed, this new "bible" of bridge bidding will allow players to move from their subtle and intellectual understanding of the game to actually putting these basic learned theories into play.

As a teacher and player of the highest repute, nothing would make Mr. William J. August happier than to see more players playing smarter bridge, and thus enjoying it more. His book is clearly written and divided into the various aspects of bidding, including the opening bid and the structure of responses. Also included are many subcategories that should compromise one's basic knowledge of bidding the game of bridge. When you employ the concepts and strategies, there is no doubt that not only will your game improve, or your money back, but your love and understanding for the "language" of bridge bidding will grow as well.