Charles Roberts's contribution under the title of "The Complete Billiard Player" to Messrs. Methuen's "Complete" Series, is reminiscent in its size and scope of the fine volume entitled "Billiards" by Joseph Bennett (edited by "Cavendish") that was published by Thomas De La Rue & Co. in 1873. It is of the same large octavo size and runs to about the same goodly number of pages, say, 500. There have been numerous works on the game in recent years, but no more valuable addition to the library of the billiard lover or student has at any time been made than the impressive and fully-illustrated volume that is now asking for attention.
In the course of its thirty-four chapters "The Complete Billiard Player" (the price of which is 10s. 6d, net) contains 285 stroke diagrams and 27 photographs mainly illustrating the right and the wrong way of addressing one's-self to the strokes. Mr. Roberts is nothing if not practical, and his advice is uniformly good and sound. Here, for example, are a few pithy sentences selected out of many: Strokes are made by the feet almost as much as by the hand.
Billiards requires brains which may be useless elsewhere.
Don't grip the cue at all, not even a little.
Get opposite In rill your strokes, and hit the cue ball in the middle.
Thence the student is led pleasantly and informatively through half-ball play, forcing strokes, side, screwing, potting, cushion cannons, follow strokes, jennies, close cannons, masse and pique strokes, drag, strength, touch, baulks and baulk disturbance, besides being; initiated into top of the table play and scientific break-making.
Altogether it is a book that can hardly fail to rank as a billiard classic.