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How to Master the Sport of Darts by George Silberzahn
Totem Pointe Books, Inc. of Columbia, MO, has recently published George Silberzahn’s
work How To Master The Sport of Darts. To dart players in the UK, George may not be well known, but in the USA he has carved out quite a reputation as the man whose mission in life is to teach everyone to play darts.
Born in Gibbstown, NJ, in September of 1938, George joined his first local dart
league in 1962. It was an American-style league of which he became president in 1965. The following year he joined the Mount Royal American dart team and later became the first President of the South Jersey English Dart League in 1972. Between 1971 to 1980 George’s employment changed to ‘field work’, during which time he travelled extensively to many cities and states which provided him with the opportunity to play darts all over.
By the time George ‘retired’ from darts in 1982, he had built up a reputation stateside
for championship darts shooting and in ‘retirement’ found that he had the ability to articulate what it takes to attain the skills necessary for
success in our sport. To this end, during the 1980s, George wrote two darts instruction manuals, Beginning the Game of Darts and Mastering the Game of Darts. Two decades later these formed the foundation of How
to Master the Sport of Darts.
Over the past thirty five years, there have been numerous darts books which pretend to
be tutorials. Some achieved their aim while others appeared to hinder rather than help.
In my view, George Silberzahn has gone beyond them all. Over and above the ‘mastering’ of darts, which this book achieves more than any volume that has gone before, more than half of the book is devoted to mini-biographies of nine US darting legends. Having by this time taught his readers to master the sport, star darters including Conrad Daniels, Bob Theide and Jerry Umberger talk about their careers in darts and provide a detailed insight into their individual game and the ups and downs of the world of professional darts in the USA.
The girls are not overlooked here as both Julie Nicoll-Jennings (Career base: Dayton,
OH) and Helen Scheerbaum (Career base: Philadelphia, PA) are included and recall the real experience of ‘just playing darts.’ But what makes the ‘legends’ section of
great interest to me as a Darts Historian is that I have never seen such detail about US darters in one place before, not even in US darts
publications. George is to be congratulated on – at least in part – filling this gap in reader’s knowledge of the ‘greats’ of the US game.
But, having said that, and while everything the novice and experienced player needs to
improve their game is within George’s work, I have a number of criticisms to make.
First, I was confused at times by the chapter order. For example, George gives a
listing of alternative dart games before the business of tutoring has been completed. Even the ‘Glossary of Terms,’ which is usually found at the back of dart
books, is placed between the chapter on ‘Other Games’ and that relating to ‘Stance, Grip, Aiming and Delivery’.
Second, while there is a lot of new material in this book, it is clear from the text
that George has lifted quite a lot of stuff from his earlier, smaller publications (now out of print). In doing so he has not - in my opinion - revised them
sufficiently to bring them up to date for 21st Century readers. For example, reference to feather flights being the ‘least problem flight to use,’ the ‘predominant
color of dart boards’ being black and the use of ‘he’ rather than the more gender-conscious ‘he or she’ indicate to me that George has concentrated on the new
material while not looking critically enough at the previous material he is using in the new work.
And third, the book lacks any diagrams or photographs which usually help the reader. However, these are all issues that might be addressed in a Second Edition.
Despite my criticisms of this work, I still highly recommend, in fact, I cannot
recommend it highly enough to all those who genuinely want to take darts seriously and learn what it really takes to be a champion. In my view, How To Master the Sport of Darts is a must have.
How to Master the Sport of Darts by George Silberzahn is available from Bull’s-Eye News, for $14.95 plus $5.95 for shipping and handling (up to 4 different or same books). Send check or money order to PO Box 321, Pickerington, OH 43147 or call 1.800.688.3278 to use your Mastercard or Visa to order your copy. Or, for faster service, simply click here to purchase your copy securely online!  >>" TITLE="Go >>>">
To the Point – The Story of Darts in America by Dan William Peek
It is always pleasing to hear that a darts book has gone into its second
printing and this is what has happened with Dan William Peek’s book on the history of darts in America which was originally published in 2001.
To the Point is a record of Dan’s trek across the States in search of the roots
and development of the sport. Along the way he manages to dispel one or two myths that plague the history of the game, including laying to rest the
‘fact’ that darts was brought to the US by the Pilgrim Fathers on The Mayflower.
I said it in 2001 and I’ll say it again, that anyone interested in this important
aspect of US sporting history should secure a copy as soon as they can. This is a unique work.
To The Point: The Story of Darts in America by Dan William Peek is also available from Bull’s-Eye News, for $19.95 plus $5.95 for shipping and
handling (up to 4 different or same books). Send check or money order to PO Box 321, Pickerington, OH 43147 or call 1.800.688.3278 to use your
Mastercard or Visa to order your copy. Or, for faster service, simply click here to purchase your copy securely online! 
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