Well writen and easy to understand. Particularly for a novice at Mah-Jongg.

A good introduction to the game for beginners, with strategy advice that will be useful to more experienced players as well.

Whitney explains clearly and concisely, using easy to understand diagrams. She even manages to explain Mah Jong's rather complex scoring system, which can be a bit off-putting for beginners.

Her inclusion of the differences between Japanese and American rules is also quite helpful, although I've found that as with any game, some of the rules and terminology vary from region to region.

All in all a good book for those looking to begin playing Mah Jong, particularly those in Japan or with Japanese friends.

The Mah Jong Handbook presents an amazingly clear method for approaching the game. The book is easy-to-read, but deals with every aspect of the game in detail.

To get the most out of the book, I recommend taking the time to work through the example exercises yourself (before going on to the analysis discussion.) Once you've gone through the book this way, you'll pretty much know everything that an expert player knows. The only thing left is to get in enough playing time to put the theory into practice.

In addition to the game aspects, the book discusses the accompanying rituals and etiquette, as well as many variations on the rules.