FITTINGLY and reciprocally enough, it is a Yale coach who has published the first book of import on the principles of squash since Harry Cowles' tabloid text, "The Art of Squash Racquets". Formerly assistant coach at Princeton, John Skillman is not only an expert teacher at the game, but also an active and expert player. In the past four years he has won the national professional championship twice, and was a tenacious runner-up in the other two.

Skillman's "Squash Racquets" fills a much neglected and scantily treated hole in the squash-player's library. To the beginner there is no comparison in the superiority of his 190-page book over that of Harry Cowles' compressed volume. Skillman proceeds at leisure over the same ground which the "Art of Squash Racquets" tries to cover in 88 pages. He is more precise in his instructions. For example: instead of merely telling the novice always to return to the center of the court, he shows him exactly where his feet should be while waiting at the center. At the back of his book he includes the United States Playing Rules which are of inestimable benefit to the beginner who usually plays half a year or so in a blue haze of the right and wrong in squash racquets regulations.

To the advanced player Skillman adds little and contradicts little of the Cowles System. All the fundamentals are present in both treatments, the only outstanding difference being their appraisals of the relative merits of the corner and drop shots. Skillman believes in frequent use of the corner shot from a variety of angles, while Harry Cowles prefers the drop shot, resorting to the corner only indifferently.

In summing up John Skillman's "Squash Racquets", next to the contents of the book itself, perhaps the most important item is the arrangement and method of teaching in the volume. The whole work is thoroughly outlined in the simplest fashion. It is written in a form which is easy to memorize and understand. In my experience, it is the very best book on squash racquets in the field.