Shoulder the Sky, by George Leonard (McDowell, Obolensky, $4.50). Bitter at playing flight instructor during wartime, two young lieutenants, Holly Post and Gordon Latimer, turn Harper Field into a gridiron where combat is life’s goal. That neither can get overseas just intensifies their play for Marie, whose shifty emotional plunges actually carry the story. Holly, ex-football star, is in it strictly for the kicks and passes; only Gordon tackles her seriously. But in this game, there is no such thing as a fair catch; pictured ironically against efforts to land combat assignments, the scrimmage involving Marie and the lieutenants grows deadlier until one of them fails to walk away from a pile-up. When author Leonard is airborne, his style takes off and he really goes places. Otherwise, the book moves unevenly with rapid action and often fumbling dialogue. J. L. Weil
Poker for Fun and Profit, by Irwin Steig (McDowell, Obolensky, $2.95). To the pair you have (which should be Yardley’s The Education of a Poker Player and Oswald Jacoby on Poker) this new book is a winning draw. The aces you already hold are valuable for their treatment of the probabilities of card distribution, and, to a more limited extent, for their appraisal of player behavior. This third bullet, amusingly illustrated by cartoonist William Steig, analyzes table behavior and motives. The dealer illustrates player predictability by delving into the private lives and patterned poker responses of “Math,” “Gambler,” “Wad,” “Mouse,” “Dreamer,” “Bully,” “Ham,” “Pro” and others. If some of those faces show in your own mirror, this book can save you sucker bets. And if you recognize those faces on the other side of your table, you may start raking in the roodles. R. L. MacBride
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