[EricK]

Is there a bidding book for beginners which comes close to this:

It gives a full, workable system - not too complicated, but as many sequences covered as possible; and it explains the logic behind the bids so the reader not only learns what to bid in a situation but why.

It seems to me that system books are aimed at people who already understand bidding somewhat; whereas beginners books leave so many sequences uncovered that players who are starting out are left floundering in even some relatively simple sequences.

[Flameous]

I think the problem in making such a book is that it would be so huge that is scares every beginner away.

The progress of learning natural system isn't about memorizing sequences but understanding the logic behind the whole structure, much as you requested. Thing is that you must start to see some sequences being alike instead of having them all written out for you, as you simply can't write them all out.

That said, no I don't know such a book.

I have written out _most_ sequences up to responders second bid for all openings of 1 of a suit without any logic behind them and it already takes over 20 pages.
Though once you read them all through, you start to see the logic except for a few special sequences.

[Zelandakh]

At least one of Culbertson's books (circa 1930s) matches this description and was very helpful to me when I was teaching myself how to play. The Acol "blue book" (circa 1970 but reprinted often) is not too far from this description either but contains far less. More modern books tend to have less beginner content of this type which reflects both a lower attention span and a lack of players taking up the game. Like Flameous, when I was learning I wrote out all sequences for Opener's rebids and most for Responder's rebids to get a feeling for the system(s) I was learning. I think it is right to learn the basic rules rather than trying to memorise such sequences but equally that concrete examples are very useful in seeing how those rules should be applied in practise.

[semeai]

I like Commonsense Bidding by Root for this purpose. It's a slightly older style of Standard American than SAYC, but well explained and thought out, with many more sequences defined.

It's not so relevant to your question, but: SAYC is a better gateway to current expert standard, but if you were to play SAYC with no bells and whistles (but more sequences defined than just those in the SAYC booklet, say) or the older SA style described in Commonsense Bidding, you'd probably do better to play the latter. Basically it skimps on invites when necessary (without using gadgets) instead of skimping on forcing bids, which better allows you to [learn how you would actually ever] bid a slam intelligently.

Probably there are some good recent books.

[blackshoe]

Truscott's The Bidding Dictionary lists pretty much all sequences for the first two rounds in an uncontested auction or the first round in a contested auction. It doesn't go into later bidding, and it's not a "lesson" book, it's just a list of sequences, describing the meaning of the last bid in the sequence, often with explanatory notes which may include alternative possibilities. It covers Standard American and 2/1 as of its publication date, which I think was in the early 1990s.

I suppose a lot depends on what system you plan to play, too.

[mycroft]

5 Weeks is the classic on this one. And it really does work - you walk out with a playable system, and you know *why* you're playing it. You can also take that knowledge of "how to think about system" and have a more modern system hang more cleanly and uptake quicker.

Now, finding a partner that still knows how to play it - can be an issue. Playing it enough that you can see why the newer decisions are made by most is still required :-).

[fuburules3]

I think Hardy's green book is very readable and covers most common sequences.