Soltis provides a crisp and lively narrative which ripples outward from the book’s strict subject matter on occasion to consider, for example, the career and fate of Paul Morphy. There is a generous selection of games, full tournament crosstables and some interesting statistics (e.g. Fine has one of the highest winning percentages in the championship with 78%, despite never having won it; for comparison: Fischer has the highest with 83.3%).
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Wojo’s Weapons, Volume 3 Winning with White by Jonathan Hilton and Dean Ippolito
All these openings are covered in the book, which is another solid contribution by Dean Ippolito and Jonathan Hilton. As before, they combine detailed analysis of Wojtkiewicz’s chosen lines with instructive discussions of the underlying strategic ideas.
A review of Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna by Emmanuel Neiman
The strengths of the book include the freshly minted examples of classical tactical themes (virtually all games date from 2011 and 2012) and the systematic approach overall, as regards both the tactics and Neiman’s account of the thinking process (combinational vision, calculation, evaluation).
A review of Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara
The theme that unknown and uncontrollable forces beyond and within oneself determine one’s fate is typical of the “naturalist” school of writers. Among the famous naturalist writers are Emile Zola, Thomas Hardy and Jack London, who show people as biological entities who respond to environmental forces and internal stresses that they do not fully understand and cannot control. O’Hara differs from these earlier naturalist novelists in that he lacks their social conscience, and focuses upon the wealthy, rather than the poor, but his “naturalism” is demonstrated by his blunt style and frank, brutal depiction of human interactions.
A review of The War of the Roses – The Children by Warren Adler
As always in a Warren Adler book, the writing goes down like a cool mint frappe, smooth and delectable. Mr. Adler’s dialog is natural and on target, and progressive scenes draw the reader forward in a rush to reach resolution. His characters come alive on the page and reveal human foibles.
A review of The God Argument by A C Grayling
The book is lucid, easy-to-read, and illuminating, even for those who already define themselves as secular humanists. However, at times, despite the warmth and underlying sense of humour that pervades the book, there’s a kind of knowing superiority that can be a little hard to give into wholeheartedly.
A review of The Tao of Walt Whitman by Connie Shaw and Ike Allen
he week by week guide allows the reader to follow in the steps of the author with a daily look at some new topic or experience. The poetry selected by the author helps to build an appreciation of the many ideas considered by Walt Whitman, looking at snippets from his overall work may allow poets to appreciate how thoughtful he was and seek to follow in his steps.
A review of Kama Sutra: New Translation by A.N.D. Haksar
Overall, this new Kama Sutra edition is readable for most audiences. It offers ways that men and women can appreciate each other at all aspects in life.
A review of Pearl by R. Lee Salkind Meliment
She was always a writer first and foremost. She kept a diary from a very early age. One of Pearl’s favourite pastimes was to sit down and write about her experiences and feelings. Some of her journal entries are contained in the book.
A review of The Consummate Traitor by Bonnie Toews
The knowledge that this author has firsthand experience of wartime journalism comes as no surprise when reading this engrossing book. With her thorough research and attention to historical detail, I felt as if I was taking a peep into hitherto hidden war files, rather than reading a work of fiction.