An excellent book which is suitable for levels C-E (USCF). This book is extremely effective in the sense that the diagrams, exercises and examples of mistake are commonly seen in intermediate to expert level play. It is mentioned that upon mastering the material in this book one can assume to become a level A player. Level B would be more accurate.

This book uncovers a wealth of Soviet information concerning the last hours of Adolf Hitler and what happened to his body. Not only is good, convincing data provided but rare photos of Hitler's body but also even one of Blondi (Hitler's dog whom was a guinea pig in a cynide effectiveness experiment). The book's only drawback was the author's over-the-top Soviet disposition and inclinations. However, this book is well worth the time of those who are history buffs or those who just want to know exactly what happened in Hitler's bunker.

This is an obscure book, but Roman Pelts teaches chess concepts with flair. He briefly reviews subtleties in the rules and common chess nomenclature. Then he introduces openings, opening traps and common mistakes early on in the game. Other topics include tactical planning, skewers and mating combinations. There are plenty of homework exercises and tests that do an excellent job of reinforcing the concepts introduced in the chapters. The main advantage of this book is that it is written by a talented teacher (and chess player) rather than a reclusive master. Also, the layout is clear, making it easy to read. Overall an outstanding book.

This book is a collection of articles by Kasparov which were originally published as a series in a russian magazine in 1984. There are 24 chapters dealing with various practical aspects of chess, sort of a chess workshop. As Kasparov has not written much, this represents some of his highest quality literature. This is not the first book a beginner would buy, but rather a book an intermediate player would want to review various topics as a refresher.

This book is a good read if you are interested in the historical and cultural foundations of T'ai Chi. It suffers a little bit from bad editing (possibly done by a computer spellchecker?). The author shares his knowledge of T'ai Chi by way of explaining how deeply-held Chinese beliefs almost inevitably resulted in the art of playing T'ai Chi. I did not find it tedious at all. Most of the black and white figures were very helpful and well done, although one or two sequences (e.g. those showing a woman practicing "T'ai Chi Walking") were not as well explained as they might have been. This book would probably be less enjoyable for a reader who had no prior knowledge of T'ai Chi but regular Players will find it an interesting addition.

Arieh Lev Breslow presents a very academic study of Tai Chi Chuan and its cultural and historical roots. He is quite thourough in his detective work into the understanding of religious belief that influenced Tai Chi (in an information based manner), but so thourough that at a couple points it becomes a dry read (Hence the three stars instead of five). Stick with it though! After suffering through a couple sections of footnote after footnote Breslow brings it all back together in a manner that will excite the mind and reach the spirit. He does well to explain quotes of the Tai Chi Classics in modes that westerners will understand.

His observations of how to perform Tai Chi Chuan in the second half of the book serve to demonstrate the expert understanding that he has for this art form. This book is an excellent choice for anyone who really has interest in Chinese culture and an essential history for those who practice Tai Chi and are looking to go deeper.

Arieh Lev Breslow has been teaching T'ai Chi for over 20 years, the last 14 at the Jerusalem School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, which he founded in Israel. In Beyond The Closed Door he provides us a well documented and fascinating journey through 4500 years of Chinese culture leading to the creation of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. The amazing part is that he does it in less than 400 pages, using clear layman's terms, keeping you interested with every chapter.

Beyond The Closed Door is not a "how to do T'ai Chi" text. The book is divided into four main sections. Breslow begins with an overview of Chinese Culture showing the importance of the development of the concept of Yin and Yang. We are introduced to the familiar characters of Confucius, Lao Tzu and Chang Tzu and their ideas and influences. Breslow show us that many of the concepts of today's forms have roots deep within ancient Chinese culture.

From there we begin to understand the development of Chinese Religion and Philosophical thought. Influences of Confucianism and Buddhism along with the rise and fall of many political regimes all contribute to and draw upon Taoism - resulting in all three becoming the supporting legs of Chinese culture well into the 20th century.

The history of China is indeed a colorful one, full of traditions, science, religion, mystics and philosophy. But it is also one filled with violence, warfare, political strife and the rise and destruction of many empires. Breslow shows us in a clear and logical manner that thousands of years of this ebb and flow (dare I say Yin and Yang) of conflict gave rise to many well-developed concepts, past on master to student in the grandest of oral traditions. All of this history evolving finally, into the creation of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

T'ai Chi is much more than the forms many practice. Beyond The Closed Door opens up the world behind the forms. "To understand the origins and practice of T'ai Chi is to gain a profound insight into the culture from which it came." I found the book a captivating, fascinating, and accessible exploration of the wonderful view of the universe we know as T'ai Chi. I think you will enjoy it.

GM Lev Polugaevsky, twice a candidate for the world title in the 1970s, was considered perhaps the world's authority on a variation of the Sicilian called, not surprisingly, the Polugaevsky Variation. This book is literally a personal history on how the author developed and refined this variation. Originally published in 1977 and translated from the original Russian by Ken Neat, the Russian title should actually be translated as "Birth of a Variation" (Rozhdeniye Varianta). Exhaustively showing the reader how he researched the variation, Polugaevsky also treats the reader to how a hard-working Soviet chessplayer in the 1950s and 60s practiced his craft and how many other chessplayers contributed to the Variation by playing against Polugaevsky as he tried out various move trees. While it may seem extremely dry on casual reading, it becomes fascinating and absorbing if you take the time to follow the author as he navigates the Sicilian Defense, one of the more complex openings in chess. However, this is not the whole of the book. In other sections, Polugaevsky treats the reader to researches he did during adjourned games (a practice no longer acceptable since the advent of computers) as well as how he prepared to play many leading GMs and World Champions during his career.

In his introduction, GM Mikhail Tal wrote: "The book which you, dear reader, are about to open is rather different from a biography. It is not a ceremonial speech by a grandmaster, but an invitation to enter into the private study of one of strongest players in the world... In his material on this variation, the author does not give us the information that in such-and-such a game such-and-such was played, but instead creates something of a monograph-cum-biography. In it there is no mention of results in tournaments, but of searchings and disappointments, and of the paths to this or that idea."

It is unfortunate that the book is out-of-print. It is as original as Reti's "Modern Ideas in Chess", Nimzovich's "My System", and Vukovich's "Art of Attack". Not necessarily suitable for beginning players, dedicated intermediates (above say 1500) can get a lot out of it (I should know: I'm barely above 1500 myself). Polugaevsky also wrote "Grandmaster Performance", a collection of 64 of his best tournament games as well as a rigorous series of books on the Sicilian Defense itself.

Very difficult book, but worth the effort. If you think you are obsessed by chess, imagine spending a large chunk of your life trying to prove the validity of a single questionable variation of the Sicilian Defence! Worth the effort to read. Made with love.

This is a five-star book, and the other reviewer meant to give it 5. SO, this will help make up for that.

There is trouble in the State University of Michigan EAR (English, American Studies, and Rhetoric) department and Nick Hoffman, a non-tenured professor who always seems to find himself surrounded by murder, is in the middle of it. Someone is stalking him, everyone is upset about a new endowed chair, and murder is once again in the air.

Using a professor who teaches a class in mystery allows Lev Raphael (the author) to have Nick name-drop all of the latest mystery authors, along with Virginia Wolfe, Edith Warton, Dark Passages, and Titanic with equal humor. I found myself laughing out loud when Nick (after spending too long on Janet Evanovich) wondered if he should simplify his diet (his partner, Stephan set him straight--Stephanie Plum is no role model).

The academic setting is brutally realistic. Unlike business, the University really is a zero sum game and professors play to win--not that there is much joy even in the winning. Still, Nick keeps his sense of humor and deepens his relationships with Stephan, his cousin Sharon, and the strangely attractive Professor Juno Dromgoole (is there a certain Dickensian quality to Raphael's naming?).

There are no dead bodies until well into Lev Raphael's latest academia mystery, but you won't miss them at all as you are taken along for a ride through backstabbing murderous university scenery. This is Raphael's best yet, in his Nick Hoffman series. Nick's partner is suffering from midlist writer's angst; the English Department at the university has been invaded by a best-selling harridan; and Nick is (horrors) finding that he's attracted to, of all things, a woman. Spicing it up is the usual cast of outrageous professorial and administrative characters that Raphael does so well. Hang on to your funnybone and enjoy LITTLE MISS EVIL.

Anyone expecting standard, run-of-the-mill mystery will be disappointed in Lev Raphael's witty academic satires that go beyond the genre's tired conventions. Like Robert Barnard and other masters, his new book experiments with a late murder--though there's a parallel mystery from early on involving stalking. What a joy to see an author do something different than he did in his last book, where the murder took place in the opening chapter.

The writing is eloquent and funny, the characters unforgettable, and best of all, in this fourth Nick Hoffman mystery we see an unexpected mid-life crisis for Nick that will doubtless raise the ire of the Political Correctness Police who don't know how to read fiction. This is a novel, not an inspirational pamphlet. In its own way, LITTLE MISS EVIL is as daring as Binnie Kaufman's magnificent PURE POETRY.

Over four books of the series, we've seen the stresses and strains of a couple living together for 15 years: jealousy, career anxieties, a medical emergency and now something completely different. Bravo to Lev Raphael, whose collection DANCING ON TISHA B'AV broke new ground in 1990, for this finely inventive novel.

I selected this book because the TOC indicated that two pages were deveoted to each of the 40 priciples. This is because 2-3 diagrams take up one page and the second page is blank. The diagrams were not very effective at conveying the underlying priciple and most diagrams were a mediocre example of the application of the principle.

There is little information in this text on how to identify and develop the inherent contradiction that one is trying to solve. However, the contradiction matrix at the end is relatively easy to read when determining which priciples to apply to a problem.

I had hoped to buy a single book on TRIZ to get a better understanding of the theory and its application. This book was not sufficient for that purpose.

The famous Altshuller's inventive principles (1969) with funny illustrations. Semyon Savransky, The TRIZ Experts

Strongly recommend that everyone pursuing breakthroughs in thinking begin with a solid foundation of knowledge that can be gained from this book. Found the expression of the 40 principles to be the most easily understood yet of all the books on TRIZ.

I was disappointed with this book. I have read and loved the Nick and Stefan books, from "Let's Get Crimnial" forward.This is, in my opinion not nearly as good as "Little Miss Evil."Nick's infatuation with Juno Dromgoole is tedious.The satire of university life, while sadly accurate, is beginning to wear thin.As usual, though, the writing is beautiful.However, the plot is a bit weak, and the ending is vastly unsatisfying. Lev Raphael is a very, very good writer. If you have not read his collection of short stories, "Dancing on Tisha B'Av," do so, it is a treat. Also, his novel "Winter Eyes," is well worth reading. "Winter Eyes" is Stefan's back story, and is poweful and memorable in ways that "Burning Down The House" is not.Of course, one possible reason for this book is that Raphael may be taking Nick and Stefan in an unexpected direction with the next book, and he just needed to answer some questions, and ask others.

If you've followed this delightful, well-written, and moving series from the first book, you've watched Nick Hoffman grow progressively disillusioned with his academic home, though he loves teaching itself. The pettiness hasn't just been petty, it's been murderous, and the university he teaches at has become more and more of an autocracy.

Well, in BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE, the hard rain starts to fall and
Nick is caught in an academic riot--yes!--that is the wildest scene Raphael has ever written. It's as good as anything Jane Smiley or David Lodge has done in this vein.

Don't expect a paint-by-numbers mystery, and don't expect political correctness either. Nick enters uncharted territory in a number of surprising and exciting ways.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE is Lev Raphael's best book yet in the Nick Hoffman series. Unlike the previous Nick book which were called mysteries, the cover says "a Nick Hoffman novel." I think this is indicative of the direction the series is going and that certainly is not meant as a criticism. There is no murder, but there is attempted murder. The tone is darker than the others in the series as Nick continues in his sexual fascination with Juno Dromgoole which both intrigues and frightens him. But things on the SUM campus, especially in his department are becoming more and more bizarre with the launch of a campaign for "whiteness studies" and the diversity tree. To complicate matters, Juno has decided she is going to run for the chairmanship of EAR and wants Nick's help. A not very popular decision as at least two attempts are made on Juno's life and Nick is attacked on campus. As with life, there is no neat ending, but rather more self-awareness on Nick's part of how he is capable of reacting. It certainly leaves me eagerly....even anxiously awaiting the next book. The humor is here, but it seems more biting and certainly less tolerant of the fools that Nick encounters in the academic life. It is more like the campus (and the world) would be a better place without some of these bloomin' idiots. I would highly recommend BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE, but suggest that you read Lev's other books in order of publication. Another point about Lev's books. I've been becoming a little concerned that so many books, movies, tv shows, etc. are using only allusions to popular culture, doing away with those to classical literature, mythology, art, et al. Lev manages to bring both into his writing and that is a real bonus.

Nick Hoffman & his companion, Stefan Borowski, are academics at the State University of Michigan in Michiganopolis (read Michigan State University, East Lansing). They have some cool and far too many specious colleagues, and everybody gets caught up in the dreadful politics of academia. This series is funny & educational & interesting & thoroughly addictive. It may seem odd to compare a mystery writer to novelist Laurie Colwin, but fans of hers should check out Lev Raphael. His writing is in many ways reminiscent of hers & that's about the highest compliment I can pay any writer! THE EDITH WHARTON MURDERS, like Raphael's other two mysteries, is written intelligently, humorously, with a very good ear &, in this one, an all-too-accurate view of that bizarre phenomenon, the Academic Conference.

This book is so accomplished and outstanding, it's hard to know where to begin. Let's start by saying the New York Times Book Review was right in reviewing this book twice! Raphael is a fine literary writer (see his dark novel Winter Eyes, for example), but he's here mastered the art of academic satire and more than holds his own with David Lodge, Robert Barnard, Jane Smiley and Amanda Cross. It's a clever and compelling mystery, too, filled with extravagantly intriguing characters. There's a powerful depiction of a stable and loving relationship, and the book also offers wonderful social satire of the Edith Wharton boom of the 1990s. The prose is finely tuned, as you'd expect from this prize-winning author. Best of all, there is the witty,caring but put-upon voice of the narrator, Nick Hoffman, the embattled composition professor. In fact, there's so much here that less attentive readers may miss its wealth--so pour a glass of your favorite wine and read slowly! The Edith Wharton Murders is proof of what acclaimed mystery novelist Barbara D'Amato has said many times: we live in a great age of mystery writers.

What an utterly charming book! In THE EDITH WHARTON MURDERS, the second Nick Hoffman mystery, author Lev Raphael hits his stride--and it is something to behold. Witty, elegant and fun, this gay cosy (sub sub-genre?) details the murder and mayhem at an Edith Wharton conference hosted by SUM Lit professor, Nick Hoffman.

Elements that irked me in the self-conscious LET'S GET CRIMINAL, the first of this original series, are noticeably missing here. For example, main characters Nick and (particularly) Stefan are fleshed out and much more likeable (scatty, enthusiastic, emotional Nick is fast developing into a classic). Their relationship is explored, and I was relieved to see some fallout over the Perry Cross affair (no healthy person takes betrayal as meekly as Nick appeared to in LET'S GET CRIMINAL).

Raphael is refreshingly ruthless in targeting his murder victims from both old and new characters. He sets a lively pace and keeps his amusing cast dancing, while tantalyzing the reader with mouthwatering descriptions of good music, good food, good wine and clever conversation. And I think he makes a smart decision in keeping his mysteries non-gay specific. Nick and the reluctant Stefan are normal, attractive guys (who happen to be gay) caught up in the extraordinary occurrence of murder. It could happen to anyone--though probably not so entertainingly.

I can't wait to see what mischief Nick next gets himself--and the handsome and frequently disapproving Stefan--into.