How on earth can this, one of the best chess books ever written, be out of print? It is the very best way to learn basic chess tactics; it is wonderfully well-written and so economical. If you love chess and don't have this book, you are missing out on something spectacular.

This book, Winning Chess, is an incredible book. It has changed my chess forever. I am probably a "D" class player, but maybe I'm approaching "C" level status, thanks to this gem.
This book explains tactics in such a way that no other I've come across does. Most of the examples are based on the exchange of pieces, and just how powerful the exchange in chess can be. In particular it explains the following concept, which is little known to most amateurs: if you, the attacking player, attack one of his pieces once, and his piece is defended once, then under normal circumstances this situation is uneventful and static. . . but if you initiate the exchange, you take, then he retakes, then that one piece of his that WAS defending a minute ago, is now the OCCUPANT of that square, and it itself is now undefended! In other words, you forced him to replace a defended piece with an undefended piece!. . . via an exchange! You capture. . . then he recaptures. . . and now that square, where this action took place, is undefended. Anyway, this book shows you how to initiate and exploit this technique. . . more importantly, this book shows you how to PREPARE, in advance, to exploit this exchange. A simple example of this is diagram 42A (I realize you probably don't have the book yet!). . . the black knight is defended by the black queen. . . so if white captures the knight, black will recapture, which is normally no big deal. . . . but when white does indeed capture the knight, he forces black to give up a defended piece (the knight) and replace it with an undefended piece (the queen). . . which white was ready to exploit, in this case, with a knight fork.

There are many more examples of this type of thinking. . . again, all in all, this is probably the best book on tactics for the average amateur. . . you can get it ...on the internet. Also, another simple-to-understand book on tactics that focuses on the concept of exhanging and substituting the undefended piece for the defended piece, is Bill Robertie's Winning Chess Tactics. You might want to read Robertie's book first, to get an introduction to this wonderful concept. . . then dive in to Winning Chess. You'll savor the anticipation in the process! Have fun!

I read this book in college over 30 years ago. I still recall its simple, direct message: Most chess games are won by the use of the double attack, the concentrated attack, the uncovered attack and the skewer, according to the authors. The book helps you learn to spot chances to exploit these tactics.

This is a truly great book. By providing a detailed account of the major 'purge' of Cuba's intellectuals in the 1990s, the author examines and analyses the delicate and intricate relations between the apparatus and the island's renowned intelligentsia. Some issues (often taboo even for Western academics) are approached very directly and very balancedly, such as the blurred border-lines between research and espionage, and the relations between genuine intellectuals and Cuba's repressive apparatus - indeed, the same apparatus that occasionally purges them. The arguments contained in this book derive from genuine evidence of crucial importance, namely those would-be classified documents, which somehow leaked out of Cuba in 1998 and were published by the author, causing great embarrassment by the Cuban Government, and an uproar among intellectuals, artists and others. Over 100 pages of those documents are contained in the book itself. Altogether, this is excellent reading. It is extremely central to the study and knowledge of today's Cuba.

An absolute must for anyone studying Cuba or communism in general. This book provides a fascinating account of the unknown secret struggles within Cuba's political élites. Thanks to classified documents he was able to obtain, this author - a young and promising Oxford and Cambridge graduate - puts us into the picture of the delicate and intricate power games at the regime's peaks. Thrilling throughout all its pages, and very easy to read.

In this book, Maurizio Giuliano has been able to collect material which may otherwise have been destroyed, on the secret tensions and divergencies among Cuba's political élites. It is the first time that this type of documents are published, enabling scholars and others to know more on this delicate issue. The stories of repression against Cuba's dissidents are no news, but the repression and internal purges within the élites are something very different, which can indeed tell us a lot about the prospects for change in Cuba 'from within'. This book therefore does a marvelous job. It constitutes an extremely valuable source, as well as fascinating reading with extremely astute intepretations and observations.

This McManus book is one of his classic mixtures of stories about growing up poor in Blight, Idaho (really he grew up in the Idaho panhandle around Sandpoint, I believe) plus hunting and fishing stories. As always with McManus books, the book will leave you "splitting a gut" from all the laughter.
Highly recommended.

If you've read anything by Pat and laughed and would like a book or another book, trust me when I say that you'll like this. It's just more of the same kind of thing, Rancid and Crazy Eddie and Pat running around scaring his friend's Grandma. You can't read it or rememeber it without laughing or smiling, unless you're dead in which case you have no business having the nerve of reading or remembering anything. Trust me, there's nobody better than Pat out of all the humorist authors. Even Daniel Steele. You'll love it if you love anything he's done.

The book is a composite of stories of his childhood and adolescent years. He grew up in the boonies in an old run down shack. As a child he spent most of his time outside. He tells stories of tying his best friends brother up and locking him in the basement. He also gives pionters on taking fish hooks out of a buddys' ear. The book has a plot in every story; with 26 stories there are lots of plots to get burried in. The theme is pretty much the same throught out the book; Life is good if you have the right perception. I thought the book was hysterical. I actualy read the whole book. My parents almost got a divorce, because my dad would shake the room. He was laughing so hard. The book really reminded me of when I grew up; my friends and I were always outside raising cane. The way Patrick tells the story is like a joke, he lets your mind wonder before telling what happens. His choice of words really catch you, words like gunkholing or podner. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Patrick really knows how to make people laugh.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare edited by David Bevington

Bevington's edition of Shakespeare's plays is a popular choice, and not without good reason. But that doesn't make an ideal choice. The introduction to this one volume edition is ample with chapters on life in Shakespeare's England, the drama before Shakespeare, Shakespeare's life and work. These are good, but they tend to rely on older scholarship and they may not be current. For example Bevington repeats Hinman's claim that there were 1200 copies of the 1623 Folio printed. However later scholars think the number was quite a bit lower, around 750. It should be said that we don't know for sure how many copies of the 1623 folio were printed and either number could be correct.

Bevington's edition prints the plays by genre. We get a section of Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, Romances and the Poems. He puts "Troilus and Cressida" with the comedies, though we know the play was slated to appear with the tragedies in the 1623 folio. The play was never meant to appear with the comedies, and all the surviving Folios that have the play have it at the beginning of the tragedies.

Let's get down to brass tacks. You are not going to buy an edition of Shakespeare's works because of good introduction. You're going to buy one because the quality of the editing of the plays. Is it reliable? Is it accurate? For the most part this edition is reliable and accurate, but that does not mean it is accurate and reliable in every instance.

Modernized editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems are norm. Since the 18th century (and even before) editors of Shakespeare have modernized and regularized Shakespeare's plays and poems. There are good reasons for this modernization. There is the reader's ease of use and the correcting misprints and mislination. I have no problem with this regularization of spelling or punctuation. But when an editor goes beyond normalizing and modernizing--when an editor interferes with the text then I have a problem.

Let me give two examples of the editorial interference that I am writing about:

King Lear 2-1-14 (p. 1184)
Bevington has:
Edmund
The Duke be here tonight? The better! Best!
This weaves itself perforce into my business.

The Folio has:
Bast. The Duke be here to night? The better best,
This weaues it selfe perforce into my businesse,

Even allowences made for modernization of punctuation and grammar would not account for Bevington's "The better! Best." Bevington glosses this to mean "so much the better; in fact the best that could happen." Nice try, but "The better best" of the folio is a double comparative, (which is a regular feature of Early Modern English) and not two separate adjectival phrases. Interestingly, the Quarto printing of Lear prints this scene in prose, and there is no punctuation between "better" and "best" in that version either.

A few lines down Lear 2-1-19 Edmund continues
Bevington has:
Brother, a word. Descend. Brother, I say!
Enter Edgar

But Bevington has reversed the order. The Folio has:
Enter Edgar.
Brother, a word, discend; Brother I say,

Bevington does not say why he changed the order, though to be fair other modern editors have done the same thing.

These two changes just a few lines apart go beyond regularization or modernization. They interfere with the text as presented in the 1623 Folio. And Bevington does not explain the changes. So next time you pick up this or any other modernized edition you should ask yourself "am I really sure what I'm reading is what Shakespeare wrote?"

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. Updated Fourth Edition. Edited by David Bevington. 2000 pp. New York : Longman, 1997. ISBN 0-321-01254-2 (hbk.)

As complete Shakespeares go, the Bevington would seem have everything. Its book-length Introduction covers Life in Shakespeare's England; The Drama Before Shakespeare; London Theaters and Dramatic Companies; Shakespeare's Life and Work; Shakespeare's Language : His Development as Poet and Dramatist; Edition and Editors of Shakespeare; Shakespeare Criticism.

The texts follow in groups : Comedies; Histories; Tragedies; Romances (including 'The Two Noble Kinsmen'); Poems. Each play is given a separate Introduction adequate to the needs of a beginner, and the excellent and helpful brief notes at the bottom of each page, besides explaining individual words and lines, provide stage directions to help readers visualize the plays.

One extremely useful feature of the layout is that instead of being given the usual style of line numbering - 10, 20, 30, etc. - numbers occur _only_ at the end of lines which have been given footnotes - e.g., 9, 12, 16, 18, 32. Why no-one seems to have thought of doing this before I don't know, but it's a wonderful innovation that does away entirely with the tedious and time-wasting hassle of line counting, and the equally time-wasting frustration of searching through footnotes only to find that no note exists. If the line has a note you will know at once, and the notes are easy for the eye to locate as the keywords preceeding notes are in bold type.

The book - which is rounded out with three Appendices, a Royal Genealogy of England, Maps, Bibliography, Suggestions for Reading and Research, Textual Notes, Glossary of common words, and Index - also includes a 16-page section of striking color photographs.

The book is excellently printed in a semi-bold font that is exceptionally sharp, clear, and easy to read despite the show-through of its thin paper. It is a large heavy volume of full quarto size, stitched so that it opens flat, and bound, not with cloth, but with a soft decorative paper which wears out quickly at the edges and corners.

If it had been printed on a slightly better paper and bound in cloth, the Bevington would have been perfect. As it is, it's a fine piece of book-making nevertheless, and has been edited in such a way as to make the reading of Shakespeare as hassle-free and enjoyable an experience as possible. Strongly recommended for students and the general reader.

Last year for Christmas I asked my parents for some William Shakespeare's plays.Boy was I suprised!Not only does it have all of the plays,but also his Sonats,poems,and illistrations.Despite the fact that it's a large valuem and will need quite a bit off book space from you're self.You wont regret getting it.You will never need to get another book on William Shakespeare's plays and everything else ever again.It also has a list of dictonary for understanding the words better.

It's easy, I suppose, to knock 'The New Yorker' as effete and self-satisfied. Certainly its left-wing bias looks a bit strange surrounded by all those ads for expensive imported whisky and porcelain figures. This book demonstrates, however, that for seventy-five years the magazine has been turning out splendid profiles of a very disparate group of people. And, what's even more important, they're written so beautifully. Even an oddball piece like Ian Frazier's 'Nobody Better, Better than Nobody' is lucid and full of fine sentences. Every one of the profiles in this book has something to recommend it. You needn't admire or be familiar with the subject of the profile. I harbour an intense dislike for Roseanne Barr, for example, but John Lahr's profile of her had me enthralled; and I enjoyed Roger Angell's piece on Steve Blatt, despite my never having seen a baseball game. David Remnick states in his introduction that he gave pride of place to Joseph Mitchell's 'Mister Hunter's Grave', and that's understandable: it's a masterpiece. But Richard Preston's long story about the Chudnovsky brothers and their search for pi, or Mark Singer's tale of the amazing sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay, would distinguish any anthology. I think that Remnick could easily compile another volume as strong, and I hope he does so in the future -- he should include something by himself next time.

You have heard of the obnoxious person who, upon meeting a biographer who has given up the last 25 years of his life to write the definitive biography of say Queen Elizabeth II, asks, "Now tell me, what's she REALLY like??" Friends, I am that person, which is one reason I always find New Yorker Profiles an unalloyed delight. Rightly or wrongly, I always believe I am getting the real insider stuff.

David Remnick makes thoughtful selections in this anthology. He has covered a time period from the '30s to the present, some very famous people and some you have never heard of, and the same is true for the authors of the Profiles. I fully intended to make a leisurely tour through the book, picking and choosing a Profile here and there for a short read. Once I read the very first one, Joe Mitchell's "Mr. Hunter's Grave," I was hooked and read the whole book from start to finish. So much for leisurely reading!

It is hopeless to attempt to select a favorite; all have their own merits. I was particularly fascinated by Truman Capote's insightful piece on Marlon Brando. Capote's flamboyant personality frequently overshadows his tremendous skills as an interpretive writer. Jean Acocella's study of Mikhail Baryshnikov is an excellent in-depth study of both the man and the artist. John Lahr's Profile on Roseanne is almost scary (or at least Roseanne is!) Joe Mitchell's, "Mr. Hunter's Grave" is so beautifully rendered you can understand why The New Yorker never took him off salary even after Joe suffered the granddaddy of all writer's blocks; he didn't submit an article for fourteen years! The New Yorker always said Joe had a "work in progress."

"Life Stories" is worth it at twice the price. Some of these profiles are unobtainable (unless you have a roomful of old New Yorkers). This is a book you will go back to again and again.

Anyone who has ever read Joseph Mitchell's fascinating profile "Joe Gould's Secret" (now a book and a movie) knows what the New Yorker does with "Profiles". If you haven't read Mitchell, here's your chance, plus an unbelievable collection of life rendered beyond simple biography by a stable of superb writers. It's a must for any serious reader !

I am currently on game 30 out of 33 in this book, and am rated around 1300 USCF. This is the now my favorite chess book of all time. The book has really taught me that every move in a game is important. Now when I make a move I am thinking to myself "what is the purpose of this move" and asking what my opponents moves accomplish.

Previously I was not a big fan of chess books, and preferred using software or videos. But this book presents the material in a really exciting way. The author shows no arrogance and does not use examples from his own games (even Yasser Seriwan can't resist a "watch how I saw this 30 move combination and used it to defeat silly Karpov!") that are more about ego gratification than teaching. Additionally the book is well edited, and I only found one small mistake.

Some people might not like the style of how ideas are repeated over and over, like explaining the first moves the Queens Gambit again and again. At first I did not either, but now I realize after reading 90% of the book that it really helped the ideas to sink in, and now I can use these ideas in my play.

... Some people might be able to read the book without setting up pieces, but I was not able to do this and fully understand all of the variations and ideas. There are quite a lot of diagrams though.

I recently acquired this hard to find gem that is one of the most popular chess books ever written in my opinion. Chernev is GREAT at explaining the process one move at a time. I have played many years, and have read many books. This one has the gift of teaching. Many others just go through specific games, and you still can't play well after reading them. The step by step process leads to deeper understandings of the game. I especially like the commentary that begins in detail from the very first move. the obvious comment about the need for controlling the center squares was unnecessary All chess players know that! A minor point. His teaching takes you through the process of learning the depth of a game and why certain moves are important, why a certain piece is critical to move at a certain time. The simple advice of "develop all your pieces before starting any combinations" is one gem. He gave me a fresh way of looking at the game. I recommend a strong buy here! A must have for serious players wanting to improve their game.

As a fairly new chess player, I searched out books that would give me sound insights into the fundamentals of the game. By far, this book surpassed my expectations. The author walks us through each move of 33 different games played between 1895 and the 1950s, and explains the step-by-step logic employed in these matches. Very clearly written, this book was a joy to read and showed me just how much I don't know about chess. Now, I'm fired up to delve more deeply into the strategic principles of the game. Ideal for beginners who are serious about improving their overall technique.

The Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh...in his 100 Acre Wood Eden...are celebrations of friendship and loyalty. Maurice Sendak's WHERE the WILD THINGS Are, startlingly glimpses into fun; adventure and beckoning unknown dangers inhabiting the seemingly guileless imagination of children. THE VELVETEEN RABBIT might be thought to complement these major modern works of CHILDREN MYTHOLOGY. "How Toys become Real..." is subtitle and theme of this superbly crafted fable about LOVE: its promise; pain and overwhemling power to miraculously transform. Like all great fairy-tales, cuentoes and parables, the story is Once-upon-a-Time simple. It can be read to any child over three, and read by any child eight or older(3.5 g/e). It is told from point of view of a "really splendid, fat and bunchy Velveteen Rabbit...with coat spotted brown and white...real thread whiskers...and ears lined with pink sateen." The toy rabbit "quests" the love of his playmate master(BOY)that can...according to Mentor and friend THE SKIN HORSE...grant REALITY.
"When a child loves you for a long, long time...not just to play with...but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL."

Adorning this story is the wonderous art of illustrator Donna Green. In this 1995/98 edition, the "picture book" is illuminated with beautiful oil, acrylic, and lush pastel paintings that glow, and shimmer Life-like and LOVE-like. It is beautiful art work intrinsically conveying Margery Williams' mythical message to the young and young-at heart. (10 Stars)

Daughter Anna (now 19 years old) loved this book. It was her favorite above all others. As we sorted through some old kid things for give-away purposes, we stumbled upon this old, well worn copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She insisted we keep the book for HER children.

This was her book that Mama (me!) had to read to her again and again and again. As soon as the last word was read on the last page, it was "Mama, please read it again!"

(how I miss those days, by the way!)

The book also has a powerful message about Love that children understand and cherish.

This is a wonderful book. No child should be without their own copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit."

This is a heartwarming story about a toy rabbit filled with sawdust that wants to be real. He realizes what the meaning of "real" is when his owner, a young boy, gives him the answer for which he searches. My wife bought this book for me last month. I missed it as a child. I've learned the lesson in this book in traditional ways, by trial and error. I would have loved to have this treasure as a child and thank my beautiful wife, Lori, for giving it to me, now. Only real love has any meaning or longevity, at all. I ask you readers to not pass up this gem of a book. It is a must for children and adults alike.

I have a friend who's never been hunting, has fished, I think, exactly once in his life, and who has nonetheless gleefully read every book McManus has ever written. He gave me a McManus book for my birthday over twenty years ago, and I've been a devoted fan ever since.

McManus has a way of painting a verbal picture that manages to stretch the bounds of good taste without ever quite going beyond them. More than one of his stories has conjoured up an image I don't think I'll ever get out of my head- and that still makes me laugh today.

Buy this book. Buy *any* McManus book. They're all hilarious.

I just started this book. I like to read every evening, just after I go to bed in order to help myself fall asleep. This book is my "anti-routine." It makes me laugh so hard, I can scarcely finish a paragraph. Tears are running down my cheeks, the bed is shaking for all its worth, and going to sleep is the last thing I can do. Patrick F. McManus has a masterpiece with these oh-so-funny accounts of his outdoor experiences. Read it yourself, and weep!

The first time I ever read a McManus story was at Girl Scout camp 4 years ago. My group was on an overnight away from camp, and we had the absolute worst time imaginable. Sleeping in a poisen oak bed, mosquitoes the size of bats, and, to top it off, a fire that would be accurately described as an "inferno" to cook our food with. As it so happens, the first story I was to read of Pat's was the story of the "smudge" and "inferno"(I snuck the book from the unknowing counselor). Coincidence? I think not. Read this book, and I guarantee you, you will be stock-piling Patrick McManus' books faster than you can say "Gee, isn't that, um, funny! The sun is rising in the West now, guys, hehe."

Easily one of the best books ever written. This is one of the first books I purchased over 30 years ago. I am sure it helped start me on the road to Chess Mastery.

Chernev, like Reinfeld, did NOT write chess books to impress other Chess Masters. He wrote books simply and with great care. He also put his tremendous love of the game into this book.

I simply cannot convey what a wonderful book this is. This book will especially appeal to the average player, especially someone who wants to improve his game.

I usually don't rave about books. This is an exception.

Here is what I say about this book on my web site:
<< The next book is by Irving Chernev. I met this man several times, and he had a real love for the game that few players today demonstrate. He would look at games by the hour with anyone. I personally believe Chernev was at least IM strength. (I believe he played in several U.S. Championships.) The book is:
"The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played."
[62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy.]
It contains 62 true masterpieces of chess by various different players. (Masters such as Fischer, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tal, etc. Plus many more of the all-time greats!!) Each game is carefully and lovingly annotated. This book had a tremendous impact on me and the way that I viewed and looked at chess.
{I studied it many, many, many times.}

Chernev provides games with an almost blow-by-blow commentary. His ideas are simple, fresh, insightful, and expressed with great clarity. He explains all the basic ideas of the game in a manner that ANY chess-player can follow. The variations are perfect. Not too much to overload the senses. I have had players who were almost beginners to players who were accomplished tournament players ... tell me that they profited from a careful study of this book. I think one should study this book, as I did. Every time your rating goes up 100 points, you should work your way through this book from cover to cover! You won't regret it and you definitely will improve!

Another unique thing is he finds one idea or theme in each game,
and just hammers away at it. It is a VERY good study method.

It also contains some of the classics of Chess, and Chernev brings you a fresh insight and analysis to each game. (Indeed - his comments and analysis may differ greatly from the ones that may have been published in the {chess} press when the game was first played.) Chernev was one of the greatest all-time teachers and writers in the chess field. This book is a true pearl!!! I think it belongs in the library of every real chess aficionado. >>

I also rate this in, "The Ten Best Chess Books Ever Written." Need I say more?

This is a great book of 62 games that are highly instructive in all aspects of the game, but in particular strategy.
The games are played by some of the best players in history;
Botvinnik, Capablanca, Lasker, Rubenstein, Fischer. Just to name a few. Each Game is an instructive and entertaining masterpiece that will enlighten any player. Each time you read it you learn and understand more and more about the game of chess. This book however is not for the rank beginner. Perhaps it is best to consider it the sequal to the author's great book "Logical Chess: Move By Move".

This book is great. Get it. Read it. Enjoy it. You won't regret it.

This book, along with Chernev's "Logical Chess Move by Move" is clearly the authors Magnum Opus.

The book features 62 chapters (i.e. games) played by the "older masters" like Tarrasch, Lasker, Capablanca, Rubenstein, Fischer(I know - not that old), Botvinnik, Nimzowitsch, Petrosian, etc. etc.

The games are dissected at a level comfortable for club level players. Each game focuses on a theme (i.e outpost, weak square, bishop pair, rook ending, Occupation of 7th rank, isolated pawn, etc.

I highly recommend this book (along with the other book mentioned) to anyone rated between 1100 - 1600. I can think of few other titles that will return as much value for the modest time investment to read them!

Chernev has an infectious love for the game of chess paralleled by few (if any) chess writers, past or present. He was probably around International Master Playing strength. Each game hammers on one particular positional theme. This book is incredibly instructive.

I loved the book and if your thinking about buying it go for it.However if you haven't read Bunnicula and Howliday Inn your really missing out on some great books and you should get those too!

Bunnicula is a vampire bunny and he is on the loose. The Monroes, the family who owns Bunnicula, really don't have a clue about his escape. Bunnicula's pals Harold, Chester, and Howie are there to track him down in order to stop disaster. Chester has a theory that if Bunnicula bites the vegetables in everyone's garden they will turn into vampire vegetables and then attack the town. The message to the readers relays that ones mind can jump to many conclusions from the simple to the bazaar. Chester's idea of what may happen is defiantly leaning towards the bazaar. I like Celery Stalks at Midnight because the author told the story using animals which creates a hilarious picture in my mind.I recommend this book to all ages because of the animals and the mysterious happenings.

This is the best Bunnicula book written. I have read the whole series and this is the best!