In the most literal sense, Bataille's writings are personal: the narrations (pornography, poems), philosophical discourses (Inner Experience, On Nietzsche) and interpretations (book review, art criticism) he put forward are originated from his intense desire to appropriate life's meaning/mystery. Interspersed over the pages in present Reader are principal leitmotivs of Bataille: laughter, death, chance, gift, transgressions etc. In these texts we shall never encounter the stiff coldness common to certain analytical philosophers. Bataille uplifts us from solid ground and force us to head for the furthest in our intellectual reserch. Sometimes, if not always, reading Bataille could be an unbearbale experience. Passages from "Madame Edwarda" in this Reader can be served as a test for your tolerance. To me it is the most important theological investigation ever written by Bataille - the prostitute as incarnation of divinity. After reading this text may be you would agree with Sartre in calling Bataille a "New Mystic". This Bataille Reader is indeed an ideal 'book of initiation' to Bataille - the most inspiring French thinker born a hundred and three years ago.
Afterall, I'm happy to place this excellent compendium next to the 12 yellow bricks (the French Gallimard edition of Oeuvres completes looks like bricks) already lying on my shelf.
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The difficulty seems to be around 1300-1700. There is a book by Lein (Sharpen Your Tactics) which has about the same range, but it gets progressively harder through the book. If you like to have a range of puzzles in one sitting--some warm-ups, some thinkers, and a couple of really tough ones--Reinfeld's book seems to fit the bill.
I would rather have the puzzles grouped according to difficultly, but I suppose that Reinfeld's grouping lets you gauge your own skill level more accurately.
These are combinations mainly, not checkmate puzzles. Reinfeld's How to Checkmate would be a good companion. And if you can find it (OOP) Chernev and Reinfeld's "Winning Chess" is, in my opinion, the very best way to learn the types of combinations to look for. (Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics and Znosko's Art of Chess Combination are also good for that, though the latter is quite a bit more advanced.)
This book is nothing but diagrams for drilling. No explanations. And no hints! That's closer to real conditions than some puzzle books are. And as the puzzles are from real games, they are of course realistic, not contrived compositions.
The diagrams are very clear, not old-style--maybe a bit small, but only because the book's dimensions are small. At the bottom of the page is a little comment about the game, usually revealing nothing about the solution. This really does make each puzzle more interesting. The answers, at the end of each 20-puzzle section, are described in words as well as in algebraic notation, and that helps to make the book less dry as well.
New algebraic edition, thankfully. A 5-star book for the money.
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The strategies are practical, not deep. The games were carefully selected to illuminate basic principles. These are not "brilliancies" with sudden, crushing defeats based on deeply analyzed tactics. These show one player making stronger moves than his opponent -- stronger, but still understandable. I think the author has done a good job with his selection.
Each section does have about 2 pages of text describing the principles, but it's mainly a book to be used with a chess board. Play the moves and read the author's comments. Sometimes he points out the tactical threats (which are obvious to an advanced player) and that's where a board is useful.
I would recommend this book instead of Chernev's "Logical Chess Move by Move", unless you are truly a beginner (adult) hoping to get a feel for the drama in the struggles on the chessboard. (Chernev's book has far more diagrams per game too.) It is as instructive as Bronstein's highly praised annotations of the Zurich International, but at a much lower level.
USCF 1400-1700 rating.
4 stars as an inexpensive and comprehensibly annotated collection of elucidating games. But if you're on a budget, skip this book and buy one of Reinfeld's puzzle books.
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The book has a nice set-up as the pinups are printed nicely with good color reproduction. I use them as reference for painting nose art on A-2 flight jackets and the quality really allows me to get some really nice detail for my purposes.
At $10 it is worth getting but I would also recommend VARGA by Robothman which is a lot bigger format so it really allows you to fully appreciate the art with the bigger format. Also, check out THE GREAT AMERICAN PIN-UP as that has a lot of pin-up artists represented and shows the rich history of Pin-Up art
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The book is only 76 pages and, as a Dover publication, costs about a dollar. I give one of these away to every friend and acquaintance I teach chess to, and so far I've always been thanked for it. Of course, I also keep one for myself, to help me remember the important points of endgames and what terms like "fianchetto" mean. Fred Wilson covers a great range of beginning chess topics in a very small and inexpensive volume. There's no reason not to buy a copy or two.