false 204180 7 <p> In the summer of 1972, with a presidential crisis stirring in the United States and the cold war at a pivotal point, two men -- the Soviet world chess champion Boris Spassky and his American challenger Bobby Fischer -- met in the most notorious chess match of all time. Their showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, held the world spellbound for two months with reports of psychological warfare, ultimatums, political intrigue, cliffhangers, and farce to rival a Marx Brothers film. </p> <p> Thirty years later, David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of the national bestseller Wittgenstein's Poker, have set out to reexamine the story we recollect as the quintessential cold war clash between a lone American star and the Soviet chess machine -- a machine that had delivered the world title to the Kremlin for decades. Drawing upon unpublished Soviet and U.S. records, the authors reconstruct the full and incredible saga, one far more poignant and layered than hitherto believed. </p> <p> Against the backdrop of superpower politics, the authors recount the careers and personalities of Boris Spassky, the product of Stalin's imperium, and Bobby Fischer, a child of post-World War II America, an era of economic boom at home and communist containment abroad. The two men had nothing in common but their gift for chess, and the disparity of their outlook and values conditioned the struggle over the board. </p> <p> Then there was the match itself, which produced both creative masterpieces and some of the most improbable gaffes in chess history. And finally, there was the dramatic and protracted off-the-board battle -- in corridors and foyers, in back rooms and hotel suites, in Moscow offices and in the White House. </p> <p> The authors chronicle how Fischer, a manipulative, dysfunctional genius, risked all to seize control of the contest as the organizers maneuvered frantically to save it -- under the eyes of the world's press. They can now tell the inside story of Moscow's response, and the bitter tensions within the Soviet camp as the anxious and frustrated apparatchiks strove to prop up Boris Spassky, the most un-Soviet of their champions -- fun-loving, sensitive, and a free spirit. Edmonds and Eidinow follow this careering, behind-the-scenes confrontation to its climax: a clash that displayed the cultural differences between the dynamic, media-savvy representatives of the West and the baffled, impotent Soviets. Try as they might, even the KGB couldn't help. </p> <p> A mesmerizing narrative of brilliance and triumph, hubris and despair, <i>Bobby Fischer Goes to War</i> is a biting deconstruction of the Bobby Fischer myth, a nuanced study on the art of brinkmanship, and a revelatory cold war tragicomedy. </p> 1269491 2003 Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time total:167|5:37|4:69|3:53|2:8|1:0| 167 636 229 24 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jan 18 18:11:30 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 18:20:26 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 07:47:28 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 07:47:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 30 11:59:49 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 02 09:14:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 05 11:03:23 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 11:10:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 22:44:15 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 22:48:07 -0700 2009
What a mistake! The book is fantastically written and delves not into the plays themselves but all the characters surrounding and l...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 19:29:03 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 06:10:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 19 20:23:17 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 20:39:56 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 13 13:07:16 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 12:16:10 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat May 05 00:15:56 -0700 2007 Wed May 09 01:26:23 -0700 2007
This book gave terrific insight into the match by giving detailed descriptions on what was going outside making it a unified whole.

It especi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 12:30:22 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 02 17:45:03 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 05 18:41:43 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 24 11:28:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Oct 31 03:11:42 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 03:14:52 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Nov 09 08:54:25 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 09 09:27:20 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 15:19:49 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 15:21:06 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 21 11:44:26 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 08 09:09:02 -0700 2007
"Bobby Fisher Goes to War" delved into the lives and minds of some truly fascinating characters and illustrated their maneuvers and machinations both ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Feb 22 11:43:31 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 22 11:47:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Aug 28 22:52:28 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 28 22:54:14 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Tue Jan 08 22:14:25 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 22:16:46 -0800 2008 http://www.robertlalasz.com/fischer/ -- though I think he's a tad harsh on the book. Or maybe I'm not so well read in chess literature to consider the clips "moldy."]]> 5 0 false false Wed May 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 23 07:29:37 -0800 2008 Wed May 14 10:43:35 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Tue Apr 24 15:16:12 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 24 15:17:42 -0700 2007