The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 1,009 ratings · 124 reviews

Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game. A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father's book "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was made into a major motion picture. After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years, Waitzkin exp...more Josh Waitzkin knows what it means to be at the top of his game. A public figure since winning his first National Chess Championship at the age of nine, Waitzkin was catapulted into a media whirlwind as a teenager when his father's book "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was made into a major motion picture. After dominating the scholastic chess world for ten years, Waitzkin expanded his horizons, taking on the martial art Tai Chi Chuan and ultimately earning the title of World Champion. How was he able to reach the pinnacle of two disciplines that on the surface seem so different? "I've come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and it is not chess," he says. "What I am best at is the art of learning."In his riveting new book, "The Art of Learning," Waitzkin tells his remarkable story of personal achievement and shares the principles of learning and performance that have propelled him to the top -- twice.

With a narrative that combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us, "The Art of Learning" takes readers through Waitzkin's unique journey to excellence. He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure. Waitzkin believes that achievement, even at the championship level, is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth process. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering the art of performance psychology.

Through his own example, Waitzkin explains how to embrace defeat and make mistakes work for you. Does your opponent make you angry? Waitzkin describes how to channel emotions into creative fuel. As he explains it, obstacles are not obstacles but challenges to overcome, to spur the growth process by turning weaknesses into strengths. He illustrates the exact routines that he has used in all of his competitions, whether mental or physical, so that you too can achieve your peak performance zone in any competitive or professional circumstance.

In stories ranging from his early years taking on chess hustlers as a seven year old in New York City's Washington Square Park, to dealing with the pressures of having a film made about his life, to International Chess Championships in India, Hungary, and Brazil, to gripping battles against powerhouse fighters in Taiwan in the Push Hands World Championships, "The Art of Learning" encapsulates an extraordinary competitor's life lessons in a page-turning narrative.(less)

Hardcover, 265 pages

Published May 8th 2007 by Free Press (first published 2007)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers

Software Craftsmanship

15th out of 18 books — 37 voters

Cosmic Ordering Guide by Stephen Richards

Best Self-Help, Spiritual, Motivational, Law of Attraction Books

128th out of 233 books — 223 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,275)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 09, 2013 V. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-reviewed-2013

Clearly as a chess player and a martial artist, Josh is an accomplished and well regarded expert. As a human being, however, he’s a bit of a dick.

He goes to the Tai Chi Chuan Pushing hands World Championships in Taiwan (their national sport) and through hard work and an obsessive pursuit of excellence, he becomes World Champion despite cheating and rule bending by the Taiwanese.

Only, he never considers that this small nation has hardly anything else to call their own. And with their huge Imperia...more Clearly as a chess player and a martial artist, Josh is an accomplished and well regarded expert. As a human being, however, he’s a bit of a dick.

He goes to the Tai Chi Chuan Pushing hands World Championships in Taiwan (their national sport) and through hard work and an obsessive pursuit of excellence, he becomes World Champion despite cheating and rule bending by the Taiwanese.

Only, he never considers that this small nation has hardly anything else to call their own. And with their huge Imperial neighbour squashing their every attempt at a cultural identity, to have their beloved sport taken from them by a cocky, privileged American who’s never done a real job, not surprising they try to cheat.

In fact I was in their corner shouting ‘Sweep the leg!’

He’s so competitive and so self-unaware that the irony of doing a martial art about balance and tranquillity, and using it to go to an incredibly unhinged extreme completely passes him by.

So, anyway, the book is about learning, and there are a couple of useful ideas here, particularly in the third section. But a lot of it is to do with focus and training. Something that comes easy if you’re insanely competitive to an autistic level like the author. And if you aren’t, it’s hard to motivate yourself to do the things he suggests. Like most books of this nature, if you have the ability to be as single-minded as you need to be, you probably don’t need to read the book, and if you don’t have it, the book won’t really help.

A lot of the book is more memoir than insight, and pretty dull. But then I found the memoir parts of Stephen King’s On Writing pretty dull too (although the bits on writing were great).
So I’d say this book is vaguely interesting and you might pick up an idea or two, but that’s about it.

Another example of his spectacularly selective self awareness: In the chess section he describes how he was an attacking player, but as he got older teachers tried to teach him the Karpov way, more defensive etc, but it turned him off the game. Learning is about going with your natural flow, he tells us. Later when training in Tai Chi, he discovers opponents who are stronger and faster, what to do? The Karpov Way! Never occurs to him he’s going against what he said earlier. Whatever works seems to be the lesson. Win at all costs. If you can fool your opponent, who cares how you do it.

The thing is, he’s clearly a bright, focused young man, but natural abilities aren’t as easily transferred as this book might suggest. He claims to have a natural gift for learning, which I think is true, but sadly not for teaching. And he’s so full of himself it’s astonishing. If there’s a chapter where he doesn’t mention there was a film made about him then I must have missed it. Now he’s taken up Brazilian jiu jitsu and I can only hope someone gives him the sound thrashing he so richly deserves.
(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2012 Chia-wen Chang rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

��Josh Waitzkin��Josh��

��...more ��Josh Waitzkin��Josh��

��

��Josh��Josh��

��

��ACM��josh��

��Josh��(less)

like · see review

Mar 15, 2012 Jim Ament rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

The Art of Learning - A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence, by Josh Waitzkin (2007)

My wonderful guitar teacher, Brian Lewis—whom I haven't seen in months, but I still call him "my teacher"—recommended this book:

Josh Waitzkin was a boy chess genius, winning his first national championship at age nine, then was the subject of his father's book Searching for Bobby Fischer, which was turned into a 1993 Hollywood film. Following his stellar chess career, at age nineteen he took up the martial art T...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 12, 2012 Reya Kempley rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone involved in competitive sports or games, fans of chess and Tai Chi

Shelves: nonfiction

As someone who has been seriously involved in a highly mental competitive sport since the age of nine, I deeply related to so many of Josh Waitzkin's experiences and mental strategies he's developed. While the level of fame I have realized (so far!?) is very small when compared to Josh's, and only exists within a small circle of competitors and enthusiasts, my struggle to excel in competition parallels so much of what Josh describes, from the mistake of denying emotions completely (leading to co...more

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2011 Vivian rated it 4 of 5 stars

For those of us interested in the learning process, either for ourselves or our students or children, Waitzkin's book The Art of Learning has some incredible insights. The author was a world-class chess player (was actually the teenage subject of the book, and movie adaptation "Searching for Bobby Fischer"), and after leaving behind his chess career became a world-class martial arts champion. Obviously someone who has had such outstanding success in such different fields, one physical, one intel...more

like · see review

Nov 13, 2011 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: psych

The Bhagavad Gita describes Arjuna as “the conqueror of sloth” (Prabhavananda and Isherwood’s translation). The Gita is a symbolically interpreted text, but this declaration can stand on its own in a literal sense. It is a powerful description, and challenging to think about the effort involved to get to such an effort. Josh Waitzkin has conquered sloth.

His effort and dedication is nothing short of incredible. This has led him to excel at two disciplines (as of the writing of this book) chess an...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 06, 2011 Calley rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first it seemed like Waitzkin was writing this book as a weird way to satisfy his ego. After the first few pages written about how great and successful he has been in not one, but two realms of competition, I started to get a little irritated with him.

I found it a little suspect that he "invented" all of the moves he mentions in his learning process and fine-tuning his martial arts. The traditions have been around for thousands of years, and some twenty-something from New York. BUT after rea...more

like · see review

Jan 07, 2011 Timothy Chklovski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very good book about achieving world-class mastery of a skill and the attendant phenomena (like slowing down time).
it teeters on mysticism early on, but if you get past that, there are rewards in sound arguments and interesting observations

Some key highlights:
- using simplified/limiting drills to understand key concepts more deeply/fluently
- a very compelling model of skill acquisition as layering, one pass at a time, your conscious understanding on top of automatic mastery, and turning the lear...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2010 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Waitzkin, the child chess prodigy upon whom the book and movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" was based upon grew up to become a World Champion in Push Hands, the competitive martial arts side of Tai Chi practice. This book triangulates what Waitkin learned about learning through intense practice in both chess and Push Hands.

I read this at the same time I read 37signals' "Rework" and the contrast was stark. Waitzkin's book is deeper, getting to the heart of what it takes to push through and under...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 15, 2009 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book but I am oddly unsatisfied. For those who don't remember, Josh Waitzkin is the subject of the lovely movie _Searching for Bobby Fischer_. He was the top american high school-aged chess player back when I was playing high school chess. He left chess in his young adulthood and is now a world-class practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan. This book is a very compelling memoir of his experience in the worlds of competitive chess and tai chi. It's also _sort of_ a self-help book abou...more

1 like · like · see review

May 16, 2009 Michael added it

Josh Waitzkin grabbed my attention with his experiences in two of my favorite pastimes--Chess and Martial Arts. World Chess champion and subject of the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer", he is the perfect person to talk about the pressures of both celebrity and success. He is also on the mark with his observations on martial arts success, as the holder of 21 national championships and a world championship title in taijiquan. In this book he talks about how to learn and achieve peak performanc...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 27, 2010 Ruzz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, kobo, ebook, philosophy, biography

it's unaccountably rare to find someone who can perform at the highest levels of human capacity (mentally or physically) who can articulate much meaningfully about how they do it. You can survey top performers, and many have, and most won't have a concrete framework of thought behind that performance and most of it is intuitive. the underlying principals are essentially a mystery.

Josh Waitzkin has performed at high levels both mentally (through world class junior chess) and physically (through...more

like · see review

Jun 03, 2009 Maxim rated it 2 of 5 stars

If you're interested in gaining insight into the mind of a child chess prodigy turned adult martial arts champion, this is a decent book. It's reasonably readable and has a lot of interesting stories about the author's chess and marital arts careers. As an inspirational or how-to book, though, it falls short. Maybe it would be helpful if you're interested in single-minded, highly-focused training in chess, martial arts, or another highly technical, subtle, and competitive pursuit. But, despite h...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 29, 2010 Susan Henn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs-bios, non-fiction

4/10 As a young boy, the author was the subject of the book and movie – Searching for Bobby Fisher. After winning 8 national chess championships, Josh Waitzkin went on to become a national and world champion in Tai Chi. The book presents Josh’s ideas about learning and specifically the type of learning necessary to become a world class competitor in any area. The book had too much martial arts descriptions and details about the competitions for my taste. However, there were enough stories about...more

like · see review

Apr 26, 2009 Meika rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reference

Having studied Tai Chi with Grandmaster Chen myself, this book was particularly interesting. I had to do the, "hey...wait a minute" a couple of times, when Josh pointed out that the other students in the class seemed to be missing the subtle lessons because they were checking themselves in the mirror or looking at the clock. Ahem. NO I *never* do that. Josh is a bit of a superstar, and if you can get past his "I'm a humble child prodigy who gets it, and you don't" tone, the perspective is worth...more Having studied Tai Chi with Grandmaster Chen myself, this book was particularly interesting. I had to do the, "hey...wait a minute" a couple of times, when Josh pointed out that the other students in the class seemed to be missing the subtle lessons because they were checking themselves in the mirror or looking at the clock. Ahem. NO I *never* do that. Josh is a bit of a superstar, and if you can get past his "I'm a humble child prodigy who gets it, and you don't" tone, the perspective is worth seeing.
I have a lot to learn about how to focus, how to build clarity of mind for myself instead of waiting for it to strike like lightning, and Josh does a good job of articulating how he does this. I also needed some way of looking at formal education - i.e. formal logic, classical music, and fitness training - because i'm hitting walls in those areas. And i like what he has to say about building these foundations of very basic skills (like scales and arpeggios for music) that after a while become tacit knowledge that you don't think about when you're executing tasks in the highly skilled levels, but that need to be there in order for the execution to be done well. I was thinking about this when I was at a concert at Carnegie Hall last weekend, where the orchestra was playing the Sea Symphony by Vaughn Williams. The music was fluid and ethereal sounding, seemingly unstructured, but at the same time, the technique was so exact and demanding that it could only sound unstructured if the structure under it was sound and rigid. There was almost no margin for error.
Anyway, I also appreciated Josh's lengthy digressions into combat theory. He spends a lot of time talking about getting into the opponent's mind, and anticipating the offensive. He talks about dirty fighters and mind games. It's definitely not something I would've expected to be associated with learning, but considering Josh's background as a Chess player and then as a martial arts competitor, it's arguable that competition has been a critical learning arena for him.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 01, 2010 John Schwabacher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Waitzin became famous as the young protagonist of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. Since then he's become a champion Tai Chi competitor (yes, I know that sounds like an oxymoron). And lately, he's Marcelo Garcia's number one Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student with the goal of winning a world championship by 2011. Don't bet against this guy.
This book shows clear marks of the "success" literature genre: it's full of inspiring anecdotes and amazing conceptual breakthroughs that will allow y...more

like · see review

Dec 25, 2012 Sid rated it 2 of 5 stars

Most people seem to love this book. It was enjoyable but it felt more like an autobiography than a book about the learning process. You could essentially break his points down into a quick-reference card and have just as much scientific/analytic support for them.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 01, 2009 getAbstract rated it 4 of 5 stars

Learning theory told through master level experience in chess and tai chi

Author Josh Waitzkin has mastered two complex, esoteric disciplines: chess and tai chi, a martial art. He won national chess titles as a youth, and national and world championships in “push hands,” or partner tai chi. In this book he presents his theories about learning and high level performance, using as a case study his own rise to excellence in highly competitive sports. Even without the theoretical speculation his stor...more

like · see review

Oct 12, 2012 Ben Nesvig rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

Very likely a book that most people won't enjoy, assuming they're looking for a "how to" book. This actually reminded me a lot of Moonwalking with Einstein. In each book, the author takes you on the journey that brought them to the top of their field. In this instance, Josh became a phenomenon at chess and Tai Chi.

The elements of learning described in the book can be applied to any field, but there aren't specific examples given outside of chess and Tai Chi. He leaves it up to the reader to take...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2013 Joe rated it 5 of 5 stars

I probably enjoyed this book more than the average reader would, since I have some experience with Tai Chi pushing hands, one of Josh's two pursuits described, and found his related experiences and lessons to be very revealing of my own experiences in that activity.

While I see that others may be turned off by Josh's authorial voice, it worked for me. I've never stood at or near the top of a field like Josh, but I do know the experience of struggling for technical mastery. Josh has found some pro...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 23, 2012 Trävis Wríght rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: personal-development, education

This was a solid book, It's essentially an autobiography of Josh Waitzkin, who at age 6 became a chess prodigy and was the subject of the book, "The Search for Bobby Fischer".

He left chess and then started studying Tai Chi, and then became a world champion.

Along the way, he gives some nuggets of wisdom on how he stayed so focused. It also reinforces the idea of spending lots of time on each step and becoming a master at the little things.

I'd of given it five stars if it had more practical tips...more

like · see review

Feb 20, 2010 Chimezie Ogbuji rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: athletes

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Feb 28, 2013 Daniel Ley rated it 5 of 5 stars

(to be expanded)
This is an autobiography of a world champion, first in chess, then in martial arts, and who knows what else by the time this man's life is through. The book delves into the mind of a master, and shows you the inner workings of motivation, focus, and the drive to perfect one's competitive skills. It focuses largely on strategy (chess) and self-awareness (Tai-Chi), but the book teaches universal principles as to how to advance efficiently and effectively in any discipline. This goe...more

like · see review

Aug 16, 2009 Isk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Part I: The Foundation

Chapter 1: Innocent Movies
Josh discovers chess in the park. Lessons with Bruce: first lessons establish camaraderie.

Chapter 2: Losing to Win:
Loses first nat'l championship. Summertime is off to the sea -- the little breaks from competition are important for success, since they allow a new perspective and new energy.
Back to life, he's a mess. Bruce realizes he needs fun more than chess. Wins national tournament.

Chapter 3: Two Approaches to Learning
Entity theorists (innate ab...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 17, 2013 Dave rated it 2 of 5 stars

As a memoir of prodigious chess play and world championship tai chi, this is an interesting book. As a practical or theoretical approach to learning, the book is lacking. "Learning" in the title is misleading; the book's focus is attaining mastery of skill evidenced through elite competition, interleaved with accounts of the author's competitive experience. Anecdotes and abstractions outweigh concrete, structured principles of learning or mastery. That being said, the author's insights into lear...more

like · see review

Jan 28, 2012 Tyson Strauser rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: behavioral, investing, strategy, process

Waitzkin provides the reader with a better understanding of how to create an environment for peak performance in stressful, competitive situations.

I found the discussion around creating a trigger insightful. Josh teaches us to prepare for competition with a routine that puts us in the optimal mindset to perform well.

He teaches us how to use emotionally charged situations to sharpen our awareness under intense pressure. He reminds us that we need to practice organizing information mentally so we...more

like · see review

Sep 04, 2010 Elizabeth marked it as to-read

from the library

from the library computer:
Booklist Reviews

Waitzkin, a champion in chess and martial arts, brings enthusiasm and obvious love of learning to this amazing look at what he aptly describes as the art of learning. He begins by recounting his own quirky journey. At the age of six, Waitzkin learned chess from a motley crew of street hustlers, gamblers, junkies, and artists. Since then, he has been among the highest-ranked chess players. He recounts the distractions of adolescence as wel...more

like · see review

Aug 11, 2010 Jo Rhett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a motorcycle racer, this book has been highly recommended. It presents a fantastic, deep dive into the mind and how to enhance the mind's ability to embrace new information, integrate it, and improve constantly. If it did nothing else, this book would be a fantastic resource.

But honestly, the Art of Learning goes far beyond just the actual learning process. It shows in detail how to integrate new things into one's life, and how to excel at doing so. The lessons here I have applied to busines...more

like · see review

Oct 29, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 40-modern-nonfiction-books, 2009

If you've ever seen the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer or read the book of the same name, you know who Josh Waitzkin is. What you may not know is that after the book/movie came out Josh slowly started turning away from chess and became interested in Tai Chi, eventually winning the 2004 World Push Hands championship.

This book breaks down how Josh goes about learning and becoming top in his field. What he doesn't mention is the intense determination and drive you need to practice hours and hour...more

like · see review

Sep 10, 2010 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: chess, biography

The Art of Learning is about half autobiography and half self improvement how-to. I first learned about the author, Josh Waitzkin, when I was working through the extensive tutorials in the Chess Master computer program. Josh seemed like a pretty interesting guy, and a good teacher (although I’m still awful at chess) so I went on to read his father’s book Searching for Bobby Fischer, and kept an eye out for Josh’s book, The Art of Learning.
I’m not really into the whole self improvement genre. I’...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 75 76 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (8)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

Add a comment

Genres

Non Fiction

34 users

Biography

16 users

Self Help

15 users

Games > Chess

14 users

Psychology

14 users

Education

11 users

Philosophy

6 users

Self Help > Personal Development

4 users

Autobiography > Memoir

4 users

Biography > Autobiography

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Josh Waitzkin

Joshua Waitzkin is an American chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. He is the only person to have won the National Primary, Elementary, Junior High School, High School, U.S. Cadet, and U.S. Junior Closed chess championships in his career. The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is b...more

More about Josh Waitzkin...

Books by Josh Waitzkin

Attacking Chess: Aggressive Strategies and Inside Moves from the U.S. Junior Chess Champion

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Art of Learni...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Art of Learning: A...

“The key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity. Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety.” — 8 people liked it

“He landed on cheap shot, but I knocked him out of the tournament.” — 2 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence
avg rating	preview: The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence Goodreads rating: 3.98 (1009 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/857333.The_Art_of_Learning?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348688766l/857333.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/857333.The_Art_of_Learning?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence by Josh Waitzkin[/url]

The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website