Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

Book Description

Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive and talented woman.

Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award–winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey’s tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.

She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the twentieth century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun’s Story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady. A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence on women’s fashion virtually unparalleled to this day.

But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth, her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the end of the war: UNICEF.

Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, Enchantment reveals the private Audrey Hepburn—and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again.

“She was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical combination of high chic and high spirits.” —Gregory Peck

“In spite of her fragile appearance, she’s like steel.” —Cary Grant

“Audrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek, and there she was.” —Billy Wilder

“There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn.” —Hubert de Givenchy

“Her magnetism was so extraordinary that everyone wanted to be close to her. It was as if she placed a glass barrier between herself and the world. You couldn’t get behind it easily. It made her remarkably attractive.” —Stanley Donen

“She has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners.” —Alfred Lunt

Customer Reviews:

An Affirming Celebrity.......2007-02-11

Audry Hepburn was in a league of her own. When was the last time we heard of a star of this magnitude helping a friend in business and firing his/her manager for trying to make a profit from the help? While I was aware of her work with UNICEF, I was unaware of the depth of her commitment. The trip to Sudan was hard enough to read about. I cannot imagine going there as she did.

WWII's deep scars were well hidden from public view. For most of the war she and her family had daily fear for their lives and in the end were near death due stavation. A mere 8 years later Audrey is at the pinnacle of glitter and glamor of a film career with an Oscar. The effects of the war, the trials of living with a withholding aristocratic mother, the rigid roles for women in the 50's are mentioned but not discussed. The insecurities these brought on show in her marriages, and the emphathy shows in her above and beyond work for UNICEF as

This book covers the life, but not the inner person or the times. Fortunately, she is not a star in this time. Today's even more intrusive paparazzis and career journalists could destroy her for us and for herself. Spoto does a loving and respectful job of presenting her life.

Enchantment The life of Audrey Hepburn.......2007-01-05

Loved the book, lots of interesting details of her life.

4 1/2 Respect and Admiration.......2007-01-03

When I think of some of his previous work, Donald Spoto's priorities seem geared towards including enough scintillating information for good PR and improved sales. Perhaps I've been unfair. Not only does has he done historical work (Amazon.com called my attention to his historical biographies), but this is a well-researched, non-sensationalist biography of Ms. Hepburn. If anything, it could have standed something less objective, some sort of socio-cultural analysis of how we were and remain completely smitten with her, but Mr. Spoto shows restraint. A remarkable, truely admirable figure, this book illuminates some of her many roles both in and outside of Hollywood. There are some lovely black and white photos, but not many; one's hnger for that image must be satisfied elsewhere. One book cannot do its subject justice, but this is a very good beginning. You can appreciate Ms. Hepburn without having seen a single one of her films, but I can't think of one good reason why you'd want to.

Enchanting.......2007-01-02

More than a decade after her death, Audrey Hepburn remains an ideal of femininity in cinema and a role model for film stars in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Donald Spoto has penned a biography that manages successfully to tread the delicate line between treating her with proper reverence while offering genuine insight into her life and personality.

Abandoned early on by a roue of a father and raised by a caring but distant mother, Hepburn began as an aspiring ballet dancer in war-torn Holland. She rose to stardom both on Broadway and in Hollywood with astonishing speed, winning both the Tony and Oscar by the time she was twenty-five years old. She managed her career with a shrewdness that belied her delicate, vulnerable screen persona, rarely making any missteps in preserving a carefully constructed screen image, though Spoto turns an unwavering, and to this reader unnecessarily harsh, eye on many of her most popular films. Her private life was much less perfect. The author analyzes her two relatively long-term, by Hollywood standards, but unhappy marriages to fellow cinema actor Mel Ferrer and Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, and many love affairs with a sympathetic tone that avoids sensationalization. His revelations concerning the star's passionate, doomed affair with playwright Robert Anderson during the filming of one of her best movies, Fred Zinneman's The Nun's Story, make moving reading. He achieves a signal success in implying a connection between Hepburn's surprisingly voracious sexual appetites and her emotionally barren childhood without clumsily stating the obvious.

Carefully researched, as evidenced by the many footnotes, Spoto's work is on the whole a model for film-star biographies. Ultimately he achieves his goal of bringing Hepburn to life in these pages, painting a portrait of a woman surprisingly anxious and insecure despite outward physical beauty and enviable artistic and commercial success, who never found true fulfillment in her personal life (except perhaps with her last partner, Robert Wolders), but did eventually find it in her untiring work for UNICEF, before tragically succumbing to cancer at all too early an age. For Hepburn the artist, despite extended discussions of most of her important films, one might have wished for a more balanced assessment, as well as a detailed filmography, the lack of which is the book's one real defect. Still, "Enchantment" is a remarkable achievement and easily transcends its frequently tawdry genre.

Laborious.......2006-10-30

This was a difficult read, as it was overly embellished in places; full of gossip, and was hard to get through with its over-use of adjectives in particular. Stick with Sean Ferrer's " An Elegant Spirit." Pictures often say more than words. The words in "Enchantment" were redundant and dull.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful Photographs, Misinformed Words
A Picture Is Worth many Words
a great book
A portrait of the woman who identified style and beauty!
The epitome of style and grace

Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures
Carol Krenz
Manufacturer: Thunder Bay Press (CA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1567995314

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Photographs, Misinformed Words .......2005-11-18

The photographs of Audrey Hepburn are (of course) beautiful, but the text accompanying them lacks both beauty and integrity. Factual errors appear from beginning to end - starting with Audrey's birthname and ending with her burial site (she was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston, not Edda Hepburn, and buried in the cemetery in the Swiss town where she lived, not on her own property there - see son Sean Ferrer's book for accurate facts). The sad facts of Audrey Hepburn's life were also exaggerated in the text, as if her charm and elegance are not interesting enough. By all accounts, people who knew Audrey, however, never had a negative word to speak of her. While the photographs in this book do justice for Audrey Hepburn's beauty, the inaccurate and poorly written text is disappointing.

A Picture Is Worth many Words.......2005-01-21

Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures (Life in Pictures) is just that, a documentation in photographs of this well remembered actress. I enjoy this book from time by just opening it and glancing at the pictures. Some people really capture our hearts. Audrey Hepburn was one of those people.

a great book.......2003-05-05

This is a must have book on Audrey Hepburn. On eof th ebest photo collections. Audrey Hepburn is a true lay of such natural beauty , femininity, and poise. These photos really show that. Many lovely photo stills from he rfilms and other photos as we.. Some is color some in black and white, and over ninty pages. It shows her style and the many lovely hairstyles she had. It's a coffe table book and perfect to showcase/

A portrait of the woman who identified style and beauty!.......2002-09-15

Whenever I think of style, beauty and grace, I think of Audrey Hepburn. Even after her death, she is still the epitome of glamour and sophistication. In this book you get a brief bio complete with some beautiful photographs of the legendary actress. There are photographs of some of her best films -- Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, etc. -- and intimate portraits with her family. This is a great collector's item that every Audrey Hepburn fan should own.

The epitome of style and grace.......2002-06-16

This is an absolutely beautiful collection of photos of the most mesmerizing women ever to grace the silver screen. After watching "Roman Holiday" I found myself wanting to know everything there is to know about the princess whose style and charm could steal any man's heart. I found this to be a great introduction to Hepburn, an excellent overview of her life and movies. The classic photos of "Roman Holiday" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's" alone make this a priceless addition to any fan's bookshelf.

Average customer rating:

Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures

Manufacturer: Anova Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1862057753

Book Description

From her captivating debut in Roman Holiday in 1953, Audrey Hepburn redefined notions of Hollywood elegance and sophistication. This gorgeously illustrated book celebrates her popularity as an enduring icon, providing a unique insight into her career, personality, and trademark style that still fascinates and captivates today. A detailed biography is accompanied by more than 160 photographs taken by some of the world's top photographers, many reproduced for the first time. Famous quotes on and from Audrey Hepburn complement the numerous family pictures and the information from private collections, press agencies, and newspapers. From her enchanting appearances on the big screen to her charity work for UNICEF and fascinating family life, this book is a highly individual portrait of a much-loved movie and fashion legend.

Average customer rating:

Worthless nonsense
Don't believe a word in this book
Paranoid egocentric conspiracy trash
Secret Life Indeed
A waste of a book

Audrey Hepburn: A Secret Life
Stuart J. Byczynski
Manufacturer: Brunswick Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 155618168X

Book Description

This dark story of lies, intrigue, plots and counterplots deals with Nazism and Hollywood, with adoption, with child abuse, with the anti-war movement of the 1960s, with the ballet world, and with official criminality.

In 1947, a young woman travelled from Holland to London and went through a pregnancy in secret, living and working amid a ballet company. Two years later, in 1949, she began an acting career and gave her child away to another young actress on the London stage. The mother was Audrey Hepburn, and in a few years she was famous. Her son, meanwhile, had been taken to America by his English adoptive mother and her husband, a U.S. military pilot who was stationed in England. He grew up in secrecy in Maryland. He was named Stuart Byczynski, and this book is about Audrey's life, her son's birth and adoption, and Audrey's conflicted and menacing behavior toward him.

Not a photo book, this work explores the dark side of Audrey Hepburn's career, revealing new information about her and correcting some of the misinformation in the existing literature.

To make her career in films, Audrey had to suppress any information that she had had a child, as well as her family ties to the Third Reich during WWII. She interfered with the author and arranged for minor Hollywood people to enter his life as acquaintances in order to gather information. In her final years, in the aftermath of the publicity about Joan Crawford's parenting, Audrey did volunteer work for Unicef, perhaps out of guilt over her own abandoned child, but more likely to polish her public image. This book is the kind of thing Audrey dreaded, and it was originally intended for publication while she was alive.

Customer Reviews:

Worthless nonsense.......2005-01-16

In this hyper-world of gotcha this ranks right up there with the sightings of Elvis. This trumps all including the Vegas odds makers who likely would rate an Elvis sighting a better bet! Why in the world would anyone publish such rubbish? Money it seems,trumps all; including proper respect for one who led an exemplary life and is not here to defend herself. In a word, SHAME on any one who gives support,moral or financial, to this trash.

Don't believe a word in this book.......2003-07-15

Unfortunately the author has picked Audrey Hepburn as his mother- he should have picked Greta Garbo or somebody like her.It would have been more fitting.Audrey's life was full of sad and unhappy experiences and certainly did not lead the life like this author says she did. I am very disappointed that the world has people that write trash like this.

Paranoid egocentric conspiracy trash.......2003-02-20

This guy blah, blah, blah's forever without producing any substantial evidence. He blames Audrey Hepburn for the abuse from his adoptive parents. Plus, he think she has controled every aspect of his dismal life--from his jobs to his girlfriends. He writes in circles. He never says anything. He is delusional--a conjoined twin separated after his birth? Audrey Hepburn's son? He wishes his life was interesting--his fiction isn't.

Secret Life Indeed.......2001-10-17

This is a secret life Audrey Hepburn led only in the author's deluded mind. I bought the book because I was curious. After a few pages, I wished that, further than reading the back cover blurb, I had flipped through the book to glean some of the choice accusations, then I wouldn't have wasted the money. As another reviewer puts it, I too can't believe the audacity of the publisher to have endorsed such garbage.

Of course it's not outside the realm of possibility that a young, then unknown actress might have had an unwanted pregnancy... but the author is clearly quite insane when he claims to be a victim of unsuccessful attempts of assasination commissioned by his 'mother' not to mention the possibility of his being the result of possible Nazi experiments performed on Hepburn with her knowledge.

Stuart Byscynki needs professional help and he should get it quick!

A waste of a book.......2001-08-16

This "biography" doesn't even deserve one star. It is filled with ridiculous fantasies of the author. Do not even attempt to take this book seriously, as it is complete and utter nonsense. I can't believe that anyone would have the audacity to publish this type of garbage.

Average customer rating:

I give it a thumbs-up (slowly but surely).
Audrey

Audrey: The Life of Audrey Hepburn
Higham
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0025515101

Customer Reviews:

I give it a thumbs-up (slowly but surely)........2003-12-09

This book was definitely well-written, but some of the parts in this book were too discriptive and drawn-out. I thought that it was very informative as to the life of Audrey Hepburn and it explains everything well. As I said before, it should have been shorter, so that the reader would want to turn each page and be very interested in everything read.

Audrey.......2002-01-01

This book was compelling, interesting, and extremely helpful on finding things about Audrey Hepburn. It was exciting, and you never wanted to put the book down. Charles Higham really captured the life of Audrey and put it in this novel.I enjoyed reading it, and pass it on to others. It was a definite page turner with intricate detail on the life of Audrey.

Popular Songs of Nineteenth Century America: Complete Original Song Sheets for 64 Songs
Average customer rating:

American History Through Song

Fascinating collection!

Popular Songs of Nineteenth Century America: Complete Original Song Sheets for 64 Songs
Richard Jackson
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486232700

Customer Reviews:

American History Through Song.......2003-01-04

The best of the best of songs that the 60+ generation remembers hearing as old songs in their childhood, and that younger generations have been exposed to through movies, cartoons, documentaries and the like. There are many more sappy tunes than of other varieties, but life was hard in the 19th century in the United States. Still, there are some outstanding highlights. These include civil war songs like When Johnny Comes Marching Home and Battle Cry of Freedom, the witty Arkansaw Traveler (that's how they spell it) and the smarmy Man On the Flying Trapeze, plus favorites of later generations like Turkey in the Straw (in its original mildly-offensive ethnic format), Grandfathers Clock, and one that all Three Stooges fans will know, Listen to the Mockingbird. You would be hard pressed to find a similar collection elsewhere that includes the original verses AND unaltered lyrics, and financially pressed to duplicate it on your own. Besides, this is a new book that won't flake off onto your keys like old sheet music. Get the book. Then you can write me later to thank me for the endorsement!!

Fascinating collection!.......2002-03-03

A collection of sheet music for popular songs of the 1800s, this book is interesting for more than just playing the songs. The covers of these beautiful songsheets are all reproduced, occasionally including such information as the cover to "Johnny Get Your Gun," which states "Ethiopian Song and Chorus, Originated and Sung by America's Popular Comedians, Sheffer and Blakely, and Written For Them by F. Belasco."

The table of contents (and the songs themselves) are organized alphabetically by title, and includes who wrote the words, the music, who the publisher was, and the date and location of publication. I was interested to see how many hits Oliver Ditson & Co of Boston had -- the equivalent of our record "singles" today. They were the first publishers of "Jingle Bells," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Tenting On the Old Campground," "Sweet By and By," "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," and "Oh, My Darling Clementine," all of which are included here.

There is a five-page introduction, with general information about music and music publishing of the 1800s, and at the back of the book, notes on each song. There is also a bibliography of sources Mr. Jackson used to write the introduction and notes. (Richard Jackson was the Head of the Americana Collection for the Music Division of the New York Public Library when this collection was published in 1976.)

Otherwise, this book is page after page of piano-vocal music. The arrangements would not be very difficult for an advanced piano student, and most people who've had some training could learn to play at least some of the songs. A particular favorite is "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" which has a lively introduction I've not seen before, and directions on when the words are to be sung by a soloist or the chorus. "Vive la compaignie" includes four-part harmony, and several other songs include more than one line.

Other favorites of mine include "The Flying Trapeze," "Lorena," "Long, Long Ago," "Silver Threads Among the Gold," and "Whispering Hope."

The arrangements are different from what we are used to hearing, and, like all good folk music, give a certain insight into the hearts and thoughts of the people of those particular times.

Well worth the relatively low cost . . .

Popular Songs of Nineteenth Century America: Complete Original Sheet Music for 64 Songs
Average customer rating:
Popular Songs of Nineteenth Century America: Complete Original Sheet Music for 64 Songs
Richard Jackson
Manufacturer: Peter Smith Publisher Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0844654566

POPULAR SONGS OF NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA: COMPLETE ORIGINAL SONG SHEETS FOR 64 SONGS.
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POPULAR SONGS OF NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA: COMPLETE ORIGINAL SONG SHEETS FOR 64 SONGS.
Richard (editor). Jackson
Manufacturer: Dover Publications,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7CCT2

Starting Out: King's Indian Attack (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)
Average customer rating:

Not exactly what it seems

A good opening book

An in-depth guide for intermediate to advanced chess players

Starting Out: King's Indian Attack (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)
John Emms
Manufacturer: Everyman Chess
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1857443942

Book Description

The King's Indian Attack was a firm favorite of the legendary Bobby Fischer, and more recently it has been utilized with great success by world-class Grandmasters such as Alexander Morozevich. The renowned chess coach Mark Dvoretsky regards the King's Indian Attack as a perfect weapon on which to base an opening repertoire. Its great advantage over other openings is that it's a thematic system that can be employed against many different lines, while the emphasis is on the understanding of ideas rather than the dry memorization of moves. The King's Indian Attack leads to rich middlegame positions that are full of dynamic possibilities for both sides.

In this easy-to-use guide, King's Indian Attack expert John Emms goes back to basics, studying the fundamental principles of this attack and its numerous lines. Throughout the book there are an abundance of notes, tips, and warnings to help improving players, while key strategies, ideas, and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated.

User-friendly design to help readers absorb ideas
Concentrates on the key principles of the King's Indian Attack
Ideal for improving players

Customer Reviews:

Not exactly what it seems.......2007-06-24

This is primarily about the closed French and closed Siclian defenses, from white's perspective, (about 140 pages). The last 60 pages is about the reversed King's Indian opening. If your primary interest is playing 1. Nf3 as white, this is probably not the book you are looking for.

If you like opening with 1. e4, and want a systematic response when your opponent does not reply with 1. ... e5, then this is a good book for you. You will have a system of play that does not require learning the vast variations of the open French and Sicilian defenses.

Also, you will have in hand the 1. Nf3 opening, in case you want to change things up a bit with a secondary opening as white.

The book is well written and illustrated, the level of detail is suitable for the beginning or intermediate player. It assumes a basic knowledge of the game beyond just knowing how the pieces move.

A good opening book.......2006-08-15

This is a well organized and easy to understand book for players at all levels. Whether you want to play the KIA or want a better line against an opponent, this volume does the job.

An in-depth guide for intermediate to advanced chess players.......2005-11-08

Written by British chess Grandmaster John Emms, Starting Out: King's Indian Attack is an in-depth guide for intermediate to advanced chess players to the King's Indian Attack, a favorite chess strategy of the legendary Bobby Fischer, among others including world-class Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich. Starting Out: King's Indian Attack studies the fundamental principles of this tactic and its numerous lines. A wealth of notes, tips, warnings, suggestions, sample games and diagrams serve to enlighten the average player on the strengths and weaknesses of using or defending against this strategy. Highly recommended for any dedicated chess player seeking to improve his or her game against experienced opponents.

Starting Out: King's Indian (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)

Average customer rating:

no target audience
Emphasis on Black
Outstanding Opening Book
How opening books should be written
Great book!!

Starting Out: King's Indian (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)
Joe Gallagher
Manufacturer: Everyman Chess
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Starting Out: The Pirc/Modern (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)

ASIN: 1857442342

Book Description

The King's Indian is one of the most exciting defenses in chess and is favored by ambitious and aggressive players. At the highest level it has been a major weapon for World Champions Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov. In this easy-to-read guide, Grandmaster Joe Gallagher goes back to the basics of the King's Indian, studying the key principles of its many variations. Throughout the book there are numerous notes, tips, warnings and exercises to help the improving player, while important strategies, ideas and tactics for both sides are clearly illustrated. (6 3/4 x 9 3/4, 176 pages, diagrams)

Customer Reviews:

no target audience.......2006-12-29

While this book does, as other reviewers note, explain the ideas of the King's Indian in an accessible way, the author clearly has no idea of the conditions under which club players play openings. He suffers from "masteritis"--the tendency to write books for amateurs by dumbing down the advice the author would give to other masters, as if amateurs were just weaker players who competed in master tournaments. This disconnect is all too common in chess books, few of which would be published if most of their readers weren't below 2000 (there just aren't enough stronger players to pay the publisher's bills). It's ESPECIALLY problematic in a book from the STARTING OUT series, specifically targetted to low to middle level players.

Gallagher repeatedly cites the statistical results produced by a particular line--a notoriously unreliable method even for masters, as he himself tacitly admits by sometimes commenting that the poor results for Black were just because the players didn't know how to handle it. It has even less relevance for club players, in whose games dynamic factors are much more important static endgame advantages. If somebody compiled opening statistics based on amateur play, I doubt they would resemble the ones at master level.

Besides statistical success, Gallagher's main criterion for the importance of a move is fashionability. There's a good one. Why should you take this line more seriously when you are a C or B player playing another C or B player? Because a lot of IM's and GM's have played it lately; it's the latest thing; it's just so a la mode. That's not even a good reason to play it if you ARE a GM. Other things being equal, sound but unfashionable lines are more advantageous because your opponents are less likely to be booked up and well practiced against them.

But at the amateur level, it's just plain irrelevant. You are lucky if your opponents even play the moves that lead to the "main line" 20% of the time. And when they do, the latest refinements in master play will be of little use to you, because both of you will probably almost immediately play much worse errors than the slightly weaker moves the latest theory prides itself on rejecting. And nevertheless, one of you will win! That's nothing to be ashamed of; it's why chess is fun at ANY level.

At one point, Gallagher remarks that a particular line in the Four Pawns Attack is so theoretical you must "burn the midnight oil"--in other words, spend long hours memorizing many variations. This is rarely if ever good advice for players below 1800. You'd be better off spending your time drilling tactics, for example, or practicing PLAYING the opening in speed games.

To summarize: this book is intended for people who have to face the rigors and fashions of master tournaments, who want to play or play against the King's Indian Defense, but who don't know even the basic theory of that opening. With the possible exception of ten year old phenoms, there IS nobody like that.

Emphasis on Black.......2006-02-24

I just wanted to add that this book really is very close to a repertoire book for Black. Or better, the introduction to a repertoire for Black since, as in all the Starting Out books, you are given the basic ideas behind most of the variations in the opening. Many of the books in this series are more balanced. This does not detract from the quality of Gallagher's writing, which is better than average, however, and I did learn a few things that helped me as White, but after a while the Black emphasis got in the way. Recommended -- especially for players of the Black pieces.

Outstanding Opening Book.......2006-02-05

Starting Out the King's Indian (SOKID) by Joseph Gallagher is one of the best opening books I have read. The style is especially lucid and Gallagher's game analysis is both accurate and instructive on how to play chess in general. The chapters are clearly organized and Gallagher analyzes the most important games for each variation of the KID. As this is an intro versus a full repetoire book, the focus is more on the concepts behind the variations of the KID rather than detailed examination of each variation. I highly recommend the book for anyone in the range of D class to B class who would like to learn or more fully unterstand one the most important openings.

How opening books should be written.......2004-10-18

Most players, until they are rated at least 1800 (US) , should only own a general chess opening reference book (MCO, NCO) to use as a reference. Such players would be better studying the middle and endgames.

This book is a most notable exception. It covers the King's Indian Defense. It is written clearly; with sections on the different subvariations; generously annotated in *words*. This is exactly the sort of thing any player, but especially a beginner, intermediate, or club player, needs to read.

After these sections comes a game or two, lightly annotated. No need to bombard the reader at this point. Just show him what a typical game in the variation looks like, with pithy notes so as not to overwhelm the reader.

Gallagher has written on this defense before so he's an expert on it. This is an added bonus for the reader. It is written lucidly.

More advanced players could use this book as a supplement to more specialized tomes. Less experienced players could read this for their own enjoyment, or with the goal in mind of learning the opening, and/or with the idea to buy specialized books on the variations covered in this book.

Great book!!.......2004-04-20

This book was exactly what I was looking for to understand the KID and enjoy at the same time reading. The book is layed out where he explains the ideas of the variations to about move 12 and then stops to give you statistics and amount of theory and then gives about 2 or 3 games, and later in the chapter goes over some subvariations that can arise. Gallagher explains the ideas of the opening that I never understood in a simple manner. But this book isn't as simple and beginner-ish as it may sound. For instance, I have been playing chess fairly regularly for the past 4 years (but never really played the KID) and I have learned a great deal from this book! It is for players who look through MCO or NCO and don't get why Black (or White) makes this or that move and/or just don't understand the plan Black or White has in mind. The KID is complicated and easy to get lost in, and if you don't have some primer to understand each variation to a descent degree as this book gives you then moving on to more advanced KID books will be a waste of money and a headache. Anyone can get something out of this book, especially if they have a good working knowledge of chess like what you would find in Reaccess your Chess for example (great book too!!). So if don't like playing passive defence as black and like aggresive/counterattack play, then buy this book and learn the KID.

CD Starting Out: The King's Indian (Starting Out)

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CD Starting Out: The King's Indian (Starting Out)
Joe Gallagher
Manufacturer: Everyman Chess
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

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ASIN: 1857446097

Book Description

The ten years following the end of the Second World War were critical years in the history of British broadcasting. They witnessed the rise of television and the end of the BBC's monopoly. This fourth volume of Asa Briggs's detailed study is based on a mass of hitherto unexplored documentary evidence, much, but not all of it, from the BBC's own voluminous archives. It examines in detail how and why some of the key decisions affecting broadcasting policy - domestic and external - were reached and what were their effects. Yet it is more than an institutional history. One long chapter deals with the changing arts and techniques of broadcasting news and views, politics, drama, features and variety, music, religion, education and sport. It describes a pattern of broadcasting - and a society and culture - already remote from our own. At every point the main contours of society and culture are explored. It ends with the first night of competitive television and with contemporary assessments of the likely impact of television on sound broadcasting and other media. It is profusely illustrated and can be read either as complete in itself or as one fascinating phase in the unfolding history of British broadcasting.

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