Book Description
This one-of-a-kind collection of poster art commemorates an era in cinema that produced films like Silence of the Lambs, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Pretty Woman, Fargo, and Schindler's List. Featuring scores of full-color reproductions, this is a book that will thrill movie buffs and poster collectors alike.
Customer Reviews:
comes up a winner.......2006-10-15
For 10 years, I have sought another chance to glimpse a European poster I had seen for Casino on a trip to the continent when the picture was current. This book offers me that.
For that alone, it gets 4 stars. It's not the book's fault that the 90s offered a bunch of rehashes of the posters for Eraser and The Peacemaker. And scores of big faces with guns. Plus, the ascendance of computer design. Zzzzz.
Still, that Casino poster is a haunting and lovely image. One of cinema's finest.
Amazon.com
This series of capsule movie reviews by the great Pauline Kael is actually an anthology of her writings for the "Goings on About Town" section of the New Yorker magazine. In 5001 Nights, Kael digs into the heart of each movie she considers with extraordinary penetration and exuberance. And while every movie you know may not appear here, each of Kael's reviews is detailed enough to provide tremendous insight into the movies that are covered. This book is as much fun to browse as it is to read through. Whether you've run the rounds at your local video store, Kael will lead you to treasures you may not know are out there.
Customer Reviews:
A Disappointment..........2007-02-23
This book should be entitled " 5001 Nights at the Movies ( and about a dozen that I actually enjoyed ). I've never seen so many negative film reviews. I am lifelong movie fan. When I buy a book like this, I'm hoping that the author will lead me to discover great movies of which I am unaware and that I haven't seen ( like Danny Peary's excellent Guide for the Film Fanatic ), not to write that every movie ever made is a waste of time. This book reminds me of people who like to sit around after dinner saying bad things about other people who aren't there. Mean spirited and self important. A disappointment...
Lotta 3 paragraph reviews by an insightful reviewer........2007-02-11
The trick with reading any review of anything such as a play, a movie, a record or any art or exhibition is to know the reviewer. In San Diego we've had the same movie reviewer, Duncan Shepard, for the San Diego Reader for two or three decades. Everyone I know who reads his reviews has cranky things to say about his reviews as his point of view is very distinct. However, the reviews are not useless. Once you learn that most of his 5 star films are something that the typical movie goer would give 2 stars to and his 1 or 2 starred films are sometimes our favorites, then it's a breeze reading his reviews. His point of view has remained true all this time.
The same can be said for Kael. Both reviewers are very intelligent and see movies through their own viewing lens. We all have no choice but to see everything from our own point of view. The good news is, Kael keeps her consistent point of view, writes sharply and with some humor and is quite intelligent. As a result, one can learn about films by reading her reviews. The best way to approach this book, least for me, was to immediately read her reviews of films I have seen. Then I got a good idea of her perspective. Where she was coming from became more evident.
I am delighted I purchased this book on amazon.com, the best book store around (besides Powell's in Portland but, it's in Portland, though, of course, they do have a website but it ain't the same as seeing all their books in their massive store). Ironically, it's the reviews on amazon.com that really help a person make more informed decisions about books you can't actually thumb through.
I don't completely agree with Kael on her evaluations of every film. That's because everyone has their own fingerprint for their distinct tastes in movies, music and art. We are each formed by our upbringing and our experiences and our personal taste. What matters is when a person can efficiently convey an intelligent idea of a film to us with an honest perspective that remains true to her own point of view over the decades. Kael has accomplished this.
I look forward to many more opportunities to dive into this thick book to explore the world of film from the late 1920's to the late 1980's. chrisbct@hotmail.com
'Perils' of Pauline.......2006-07-15
There's no doubt that Pauline Kael turned film criticism into an art form--she loved movies, was grounded in the details of every film she reviewed, was a writer of great abilily and possesed a wit second to none...
"5001 Nights At The Movies" contains 2800 capsule reviews that originally appeared in the Goings On About Town section of the New Yorker...
Is is vintage Kael, with this new expanded edition (first edition was published in 1984) containing 2800 reviews and adding material through 1991, so the reader get Kael's takes on "Goodfellas" and "Field of Dreams" for example.
Kael retired from film criticism in 1991 stating she was doing so to avoid sitting through another Oliver Stone film.
The notorius Kael wit is evident on almost every page--she describes Yoda as "looking like a Won Ton and talking like a fortune cookie" and completely obliterates Sinatra's tepid 1966 spy film "The Naked Runner" by stating 'it would be a good movie to read by if there were light in the theater'.
Most of Kael's classic review collections (Hooked, Deeper Into Movies, After the Lights Go Down, Reeling at al ) are currently out of print, but the availabity of "5001 Nights At The Movies" along with its companion piece "For Keeps," is a blessing for film lovers.
3.5 Stars.......2006-03-20
Reviewing a reviewer is always tricky, especially one as celebrated as the late Pauline Kael (d. 2001). She is famous for her love of some movies, such as Citizen Kane, and her dismissal of other classics, as in her famous review of Star Wars, which she called an "epic without a dream." She did like Empire Strikes Back, though, so you have to give her some credit. One could find fault with every critic: I find Kael's preference for Ghosbusters 2 to Ghostbusters, Exorcist II to Exorcist, and Temple of Doom to Raiders of the Lost Ark inexplicable, but so too with Roger Ebert's liking of Van Helsing while trashing Napoleon Dynamite. No critic is perfect. But Kael at times seems such a tough critic that you begin to wonder if she even liked movies all that much. That may seem an odd statement to make, but what else could one wonder when she says Amadeus merely has "redeeming qualities" or when she gives a tepid review of The Third Man? After reading her slams of such classics as The Searchers or 2001: A Space Odyssey, at times, you wonder if Kael would have preferred to have been a food critic. After all, how many people complain, as she often does, about a movie's "texture?" And she includes enough literary references to make you also wonder if she would have been better off doing literary criticism. What bothers me most about Kael's book 5001 Nights is not that she prefers De Palma to Kubrick or that she dislikes some movies I like, what bothers me most is when she is glib or vague. The reviews here are usually not very lengthy. Some get only sentence or two. And since she does not have a star-rating system, you are left scratching your head as to whether or not she liked certain films. Nor does she include running times or MPAA ratings. The book, furthermore, contains few reviews from the 1990s, so don't look for the films of QT or Paul Thomas Anderson here, though the book is useful for older movies from the 1930, 40s, and 50s. For film buffs, you must read Kael at some point. But if you read this book, you are apt to be a little disappointed with her--best film critic of all time or not. I prefer Ebert's mid-western brand of criticism. Ebert seems a guy who really, really loves movies. That love comes across loud and clear in his reviews. With Kael you get the feeling that film criticism was often just a way for her to turn a clever phrase, whether or not it had much to do with the movie's good or bad qualities. And in that sense, she was at times the most condescending type of critic.
A little hand for the big lady........2005-03-21
Mention the name "Pauline Kael" and you'll no doubt hear her work spoken in hushed tones and unwavering reverence. Indeed, the late film critic changed the way many writers approached reviewing movies. With the exception of James Agee, most critics prior to Kael's era tented to come off like displaced drama critics slumming through a [...]form of show business. Kael unapologetically loved the movies for what they are as mass entertainment, and embarked on a buoyant writing style that gave the reader a visceral sense of a movie's immediacy with all the five senses she could muster. It was if she were a gourmand savoring each bite and describing the taste to a salivating dinner quest.
She was a dazzling writer. However for me, oddly, there has always been a problem reading Kael. Her style and shtick- she had the jauntiest use for the English language- most times barreled through front and center while the movies themselves appear a mere vehicle to get her to the page [...]. When Kael's criticisms were fired up, you could not get more illuminating when she championed the likes of BONNIE AND CLYDE or picked a fight with a party-pooping film theorist. But other times, whether you agreed with her or not, she could be frustratingly dismissive or obtuse and do mere "drive-by's." I felt this way while wading through 5001 NIGHTS AT THE MOVIES. Kael's collection of capsules comments culled from over decades ultimately could be subtitled the "Best and Worst of Pauline Kael."
When chopped into smaller portions, Kael's reviews tend to read like a pastiche of ersatz thoughts and puns jotted down on pocket paper. She had a maddening inability to take just a few steps back and relive any movie from a different vantage point. Thus, you get the gist of the moment but nothing more expansive as to how a particular movie relates to the pop cultural landscape over time. Case in point is her review for FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE which she opines is "exciting, handsomely staged, and campy [?]" but writes little else before hitting the exit door. There is nothing about how the second James Bond adventure fits into the series' cannon or how the movie's cold war zeitgeist plays today. Instead we have to make do with her quickly assembled thoughts way back in 1963 that make her work seem uncharacteristically dated and out of touch. Elsewhere, oxy moronic word play pile up like "this isn't a good movie but it's compellingly tawdry and nasty," or "this isn't much of a movie but it manages to be funny a good part of the time anyway." Again, this was all part of Kael's shtick but if one is a novice and truly wants to use this book as an introduction to the world of movies you'd probably be left scratching your head as to what exactly does the lady mean here?
Look, when it comes to literature on the movies, Pauline Kael is a must. But for a readable, on-the-money, and multi-layered take on the movies you'd be better served by Danny Peary's GUIDE FOR THE FILM FANATIC (a personal favorite and sadly out of print) or any of Roger Ebert's yearly guides. These books go a longer distance and with much plainer language.
Average customer rating:
- The worst of the series.
- Massive Picture Book
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Movies of the 90s
Manufacturer: Taschen
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Movies of the 40s (Midi)
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Movies of the 30s
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Best Movies of the 80's
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Movies of the 20s And Early Cinema (Taschen Spring)
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Best Movies of the 70s (Taschen 25)
ASIN: 3822858781 |
Book Description
TASCHEN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, HONG KONG, CINÉCITTÀ, BABELSBERG & BOLLYWOOD TO DEFINE A TRANSITIONAL DECADE IN FILM MOVIES OF THE 90s opens with comments on the phenomenal technical leaps taken by moviemakers in the 90s, and the innovative way this new technology was applied to every aspect of the cinematic art. It also explores filmmaker's allusions to earlier classic films; the use and effect of video on filmmaking, and the trend toward deconstruction of the traditional linear narrative.
The meat of the book is devoted to an in-depth look at nearly 150 films, American, European and Asian, broken down year by year. First the facts: date, country, running time, genre, director, film credits, cast, and Academy and film festival awards. Then, a summary of the film, facts about the making of the film, comments on the budget and box office, quotes from the film and from critical reviews, and most importantly, numerous photos and film stills from each movie, with annotated captions. Liberally featured throughout are boxed items of interest: technical film terms, notes about the director's influences, film-set gossip, and other irresistible trivia. The book closes with easy-to-use indexes of Academy Awards for each year, films by title, names, production companies and a glossary of film terms.
What sets MOVIES OF THE 90s apart from other traditional film guides is its liberal use of visual material from the films. It adds immeasurably to the reader's recall and appreciation of each film featured and makes it a fun read as well as a highly informative one. MOVIES OF THE 90s is a must for the film lover's bookshelf.
Customer Reviews:
The worst of the series........2005-03-13
I love these books. Full of great quality pictures, reviews/essays and notes on the text. However, Jurgen Muller's BOOKS OF THE '90s is by far the worst I've read out of the series so far. Whereas the '70s book listed all the iconic films of the 1970s, Movies of the 90s excludes some of the most definitive - such as Reservoir Dogs - and opts for stuff that wasn't even very good. (Such as Crash.)
If this was a list of the iconic films of the '90s such as "Films of the 70s" was, then perhaps including Dumb and Dumber also would have been a smart move. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it's better than many of the mediocre films they include here.
It's not a bad list, it's just missing a lot of titles I'd personally include, making up for their absence with mediocre titles that aren't even very popular.
Massive Picture Book.......2003-02-13
800 page monster book. 141 flims from 1991 to 2000. It is filled with pictures(in color!) on almost every page. The text for each film is a basic review. Random quotes from the film, random critics quotes, and little inside information fill the rest of the book. Some of the films selected are questionable. Space Cowboys? Where is Dumb and Dumber? No Anime? The majority of these flicks are Hollywood, but some happen to be indies and international based productions. Happiness, Run Lola Run, and Hate to name a few. At times, there are selections that tend to be director favored like Ang Lee, Steven Soderbergh, and David Fincher. Can you blame them, those guys make good movies? What happened to Spike Lee? The film selection overall is great with some making you say "its on your list, but not mine."
Overall; You won't find a better book of its kind for a cheaper price. 800 Pages! PICTURES(Color)! $...! Made in Spain! Did I mention PICTURES?
Book Description
This digital document is an article from CineAction, published by CineAction on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 7373 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Party time or can't hardly wait for that American pie: Hollywood high school movies of the 90s.(Critical Essay)
Author: Robin Wood
Publication:
CineAction (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: CineAction
Page: 2(9)
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Best Movies of the 90s
*
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K753NC |
Average customer rating:
- For the Continuo-Figured Bass player
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Examples of Easy Figured Bass for the Keyboard
Darrell R. Douglas
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Piano
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ASIN: 0773474196 |
Customer Reviews:
For the Continuo-Figured Bass player.......2001-12-03
This book is designed for the novice figured bass student or anyone who wants to learn how to read the figures. There are 114 examples of music in the five major areas of figured bass playing. The five areas are, Hymn/Choral, Recitative, Song, Passacaglia/Chaconne, and Duo-Trio Sonata. Many familiar tunes are included. The text is designed for use in undergraduate music theory courses. The examples are easy to play and the figures are edited to avoid the problems of the original publications.
Book Description
The Nimzo-Indian is one of Black's most universally popular and respectable answers to 1 d4. It could be said that no other opening allows Black to play for a win from such a sound positional basis, while its flexibility gives rise to a multitude of different positions rich in tactical and positional play. The list of Nimzo-Indian admirers runs like a who's who of the chess world: Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Vishy Anand, Anatoly Karpov, and Michael Adams are just a handful of top Grandmasters who have utilized it with great effect.
With the Nimzo-Indian being such a fashionable opening, some Black players are put off by the possibility of having to learn a labyrinth of different variations. However, in Play the Nimzo-Indian, Edward Dearing solves this problem by constructing a concise and workable repertoire for Black, offering a solution against each of White's tries, whether it's a critical main line or a tricky side variation. Readers will gain the necessary knowledge and confidence to begin playing the Nimzo-Indian in their games.
>Explains an opening favored by the world's elite
>Written by a renowned openings expert
>Covers all of White's main tries
Customer Reviews:
Quirky, insightful, wonderful.......2007-04-27
It is very rare that people have a lot of fun reading a chess book. It is rarer still that people enjoy reading an opening book. Dearing is the antithesis of all that common opinion.
The teaching format of this book is exemplary, far beyond that of any other book I've read. Every chapter starts off with a very thorough, plain English explanation of the variation at hand. Unlike most chess books, where it lasts two pages and is just a summary of what's in the chapter, Dearing usually spends at least four pages explaining the themes behind the variation. He does so very thoroughly but with absolutely readable and funny prose. It is rare to find this much work done on introductions; most authors recommend repertoires which promise "little theory!" or an "easy route to equality" or perhaps just "a very simple plan". We have all read these cliches (for more on this read Steve Lopez's chess cliche article [...] Very entertaining!). Further, these are rarely the best or most challenging lines. The lines that Dearing picks, however, are not only solid (Black will not lose out of the opening) but dynamic and above all, INTERESTING!
When he gets to annotating the games, his commentary is second to none. When Serper plays 21.Nd4!! The move is given a diagram, and the annotation "Oops!" Of course after black's reply he explains thoroughly the move's idea and the resulting variations. Other good annotations are "See, we didn't lose the rook. It was a sacrifice. Honest." Not many chess authors are brave enough to put in this kind of annotation in their books, but Dearing is witty and has fun quirks to his writing like this. It makes it sound like you're taking a lesson from a human, not simply "studying chess."
The quality of all the lines is great, the analysis is perfect, the games are all very high-level, and the writing is magnificent. I rarely give 5 stars out, but this one really deserves it.
An Outstanding Repertoire Book for Serious Players.......2006-02-26
"Play the Nimzo-Indian" is one of the newest offerings from Everyman Chess, one of the top publishers of chess books in the English language. It is written by a young Scottish IM, Edward Dearing, who is perhaps best known for his previous book "Play the Sicilian Dragon," a book which received almost unanimous praise from reviewers (with the exception of GM Sergey Tiviakov, who strongly criticized it in New In Chess Yearbook 75). Dearing is quickly establishing himself as one of the more conscientious and instructive writers of books about chess openings.
"Play the Nimzo-Indian" is a repertoire book for the player of the Black pieces. It is important note that the Nimzo-Indian arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, and this book only provides a repertoire for Black from that position. Black players taking up the Nimzo-Indian as a defense to 1.d4 for the first time will also need to come up with a repertoire against the other major third move alternative, 3.Nf3 (the Queen's Indian, Bogo-Indian and Modern Benoni are three possibilities), and against less theoretically challenging deviations (the Torre Attack, Trompovsky, Colle System, London System, Veresov, etc.). However, the Nimzo-Indian itself is a huge subject, and it seems to me that it is correct to cover a Nimzo-Indian repertoire in a separate book. As a caveat to this review, I should note that I don't presently play the Nimzo-Indian with the Black pieces myself, although it was my first defense to 1.d4 and as a 1.d4 player I have played various lines against it over the years, so I have some familiarity with it.
"Play the Nimzo-Indian" is in Everyman's usual "complete games" format, in which the author uses complete games to demonstrate and explain the critical lines in the repertoire. I consider this format to be optimal for players learning a new opening, because including complete games allows the player to study typical middlegames and endgames arising from the opening as well as the opening theory. There are 50 main games in this book, which is perhaps close to the average number for an Everyman opening book. However, this book is a substantial 224 pages in length, well above average for an Everyman production. The extra pages result from a greater than usual amount of analytical sidelines and explanatory material in the text.
There are several features in this book that I consider to be improvements on Everyman's traditional "complete games" format. First, there is a two-page index of variations in the back which I don't recall seeing in previous Everyman books but which is extremely useful for quickly locating games played in specific lines. Everyman has received some criticism in the past for not having an index of variations and finally seem to have done something about it.
Second, and perhaps more significantly, after each of the 50 main annotated games there is a short (anywhere from a paragraph to almost a full page in length) "Conclusions" section (e.g., "Game 1 Conclusions," "Game 2 Conclusions," etc.) which discusses the theoretical significance of the preceding game, lessons to drawn, and often notes typical middlegame maneuvers/themes/ideas. I found these sections, notwithstanding their brevity, to be very useful in helping me assimilate the games and place them in their proper theoretical context. This is a very welcome innovation from Dearing and I hope Everyman considers making it standard in their future opening books in the "complete games" format.
As for the theory and games presented, the Nimzo-Indian is a sound and dynamic defense to 1.d4 that has been played by virtually every World Champion of the last 50 years and the majority of the world's top players in that period as well. It is extremely solid while presenting opportunities to play for a win with Black against all levels of opposition. Because there are so many viable subvariations in this opening, Dearing has had a wealth of lines from which to chose his repertoire, and in general I think he has done an excellent job in making his selections. Of course, the selection of which subvariation to play in a major defense like the Nimzo-Indian involves issues pertaining to personal style and preference, and not everyone will be happy with every one of Dearing's choices. However, the richness of the Nimzo-Indian is such that you will always have a number of alternatives if you don't like a specific variation chosen by Dearing. And overall I think Dearing has done a good job of presenting a repertoire that will appeal to a broad spectrum of players.
"Play the Nimzo-Indian" presents a Nimzo-Indian repertoire that will be playable (and is played) at virtually any level, from the club player to the super-GM. This is not the kind of "quick fix" repertoire often presented by lazy or dishonest authors and intended for weaker players who want an easy solution to their opening problems. The players of the Black pieces in the annotated main games include such famous GMs as Karpov, Anand, Korchnoi, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Short, Bareev, Adams and Khalifman. In general, Dearing presents a very serious, even ambitious, repertoire, and chances are good that the main repertoire choices by Dearing will remain playable for the rest of your chess career.
The downside of choosing a really sound opening repertoire is that there is usually quite a bit of theory involved, as sound lines are popular with good players. Dearing has done a very reasonable job of limiting the amount of theory presented, often by choosing slightly less theory-intensive but very sound alternatives to the absolute main lines. That having been said, presenting a serious Nimzo-Indian repertoire is not a trivial task, and notwithstanding the "complete games" format this book has a lot of theory packed into its 224 pages. Because of the amount of theory, I would primarily recommend this book for ambitious players willing to do a certain amount of work to prepare a sound opening that will last them for a lifetime. Due to the wealth of explanatory material, I think that most of the book would be accessible to players above 1800 elo, although ambitious lower-rated players might find much that is useful and enlightening here.
I give this book 5 stars. In the genre of opening books in the "complete games" format, it is one of the two or three best that I have seen.
Customer Reviews:
Synopsis.......2007-07-09
A companion volume to Winning with the Nimzo, this book is the first part of a full explanation of one of the most important defences to the Queen's pawn in contemporary chess. It has been a favourite of Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov, Petrosian and Botvinnik, to name but a few of the greats who have employed it. This book - unlike many rivals - concentrates on full games with notes explaining strategies that will never go out of fashion.
International Master Shaun Taulbut has been Silver Medallist in the British Championship, Gold Medallist in the World Student Team Championship and is a former junior champion of Europe. He has published many books on the theory of the openings.
Raymond Keene is a British Chess Champion,and the first British Player to achieve a FIDE (World Chess Federation) Grandmaster norm. He was awarded the OBE for services to chess in 1985. He is Chess Correspondent of The Times,The Sunday Times,The Spectator, and The International Herald Tribune. He is a prolific author of chess books, several of which are classics of the genre. He has organised three World Chess Championships
Average customer rating:
- Strategic Ideas in the Nimzo
- Some good information, but not so good binding...
- Badly written Nimzo primer
- Where ALL Nimzo-Indian players need to start.
- Not the first place to start
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Mastering the Nimzo-Indian: With the Read and Play Method
Tony Kosten
Manufacturer: Batsford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0713483830 |
Book Description
The Nimzo-Indian is one of the game's most important openings, popular at every level. This superb manual utilizes the "Read and Play" method to explain typical plans and themes, rather than diving into dense reference material.
Intermediate
Customer Reviews:
Strategic Ideas in the Nimzo.......2005-11-16
This book covers all the basic strategic ideas in the Nimzo, and the best plans and ideas behind each varation. This book relies on strategy and high level thinking instead of memorization of lines and lines of the hottest theory. It is a good place to start to understand the strategy. However, one game per strategic motif is not sufficent to understand the objectives. It would have been helpful if there were another additional 21 annotated games with explanation.
Some good information, but not so good binding..........2005-07-31
Kosten is one of the few chess authors I actually enjoy reading. He usually presents quality work with original ideas and analysis. This book has some good explanations about the positional themes within the Nimzo, but it is not meant as reference work or as a place to fill out your repertoire. Of course, it IS a nice place to start if you want to understand why theory develops the way it does it certain lines. Basically, what are the two sides fighting for within the pertinent lines. From a pedogogical standpoint, I would recommend it to players under 2000 who want to explore the ideas behind the Nimzo rather than trying to memorize the moves or basic themes.
However, as another reviewer mentioned, the binding on this book is bad. The pages will slowly (but surely) fall out as time goes on. And no, I haven't read it 20 times or something. Also, if you try to lie it flat (so you use your hands to move pieces on a board), you'll find that the binding cracks under even slight pressure. It might seem weird to some of you, but I would not recommend buying this book because it is so poorly manufactured. It is frustrating.
However, if you see it in a library or can borrow from a friend (who won't freak out if some pages go AWOL) then go for it. Understanding structure and how to plan based on it is one of the biggest differences between strong and weak players. This book can help you play the Nimzo better once your theoretical knowledge runs out.
Badly written Nimzo primer.......2002-03-19
This is an exceedingly lame book that feels like it was cranked out quickly. It truly is not worthy to carry the "Mastering ... with the Read and Play Method" books. There is no comparison, for instance, between this book and Mastering the Kings's indian Defense by Bellin and Ponzetto. The high price of this just makes it more ridiculous. I had come to expect more from Tony Kosten. This one is a lame-o.
Where ALL Nimzo-Indian players need to start........1999-06-23
This book is an excellent starting point for learning the Nimzo-Indian. You learn all the basic ideas, such as pawn structure, weaknesses (such as c4 for white, repeatedly mentioned as one of White's weaknesses in many lines), certain tactical ideas that appear in certain pawn structures, weaknesses you must watch out for in your own camp, etc. Also has an annotated game at the end of each chapter. I would highly recommend reading this book first, and only after that, read a book that has a good number of annotated games, such as "New Ideas In The Nimzo-Indian Defense", also by Kosten.
Not the first place to start.......1999-04-22
Not a bad effort, and instructive in terms of general strategies and pawn structure (which appears to be the aim of the "Mastering" series.) However, as an intermediate player trying to learn the opening, I felt that it was lacking in terms of nuts and bolts. A book like John Emms's "Easy Guide to the Nimzo-Indian" would be a better place to start.
Customer Reviews:
A must own for Nimzo-Indian players.......2005-01-06
Play the Nimzo-Indian Defense may seem a bit dated as opening theory evolves so quickly in age of the internet, but this book stands the test of time. Gligoric does not try to give a quick variation for every possible move. He annotates complete games, explaining what each side is trying to strategically accomplish. The games chosen are excellent as they tend to show the best possible play for each side instead of lopsided battles that look pretty but do little to instruct. The chapters are laid out to show the historical evolution of the ideas which helps you built up a real understanding of why you are making a certain move. If you want the latest trend for the Nimzo-Indian, than look elsewhere, but if you want to understand this opening, then this is a fantastic book.
GM Games with Footnotes.......2004-12-17
If you only read the first few pages of this book you would think that you were going to get in depth patient explanations. You for example, would see some diagrams showing that, for example, with 1. d4 NF6 hits E4 and then a little discussion of indirect control of E4. You would say, ok, that is too basic for me, but looks like there will be lots of quality explanations as we get more in depth. The promise of that introduction is not fufilled. The chapters on each variation have extremely minimal explanations. The style of the book is 100% grandmaster games -- there is no pure opening analysis. As a result, variations are dealt with either by other games or by footnotes. You really have to work quite hard to extract an overall understanding. Just the other day I was struggling to understand the varation with 4. F3 from the meager introduction and 3 provided games.
Its helpful to have complete games to see the middle game themes, but to have 100% complete games means that short shrift is given to exploring, and more importantly discussing, various variations and plans. (Why don't more books combine the approaches? Most use complete games or variation analysis...so few use both in the proper mix.)
Its a bit dated if you look at a database, but that is to be expected. While it does cover all major variations that occur at the GM level, it certainly doesn't attempt to cover moves that under 2000 white players might try on you. Take 4. Bd2. Its not a try for advantage. But its quite common at lower levels for the same reasons that the exchange French is common, and there is nothing terribly wrong with it. GM's have faced it. Put it into Fritz and Fritz will say that white still has a tiny edge. Yet its not even mentioned in the book. The organization of the book also leaves something to be desired..want to find the 4. F3 variation? You better remember what its called!
You might want to pick this up if you are over 1800 USCF and already have and have digested a more basic book on the Nimzo like the "Easy Guide" or "Starting Out" books. This is NOT a book for low rated players or a good first book on the Nimzo for anyone. (I'm 1913 USCF). At the present moment I am not aware of a book more advanced then "easy guide" or "starting out" books that is also comprehensive. So this book still has a place, much as one could wish for a better comprehensive book on the subject.
Look no further!.......2004-03-02
Gligoric has produced a master piece on the subject of the Nimzo-Indian Defence! This is one of the most complete referenced on the subject of the Nimzo-Indian Defence. The Book is sectioned into three parts, covering "27" variations!!! Each variation is represented by an incredible amount of Grandmaster games ranging from the 1930's to the 1980's! With deep annotations for each game and variations of play from the main line. The author has given the reader a large selection of high quality games covering wins for Black and White, with deep detail of information for both sides. The book is in algebraic notation so it is easy to follow and each variation is presented with some history on the player and the variation. If you are looking for the most complete reference to the Nimzo-Indian Defence then look no further, this is as good as it gets!
Extensive and Exhaustive!.......2000-05-16
If you're looking for a book on the Nimzo-Indian defense, Svetozar Gligoric has written *the* book. Gligoric traces the development of the defense, using the games of top-level GM's throughout the book. Every variation of the defense is touched upon.
Book Description
The Nimzo-Indian is an extremely popular and reliable defence, upon which most world champions have relied at some point in their careers. Black controls the vital e4-square with his pieces, and retains total flexibility with his central pawns. By playing 4 f3, White challenges Black's idea head-on. Either Black grants White control of e4, or else he must commit his pawn to d5, whereupon White can begin concrete action in the centre. The result is sharp, forcing play of a type that is rare in the early stages of most Nimzo-Indians. 4 f3 is an excellent choice for ambitious players who are willing to prepare carefully, as it can be used to steamroller opponents who have not worked out an accurate response.
The 4 f3 Nimzo enjoyed a period of great popularity in the early 1990s, following a number of spectacular victories by the teenage Alexei Shirov. However, good responses were found and the line's popularity declined. A number of players quietly worked away at revitalizing 4 f3, and it is now once again a potent weapon. Following its period out of the limelight, it has now regained its surprise value, which will be greatly valued by club players wishing to spring 4 f3 on their opponents.
Customer Reviews:
Trend-setting analysis of a potent opening system.......2005-03-02
Some opening manuals are written in response to popular trends. Others - sometimes the most innovative - can create the trends. It is clear that Yuri Yakovich has penned one of the latter type here, with his enterprising coverage of the surprise line arising after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 f3.
White's intentions are deeply aggressive, aiming for a quick central build-up with e4. Yakovich is a top Russian trainer, and a Grandmaster, known as a world authority on this variation. He has had success even after strong opponents have come to expect it.
Much of the analysis in this book is original or challenges established theory and assessments. So even if the theoretical verdict of the line remains unclear, players of the black pieces will need to be familiar with the intricacies, or risk being steamrolled in the opening. A point reinforced by the 14 illustrative games at the end of the book, where in one Gheorghiu beats Fischer at the Havana Olympiad in 1966.
Shallow understanding of the f3 variations........2004-12-05
I was excited when I read about a new book on f3 variation, and I ordered as soon as it came avalible on amazon. I dont regret ordering it as I have been studying the f3 for some time now and there are really no other books on it. However its obvious, if you play this as much as I do that yuri's understanding of the whole variation, is only average. Moreover he didnt put much time into analysis for this book. He mainly looked at the database and copied from the opening encyclopedias. Now its true that as a professional he cant give away all his secrets, but really if thats your attitude than dont bother write a book.
Let me just give a few of the errors,I dont want to give them all away, but here are a few:
After d4 nf6 c4 e6 nc3 bb4 f3 c5 yuri writes: "In order to maintain the position in the center white must reply d5"
Actually thats false, a3 more than playble, in fact I think it is better than d5.
After d5 he gives blacks choices as:
b5, 0-0, BxN, and Nh5. Whoops, guess he forgot blacks best move, d6! with the plan of meeting e4 with b5. Note that he does not cover any transpositions into this variation.
Here is a reaccuring blurb from one of his summaries:
"The lack of practical examples does not allow us to make any clear-cut assessments regarding the value of 10.g3!?, although in the games in which this move has featured, Black was unable to solve his opening problems"
Insightful eh?
Average customer rating:
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Urban Gothic: Lacuna and Other Trips
Manufacturer: Telos Publishing
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ASIN: 1903889006
Release Date: 2003-02-03 |
Book Description
Urban Gothic: Lacuna and Other Trips combines the talents of some of today's best British horror authors, to bring an anthology of six tales of terror and mayhem that you'll never forget. With fiction from Graham Masterton, Christopher Fowler, Simon Clark, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis, Paul Finch, Debbie Bennett and an introduction by Richard O'Brien, two factual pieces by David Miller about the show and interviews with Tom deVille and Steve Matthews.
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- Final Cut Pro 3 for Dummies
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- Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks (Contemporary Film and Television Series)
- Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams
- German National Cinema (National Cinemas)
- Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978 to 1986
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