When I was first asked to review Frank Brady's new book my first thought was that it would be yet another biography of Bobby Fischer and interchangeable with any of the others. It's difficult to write a review for a book that's a poor carbon copy of a hundred others. This book brought me into its realistic world of novelized history very quickly. And it doesn't let up its interest grabbing until Bobby's final act.

In general the chess community collectively knows quite a bit about Fischer - his madness, his genius - but men like Frank Brady were given unique opportunities to socialize with the man behind the sensationalized media hype and for him to share the experience and research with a variety of readers is a gift that I have come to appreciate more than I expected I could.

It's a common thing for biographers to jump from the novelized history to a poorer form of chronological history: “this happened, then this, then this, ...” However, moving from one scene in Brady's new book to the next is the most seamless effort I've ever read in biographies in general.

Mr. Brady writes the Championship Match between Fischer and Borris Spassky in a somewhat different manner than the rest of the book showing a greater depth of focus by the author. The change is understandable in the context and the greater focus acknowledges the event as Bobby Fischer's magnum opus. However, unlike the kid glove handling(s) of the championship I've read in the past there is a more honest approach. A view of both sides as being in high tension. Not just Bobby giving unrelenting demands but the soviet chess machine's reactions to the interference by Dr. Max Euwe (then FIDE President) and other such unique circumstances. It is also noteworthy that Borris Spassky shines as a sportsman by not objecting to the match continuing after Bobby's strange behavior.

A reader becomes intimately familiar with a number of the "players" as well as with Fischer himself through this work. If you like Bobby as a chess genius this book is a must read. If you think him completely insane this book is a must read. Likewise, if you enjoy biographies or usually pass them up this is still a book you must read. If you know nothing about chess and have never played before in your life this book will still hold your interest (with my personal proviso that some of Bobby's seemingly strange behavior is excusable in the chess community in general). Get your hands on a copy of this book. I highly recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed.

New York Times Review
Salon.com Review
Wired Review