Endgame
Published on 5. July 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-78033-692-3 (ISBN)
Description
When Bobby Fischer died in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Everyone knew the basics of his life: he began as a brilliant youngster, then became the pride of American chess, then took a sharp turn, struggling with paranoia and mental illness. But nobody truly understood him. What motivated him from such a young age, and what was the source of his remarkable intellect? How could a man so ambivalent about money and fame be so driven to succeed? What drew this man of Jewish descent to fulminate against Jews, and how was it that a mind so famously disciplined could unravel so completely?
From his meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings, and numerous firsthand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best, to paint, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of the most enigmatic icons.
This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer's deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question: 'Who was Bobby Fischer?'
From his meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings, and numerous firsthand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best, to paint, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of the most enigmatic icons.
This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer's deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question: 'Who was Bobby Fischer?'
Reviews / Votes
Fascinating. * The Times * A rapt, intimate book... Fascinating. * New York Times * Frank Brady's superlative Endgame is a biography more than worthy of its charismatic subject ...the second half of his life is one of the saddest stories, even as this is one the year's best biographies. * Washington Post * A superb storyteller. * Literary Review * (An) engaging account. * Sunday Telegraph * Well-researched and enjoyable. * Jewish Chronicle * The Mozart of the chessboard is inseparable from the monster of paranoid egotism in this fascinating biography. Brady, founding publisher of Chess Life magazine and a friend of Fischer, gives a richly detailed account of the impoverished Brooklyn wunderkind's sensational opening--he was history's first 15-year-old grandmaster--and the 1972 match with Boris Spassky, in which Fischer captivated the world with his brilliant play and towering tantrums. Brady's chronicle of Fischer's graceless endgame is just as engrossing, as the chess superstar sinks into poverty after rejecting million-dollar matches; flirts with cults; and becomes, though himself Jewish, a raving anti-Semite and conspiracy theorist.... Brady gives us a vivid, tragic narrative of a life that became a chess game. * Publishing News (Starred review) * Rich in detail and insight...I consider this book essential reading in the effort to understandBobby Fischer and his place in our world. -- David Shenk, author of The Genius in All of Us. The definitive portrait of the greatest- and most disturbed-chess genius of all time. -- Paul Hoffman, author of The Man Who Loved Only Numbers Tells the full and fair story of Fischer's astonishing rise and heartbreaking fall...Brady is the perfect biographer for Bobby Fischer. -- Christopher Chabris, author of The Invisible Gorilla A heartbreaking story of failed hopes and torment. * Catholic Herald * Well-researched. * Mail on Sunday * Review. * Oldie * Frank Brady knew Fischer well as a young man and has now written this biography with sympathy and skill. * Sunday Business Post *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Illustrations
8pp B&W plate section
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
342 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78033-692-3 (9781780336923)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Frank Brady
Endgame
Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness
E-Book
05/2011
Constable
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Frank Brady is the author of numerous biographies, including Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy, one of the bestselling chess books of all time. He is chairman of the Department of Mass Communication, Journalism, Television and Film at St. John's University, is the president of the Marshall Chess Club, and served as secretary of the United States Chess Federation from 2003 to 2005. He lives in New York.