The WELL: inkwell.vue.281: David Shenk, "The Immortal Game"

#59: Emily J. Gertz (emilyg) Wed 23 Dec 09 05:45

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:45:00 PST

<scribbled by emilyg Wed 23 Dec 09 08:47> [Read entire topic]

#58: Berliner (captward) Fri 22 Sep 06 09:29

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:29:00 PDT

She'd just found out she was three months pregnant, as I remember. [Read entire topic]

#57: I dare you to make less sense! (jet) Thu 21 Sep 06 21:02

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:02:00 PDT

Marcel Duchamp & Eve Babitz:

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/joopy/49901002/> [Read entire topic]

#56: Vince Houmes (unclevinny) Thu 21 Sep 06 09:47

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 09:47:00 PDT

Thanks a lot for writing the book and chatting with us, David! Your grandmother's grandfather would be very proud of you for the great service you've done for the chess community. [Read entire topic]

#55: Hal Royaltey (hal) Wed 20 Sep 06 20:29

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:29:00 PDT

Well ... our two weeks are up and the Inkwell spotlight has moved to a new conversation. This one will remain open however and Well members and non-members alike are welcome to continue.

Thanks to David and Patrick for some interesting thoughts. [Read entire topic]

#54: Schach & Ah! (dotman) Tue 19 Sep 06 13:14

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:14:00 PDT

By the sound of it so far, all the book's readers who posted here agree with those reviewers. People without a Well membership who are reading this topic in real time can email their own questions and comments to inkwell@well.com, so they can be copied here. [Read entire topic]

#53: David Shenk (davidshenk) Mon 18 Sep 06 14:21

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:21:00 PDT

I'm coming to the west coast this week and hope some of you can come hear me read and talk about the book. Here's my itinerary:

Redmond Wednesday, September 20 -- 1:30PM MICROSOFT -- (for MS employees only) One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052

Seattle Wednesday, September 20 -- 7PM UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE 4326 University Way Seattle, WA 98105 206-633-6443

San Francisco Thursday, September 21 -- 7PM CODY*S 2 Stockton Street San Francisco, CA 94108 510-845-0837

Marin County Friday, September 22 -- 1PM BOOK PASSAGE 51 Tamal Vista Blvd Corte Madera, CA 94925 415-927-0960

Santa Cruz Saturday, September 23 -- 3PM BORDERS 1200 Pacific Avenue, Suite 100 (Corner of Soquel Ave) Santa Cruz, CA 95060

We're raffling off a very cool chess set at EACH bookstore event, and also giving one away online at our website: http://theimmortalgame.com

***

Praise for The Immortal Game:

"A thrilling tour . . . an engaging, colorful look at a world that blissfully remains black-and-white." -- Entertainment Weekly

"Fascinating . . . [Shenk] writes about chess history with contagious zest." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Shenk weaves a masterful tale that all readers can enjoy, no matter how little they know about chess." -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Fun, factual, and a good read . . . Not a reference book to be stored on a shelf [but] a book to be read and enjoyed, and even read again . . . buy this book!" -- Chess Life magazine

"Besides detailing chess's broader social significance, Shenk brings it to life with tales of its personal impact . . . Shenk's passion will leave readers yearning to play." -- Fast Company

"A globe-spanning, brain-stretching social history . . . Shenk's curiosity equips the reader to look at a board of chess pieces and understand what got them there and the endless places they could go." -- Paste Magazine

"Wonderful...a book filled with daring moves and cunning patience." -- STEPHEN J. DUBNER, co-author, Freakonomics

"Like a great chess game, this is an achievement that will be talked about for many years to come." -- SIMON WINCHESTER, author, The Professor and the Madman and A Crack in the Edge of the World

"Fresh and smart....explores and explains not only the addictive power of chess but its shockingly important, Zelig-like role in the history of humankind.'' -- STEFAN FATSIS, author, Word Freak; Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

"An insightful look at chess, the icons of culture it has inspired, and the surprising part the game plays in the narrative of the modern world." -- BRUCE PANDOLFINI, legendary chess instructor and author, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess

"One of the most remarkable books I've read over the past many years, and its 'brilliancy' illuminates so much of life in all its aspects." -- JONATHAN COTT, author, In the Sea of Memory

"Shenk takes his readers on a wonderful journey across the span of time." -- JERRY NASH, Scholastic and FIDE Director, U.S. Chess Federation [Read entire topic]

#52: Teleological dyslexic (ceder) Mon 18 Sep 06 10:39

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:39:00 PDT

There is a dynamic interaction (Interplay between the reading and reflecting; when digesting considering, reflecting, and meditating about the content and sections serving different emphasis.

As someone considering this book and investigating the educational-experiencing action I note how the mind-experience stories, history, reflection interact in a learning action. The Chess narratives punctuate the history, memories interplay in me. As understanding and feeling the history between moves in *The Immortal Game* one experiences the move and response then eagerly awaits the next move. [Read entire topic]

#51: Berliner (captward) Mon 18 Sep 06 10:30

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 10:30:00 PDT

>If you can shut out the distractions coming from your human opponent (who is probably trying to use all the social human weirdo tricks he or she can to confuse you), you have a completely fair chance to win.

This brought to my mind the photo of Marcel Duchamp playing a naked Eve Babitz at (I think) the Pasadena Art Museum. And no, I can't remember who won.

I haven't read the book, but that Binet bit up there (and what's with the fi and fl problem?) won me over. Even if it did screw up a question I was trying to formulate about the relationship between your last book (the disappearance of memory) and this one (where memory obviously plays a large part, but not quite how I'd thought). [Read entire topic]

#50: Vince Houmes (unclevinny) Mon 18 Sep 06 09:18

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:18:00 PDT

I don't think I mentioned this before, but one of the things that really drove me deep into the chess world was the way that you could (in theory!) win or lose a chess game entirely on the basis of what happens out in the open. Unlike so many of the "social information" games and activities that normal kids seemed good at, like football, baseball, card games or finagling for social status, there really isn't any hidden information in chess. If you can shut out the distractions coming from your human opponent (who is probably trying to use all the social human weirdo tricks he or she can to confuse you), you have a completely fair chance to win.

The amazing potential for a comeback from certain defeat is another draw in chess. Your opponent can have you dead, obliterated, without hope -- but you can find a way, if you try hard enough. Your opponent may be making a mistake in pressing his huge advantage too quickly, and there may be a way to weasel it out...or aim for a draw. Which reminds me of another fun chess fact: chess games are always lost, never won. There are no known forced victories for white or black in the game, and each game should therefore end in a draw. Anyone who makes a "brilliant" move is therefore just responding to a weak move -- maybe an astonishingly godawful move -- by the opponent. The chess world admires those who have the ability to see weakness where others miss it...

(Sorry I've been away for a while...I got lazy!) [Read entire topic]