The Chieftains: The Authorized Biography

Book Description

First time in paperback: The story of the Oscar- and Grammy-winning musicians whose rediscovery and reinvention of traditional Irish music carried them to worldwide stardom

The history of the Chieftains over the last thirty-five years is the remarkable tale of how an unlikely group of enthusiasts came together to rescue some of the world's most beautiful music from near-extinction, brought it to an audience of millions, and became stars. Based on exclusive and extensive interviews with all the band's members, their families and friends, and with many of the international superstars who have recorded with them, The Chieftains tells the group's own story for the first time, with insight, wit, and charm.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining for a Chieftain Fan.......2005-04-16

This is a wonderful history book of the Chieftains. The book is very informative about their love of Irish heritage, the traditional music, and all the wonderful groups, singers, musicians that they have shared the stage and recordings. Paddy has a great sense of humor, and he is the glue that holds the group together and make them what they are. I own a lot of the Chieftains recordings, videos, and I look for more products that they have made. We were sadden for the loss of their great harpist, piantist, Derek Bell. We all miss him.RIP

Great access but absurdly disorganized.......2004-01-30

Mr. Glatt appears to have enjoyed carte blanche access to these fabulous musicians but his book reads like he spilled his notes and put them in the book in random. One moment he's praising founder Paddy Moloney for his computer-like brain, the next we're supposed to laugh that Paddy is five hours late for a major recording session.

There's some fun stuff here, but the weeds are thick!

Nanci and the Chieftains.......2003-08-10

I purchased this CD because of my interest in Nanci Griffith as a songwriter, musician, and performer. Nanci does not disappoint as she breathes life into the narrative of fellow musicians and collaborators, the Chieftains. It is her familiarity with them as friends and musicians which adds to the excitement of the performance. Nanci has already won three grammies, been nominated for seven, and this should have been her fourth.

Nanci the Narrator.......2002-01-10

Nanci Griffith does a fabulous job narrating the audio version of the Chieftain's autobiography. Her voice is as sweet and flowing as the melodious tunes she sings.

The Royalty of Irish Music.......2001-12-25

Irish music is very hot. It is amazing how many successful Irish bands (of all types) have emerged from this tiny Island of 5 million. Yet in no small way can they all point to a single pioneering band that helped put Irish music on the map.

The Chieftains are more than simply a successful collection of great musicians who have toured the world for over 30 years. When they started, in the mid 1960's, there was little interest in traditional music in Ireland. In Ireland, Irish music wasn't considered to be "hip" and broadcasts were limited to relatively unimaginative ceili music. The most famous Irish musicians of time, the Clancy Brothers, were not even living in Ireland when they began.

The Chieftains took traditional Irish music and infused it with a new energy and style. They soon developed a cult following, but after doing the sound track for the movie Barry Lyndon (early 70's) their popularity exploded. Even after upwards of 30 albums, they and constant touring, their popularity never falters.

The Chieftains : The Authorized Biography by John Glatt tells the story of how it all happened. If it weren't all true, it would sound wildly improbable.

Book Description

36 of the very best Irish pub songs. First wet yer whistle - then proceed with this suberb bacchanalian feast of good old Irish songs, ballads and tearjerkers as they may be frequentlyheard in the bars, lounges, saloons, shebeens, and snugs of Ireland.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant!.......2007-03-21

I love the compact size of this book and the songs are perfect. With the vocals and the guitar chords, you can party like an Irishman for days!

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My Toddler's Favorite at Grandma's

Dear Old Donegal
John O'Brien
Manufacturer: Clarion Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0395681871

Book Description

A rollicking version of a favorite American success story -- that of the poor immigrant boy who makes his fortune in the United States --told in the lyrics of a song first published in 1942 and made popular by Bing Crosby.

Customer Reviews:

My Toddler's Favorite at Grandma's.......2000-02-15

I have a 2 year old who started reading this book with Grandma several months ago. She reads it to him in a sing-song voice that just enthralls him. Some days she'll re-read it 7 or 8 times. If you have irish roots you will enjoy sharing this book with your kids. And I think they'll really enjoy it.

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The Music of John Ireland
Fiona Richards
Manufacturer: Ashgate Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0754601110

Folksongs & Ballads Popular In Ireland Vol. 4 (Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland)

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READ THE TITLE CAREFULLY: FOLKSONGS POPULAR IN IRELAND A QUARTER CENTURY AGO

Folksongs & Ballads Popular In Ireland Vol. 4 (Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland)
John Loesberg
Manufacturer: Ossian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0946005338
Release Date: 1989-12-31

Book Description

The very best of Irish folk songs. Each volume features 50 complete songs with music, words, guitar chords, and interesting background notes on the songs.

Customer Reviews:

READ THE TITLE CAREFULLY: FOLKSONGS POPULAR IN IRELAND A QUARTER CENTURY AGO.......2007-06-20

AS Mr. Loesberg repeatedly indicates in his fine and clarifying introduction, these are not Irish songs, as alleged here in the editorial comments on amazon's product detail page, but rather are they songs popular in Ireland over a quarter century ago, when this pamphlet found collection and publication in the great coastal city of Cork.

Therefore we find included only two songs in the Irish tongue (a fact lamented and explained in the introduction), but some English, Scots and American tunes. Thank goodness the allegedly Irish song Danny Boy does not arise its dubious head. However we do find Leadbelly's House of the Rising Sun with the additional verses as recorded by the young Bob Dylan (copying Dave Van Rank) and Eric Burdon with the early Animals. We also find the English slaver's hymn Amazing Grace, as well Scarborough Fair.

Nevertheless with great and tearful joy I find several songs familiar from the early Clancy Brothers (inclduing Jug of Punch) and those reinvigorated by the mighty mighty Pogues. Thus you may once more rousingly shout The Leaving of Liverpool and the great Wild Rover (or just play their CD if you are alone as I).

Gratefully included here are some wonderful Irish nationalist and revolutionary tunes as well, including A Nation Once Again, The Foggy Dew, The Bold FEnian Men, The Rising of the Moon, and the great and mournful ode to Kevin Barry, whose life and death reads now like an insurgent in Gitmo or Abhu Graibh. Brief notes concerning each song are gathered at the end of thise broadside, and Mr. Loesberg mentions "Kevin was killed on Nov. 1, 1920. he tune is from a sea shanty- 'Rolling Home.'" The lyrics themselves give more of the history, as such songs were once part of the oral history of our great nation:

"In Mountjoy Jail one Monday morning High up on the gallows tree, Kevin Barry gave his young life, for the cause of liberty. But a lad of eighteen summers, yet no one can deny, As he walked to death that morning, he proudly held his head on high.

"Just before he faced the hangmen, in his dreary prison cell, British soldiers tortured Barry, just because he would not tell The names of his brave companions and other things they wished to know. 'Turn informer or we'll kill you!' Kevin Barry answered 'No.'

"( . . .skipping a verse)"

"Another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the crown, whose brutal laws may kill the IRish, but can't keep their spirits down. ( . . .)"

We who cannot remember our history are condemned to repeating it now.

The bulk of this glorious book of course is filled with sentimental tunes of loves both near and far, including of course Will you go Lassie Go, and several others beside, well known and lesser remembered but exciting to find the beauty of this music.

Mr. Loesberg acknowledges the kind assistance of the Cork Library and schools and families in collecting the songs in this book, and includes guitar chords for each song, and some very useful pages of guitar and music theory at the end, inclduing regarding the transposition of keys and chords, and the use of a capo. The chord charts on page 60 alone are worth the slight price of the book, whose songs themselves are priceless.

Useful recordings of some of these songs include The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion and Irish Songs of Rebellion/Irish Drinking Songs from the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, as well of course as the rousing pipes of Spider and the Pogues delivering in full Red Roses for Me and Rum Sodomy & the Lash, etc.

Songs And Ballads Of Ireland (Vocal Songbooks)

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Songs And Ballads Of Ireland (Vocal Songbooks)
Music Sales Corporation
Manufacturer: Ossian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0946005532
Release Date: 1998-12-31

Book Description

A first collection of 40 Irish songs. Straight from the hearts and hearths of Ireland: a wonderful collection of Ireland's finest folk songs and ballads. Every type of Irish song has found its way in between these covers, from comic song to lament and much more.

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Poguetry: The Lyrics of Shane Macgowan
Shane Macgowan , John Hewitt , and Steve Pyke
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0571141986

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Festival Legends: Songs & Stories
John O'Brien Jr.
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1425917380

Book Description

Festival Legends; Songs& Stories There are over fifty million American's of Irish descent in the United States alone. The flourishing of Irish festivals throughout the world, but especially in the U. S., has shown that just how popular the Irish culture and Irish entertainers are. Today, it is very cool to be Irish. That was not always so. Festival Legends: Songs & Stories offers an entertaining but historically accurate chronicle of the iconic Irish music performers that ignited this ever growing popularity and continue to fuel it today. This is a detailed, behind-the-scenes recounting of the journeys, backgrounds, inspirations, people and stories in the rise of these figures, from the figures themselves. It tells how they changed the path, the prestige - and the future, of the Irish, with each new achievement and inspiration. These achievements have carried them to the top of their field, and earned them superstar status in the history of the indelibly linked American and Irish histories. Those featured include: · Tommy Makem · Danny Doyle · The Dublin City Ramblers · Cherish the Ladies · The New Barleycorn · Makem & Spain Brothers · Liam Clancy · Johnny McEvoy

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John Ireland: The Man and His Music
M. Searle
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 085936190X

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The European Backstreet Boys!

Westlife: Backstage Pass
Michael-Anne Johns , and Christopher Patrick
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0439251893

Book Description

Meet Westlife, five soulful and sweet lads from Ireland with make-you-melt good looks. They¹re adorable and talented and are poised to be this year¹s breakout boy band. Here is the boys¹ photo-filled story: it includes childhood memories, how they got into music, what they¹re really like onstage and off, how they get along, what kind of girls they like, and even how fans can get in touch with them.

Customer Reviews:

The European Backstreet Boys!.......2001-03-18

Are you from America? Do you think that the Backstreet Boys aren't really a boy band but a vocal group? Well, here's a new vocal group from Ireland worth knowing about. Here's the 411 on them: They can all sing, for real. They are definitely cute. BSB is one of their bigget musical inspirations, and their songs definitely show it. Although they only released 1 album in the US, the lads are soon coming here to conquer America. If you're a fan who wants to know more upclose and personal stuff regarding Mark, Nicky, Bryan, Shane, and/or Kian, this is a nice collector's item to have with fabulous pics of the guys.

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INSPIRATIONAL READ!

Aging Can Be a Positive Thing

Inspirational!

An inspiration for an aging woman

Unique work of art

Aging Artfully:Profiles of 12 Visual and Performing Women Artists 85-105
Amy Gorman
Manufacturer: PAL Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond

Writing the Artist Statement

My Wicked Wicked Ways

Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place

Escaping Into the Open: The Art of Writing True

ASIN: 0978519205

Product Description

Profiles of 12 women aged 85-105: visual and performing artists actively engaged in the arts. Illustrated with 100+ photos of the lives of the San Francisco Bay Area women. The book challenges stereotypical perceptions and expectations, and documents that old age can be gratifying and filled with creative expression. Included with the book is composer Frances Kandl's "Songs of 7 Women's Lives," based on the interviews by the author.

Customer Reviews:

INSPIRATIONAL READ!.......2007-05-05

It's so nice to find inspirational women role models for creative aging. As a former actress and singer, I have promised myself that I would some day go back to my earlier career in the theater. If I had any doubts that it was too late to do that, this book has put those doubts to rest! Pamela D. Blair, Author The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond

Aging Can Be a Positive Thing.......2007-04-10

"Aging Artfully" is Amy Gorman's inspiring and touching rejoinder to the pervasive idea that age is some sort of wasteland. Gorman--who "woke up one morning, age was on my mind," interviews 12 women who by any measure are very old--85-105--and yet are deeply engaged in the visual and performing arts. She finds that the arts have become so much a part of these old women that "the art and the person have merged," that in the face of declining strength, it is their art, in fact, that keeps them going. In an unusual touch, Gorman's heartfelt profiles are complemented with music, songs composed by her colleague Frances Kandl, whose CD is included with the book. Kandl composed these special songs in response to the spirit of seven of the 12 women; they are performed by--the Crones' Kwartet! Some of the women have always been involved in the arts, others discovered them late in life, and as each tells us her story, we see how the lives of all of them are enriched thereby. These women have a lot to tell us -- it's up to us to hear them.

Inspirational! .......2007-04-02

As a retired professional who has just reached social security age, I am personally seeking to find meaning in this new phase of my life. Amy Gorman's book provides inspirational accounts of women who stay young in spirit by pursuing their life passions for art and creativity. Even though the stories of these amazing women are unique to each of them, the book helped me focus on continuing to stay involved with my own particular passions. I highly recommend this book for senior citizens, for the health professionals who deal with them, and also for younger individuals who wish to help their elderly parents remain vibrant as they age.....Susan Maya Barnert, LCSW

An inspiration for an aging woman.......2007-02-28

Amy Gorman's book inspires me. Just as I thought I was too old to be serious about my art, always waiting in the shadows of my work life, I have discovered, with the help of this book, that art and aging are great company with which to journey forward toward the rest of my life. As I read about these women's lives and how their art propels them day by day, I see how art provides a thread, that, in spite of gray hair, and other signs of aging, helps one meet each day with interest and joy.

Unique work of art.......2006-11-26

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (11/06)

This book celebrates the lives of twelve women ages 85-105. In this age that values youth, it is refreshing to read a book that values the talents and lives of the elderly. Twelve ladies, all-talented, all over the age of 85 and each has given something of herself to the world.

Lily Hearst was a talented pianist. "I practice scales and chords every day so I don't forget them. They are precious to me. Everything goes but the piano - the piano doesn't go away. That is forever." She is thankful that she and her family were spared torture or death at the hands of the Nazis. This amazing woman remained in good health and cheerful attitude until her passing at age of 107 in 2005.

Frances-Dunham Catlett is an artist. "I face an empty canvas, then begin, the brush moves, and I watch the miracle happen." "It takes a lot of energy to create. If you're using energy elsewhere, you don't create." "Frances credits her longevity to lifelong physical activity." She is 98 years old. In May 2006, Frances bowled a 200-- the highest score for her team. This woman will never act her age.

Ann Davlin, aka Grace Lowell, is a dancer. "There's a source of creativity in all the children and if you step aside it will come out. Then you can guide their creativity. You do it from the inside out." Grace is now 96, walks with a walker and is clear minded. She stays busy teaching five piano students. "People want me to be what they think their version of me is. That is not how I am... if I can keep discovering things in my old age I think you go on forever... and I am discovering new things all the time, and old things come back in a different guise."

Mary Beth Washington, aka Orunamamu, is a practicing storyteller. Mary Beth sat at her grandmother's feet listening to stories. "What if our books were burned: all we would have to go on is what's in our heads." This amazing woman is still telling stories.

Dorothy Takahashi Toy is a tap dancer. "We starved so we could dance. We loved it so much we'd do anything just to keep dancing." This amazing woman now teaches dance to high school girls.

Faith Craig Petric is a folk singer. "With most songs, when I am singing them I am `there,' wherever the song is, seeing and even participating in what's happening in the song. I would guess that many singers must do this and that it is the reason some close their eyes while performing." Now she takes her favorite songs to children's concerts, political rallies and folk gatherings. Faith has a message for older people. "So often they'll say, `Oh, you're my role model, I want to be just like you when I'm older.'" And I say "No, you don't. You want to be just like yourself." What a remarkable lady.

Rosa Maria Morales Escobar is a singer, folklorico dancer. "I always thought I'd be dancing for the rest of my life; I just love to dance." She no longer dances due to arthritis but enjoys remembering the adventures of her past.

Grace Gildersleeve, rug braider for over 25 years she has been creating beautiful rugs. She began at age 63 and at 93 continues with her art form. Grace gives her artwork to friends and family members.

Elsie Ogata is an Ikebana artist--the art of Japanese flower arranging. "I want to be remembered for designing flowers." She is still healthy and practicing her art at age 94.

Stella Toogood Cope was a storyteller. "If you're a storyteller, you can read a story and know that that's your story. You don't try to tell one that isn't your story."

Madeline Mason, doll maker and sculptor, is an artist of great talent. "Do what you're able to do and make use of what you have."

Isabel Ferguson, aka Betty Peterson, is an actor, illustrator, painter and assemblage artist. "Isabel's art runs wild--collectables, paintings, fanciful sculptures of found objects." "Old age is hot right now. They don't know what to do with us!"

This book, "Aging Artfully," in itself, is a unique work of art. From the moment I saw the cover I could hardly wait to taste the delicious treats that promised to be inside. As I read I eagerly devoured each page, enjoying the stories of these remarkable women. Each of the ladies immortalized in on paper have given something to the world of art. It would be difficult to choose a favorite but I would lean toward the two storytellers. How blessed the author was to meet 12 women of this caliber. This book is well-written and documented. The print is a nice size for those of us who do not see as well as we used to. The photography is beautifully done. I highly recommend this book.

Betsy Ross (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Betsy Ross (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Susan Sales Harkins , and William H. Harkins
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1584154462
Release Date: 2006-11-22

Product Description

Betsy Ross is one of America s most endearing and beloved characters. Widowed and alone, early in the Revolutionary War, Betsy was approached by three great men. They knew she was a Patriot and a good seamstress. Would she sew America s first flag for them? Fighting heartbreak, loneliness, and poverty, she accepted the challenge willingly. She couldn t fight for independence, but she could certainly sew for it! Tradition tells us that Betsy agreed to make the flag. First she pieced together the red and white stripes. Then she appliquéd thirteen five-point stars one for each colony onto a field of dark blue. But did Betsy Ross really sew America s first Stars and Stripes flag? It wasn t until 1870 that her grandson William Canby told Betsy s story to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the rest is history, so to speak. Americans don t seem to mind that the story can t be proven. They love Betsy Ross and they love her flag whether she really sewed it or not!

John Hancock (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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John Hancock (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Marylou Morano Kjelle
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1584154438
Release Date: 2006-11-22

Product Description

Born to a clergyman and his wife and raised by a wealthy aunt and uncle, John Hancock truly went from rags to riches. While still a young man, Hancock lent his name, money, and position in Boston s society to the ever-growing group of colonists calling for a complete break from England. He was labeled a traitor by King George III, who put a price of 500 pounds on his head, and was hunted by members of the king s army. Hancock made his way from Massachusetts to Connecticut to Philadelphia, where, in 1775, he represented Massachu-setts at the Second Continental Congress. Hancock s life progressed from wealthy businessman to rebel to Founding Father. This story of the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence is the story of all Americans. Those who read about this selfless man will not only be inspired by his life, but will also learn what it means to be an American.

Famous Mormons: Interesting Profiles of Well-Known Latter-day Saints

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Interesting and fun.

Famous Mormons: Interesting Profiles of Well-Known Latter-day Saints
Ron Johnston
Manufacturer: Spring Creek Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Product Description

Many talented members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are gaining recognition throughout the world for their accomplishments. This book chronicles the lives of some of these people who truly are Famous Mormons.

These people come from all walks of life, having attained success in many fields. Discover how these individuals gained prominence while staying true to their beliefs.

Read about:
- Syndicated cartoonist Brian Crane
- National political leader Mitt Romney
- Baseball legend Vern Law
- Bestselling novelist Anne Perry
- TV inventor Philo T. Farnsworth
- Hot-rod car designer Big Daddy Roth
- And many other interesting people!

Once you have read this book, be sure to visit the website www.FamousMormons.net to read about other LDS Church members making a difference in the world.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and fun........2007-03-01

It is so fun to read of the accomplishments from LDS members.

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Arid and Ironic
frustrating combination of good and bad
A wide-eyed, breathless biography
Weak but worth the price
Bobby Fischer ý Profile of a Prodigy

Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy (Revised Edition)
Frank Brady
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Family & Childhood | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0486259250

Book Description

Revealing biography chronicles the chess champion's brilliant play, controversial behavior, private life, and more. 90 games. 26 photographs. Diagrams.

Customer Reviews:

Arid and Ironic.......2007-02-03

3.5 stars

It is just so hard to review this autobiography, completed at the height of Fischer's triumph, knowing what was to come. Though not meant to be ironic, the author's comments about Bobby having finally found his place atop the chess world cannot but seem ironic now.

That aside, and it is not wholly the author's fault, the book is neither as much as a puff piece as the earlier version was, to my mind at least, nor was it as penetrating as it could have been. It comes across as a sterile recounting of Fischer's career with little mention of a personal life, or wondering about the lack of one.

Though not penetrating and mentioning the seeds of behaviors that even then would have been known to Fischer's friends before they fully blossomed before the entire world the book is not full of praise for Bobby either. The recountings of his continued dropping out of tournaments, his altercation with Benko do not cast Fischer in the kindest light.

The author does seem to be softening, and explaining and excusing, these events but he is enough of a scholar that he leaves them reasonably unvarnished for the reader to make their own decisions.

Interesting, but now incomplete, reading to see the rocky and troubled rise of the solo chess prodigy Bobby Fischer.

frustrating combination of good and bad.......2006-08-01

Frank Brady's "Profile of a Prodigy" is a frustrating combination of good and bad. The good first: Brady gives fascinating behind-the-scenes information that I'd read nowhere else, giving you the sense that you are there. The bad: the book is riddled with mistakes, stuff you wouldn't find in a High School newspaper! Dates and misstatements of facts, too numerous to mention. And some chessic misjudgements too, like when Brady says, speaking of the 1972 Title Match, that Fischer varied his opening repertoire to an English Opening in Game 8 from the QGD of Game 6. But it wasn't Fischer who varied; he played 1.c4 in both games. It was Spassky's reply in game 8 that changed the opening. The book would've benefitted from a good editor, one who knows how to play chess. But despite all this, I'd still recommend the book. It's a fascinating read.
Bob Hunt, Hillsborough, N.J.

A wide-eyed, breathless biography.......2004-12-08

I bought the first edition of this book by mail order when I was about 16, and devoured it eagerly. In those days world-class chess was relentlessly dominated by the USSR, challenged mainly by other Eastern Europeans and the occasional American like Reshevsky, Evans and the Byrne brothers. Boris Spassky was soon to play "iron Tigran" Petrosian for the world title, and the only wild card seemed to be a crazy teenage genius from New York who could beat anyone at all on his day. Frank Brady's writing captured the sheer excitement of it all. For instance, in a great tournament with most of the best players in the world, Mikhail Tal expected Petrosian to crush the upstart Fischer, "but when Bobby beat the USSR champion the crowd roared".

Brady's style is journalistic, but it fits his subject quite well. This much expanded edition takes Fischer's story all the way to winning the world championship, which is probably a logical place to stop. (Fischer stopped playing chess at that point, so the rest of his life has been lived in a very different world). The book is full of interesting facts that you could not read about anywhere else, and until a professional biographer turns his attention to Fischer - which may never happen, because he is about the least cooperative subject imaginable - it will remain the last word.

The games section is a different story. Only a narrow cross section are given, with notes by Brady that reveal his lack of expertise. They are only there for completeness' sake, and should be read as an extension of the biography. If you want to understand Fischer's chess, read his Collected Games, his own "My 60 Memorable Games" (which is itself very limited in scope, though superb in depth), or Elie Agur's brilliant "Bobby Fischer: His Approach to Chess".

Weak but worth the price.......2003-07-24

Fischer was a genius, no question about that. This book is a good buy for the price: you get a (weak) biography of a great player, 8 pages of pictures, and 90 (poorly) annotated games for less than US$15.00! Altogether not a bad deal. However, I take issue with the author. Because he was a friend of Fischer's he did not want to ruin his relationship with him by revealing Fischer's odd character traits, as many other reviewers have noticed. Worst, the author wants you to believe Fischer was a good boy, the American self made sportsman who increased the popularity of the game while fighting for better playing conditions and higher appearance fees, which would ultimately benefit chess professionals as a whole. This might be true. However, it is also true that Fischer left chess players as a whole with an undeletable image: that of nerds, eccentrics and the like. All in all I think his contribution to the image of chess was negative, not positive. Upon reading the book it struck me that Spassky allowed himself to play that fatidic match in Iceland. Fischer did not show up at the date and time they had originally agreed. Spassky gave in to Fischer's absurd demands, falling pray to Fischer's psychological warfare. He should have walked away and kept his title, period. Since he did not the rest is history. At the end of the day the character of a World Champion is seem not when he wins a world championship match but rather when he loses it. Fischer, unlike Spassky, Karpov, and Kasparov never showed up to defend his title. This will be his sad legacy.

Bobby Fischer ý Profile of a Prodigy.......2001-08-01

Brady's Profile of a Prodigy should be on the bookshelf of every chessplayer who has more than a passing interest in the game of kings. The carefully researched and thoroughly enthralling text hooked me, from Bobby's formative years as a child in Brooklyn, playing in a simul with Max Pavey to his dramatic triumph for the title of World Champion in Reykjavik, I was compelled to read on. Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy is filled with keen observations and telling anecdotes that combine to create an insightful framing of this stormy chess genius. In addition to the text of the biography, ninety of Fischer's games are reproduced with annotations. In brief, the definitive Fischer tome.

Sir Walter Raleigh (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Sir Walter Raleigh (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Earle, Jr. Rice
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584154527
Release Date: 2006-12-18

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Sir Walter Raleigh streaked across the Elizabethan heavens like a bright, shining star. Often regarded as a true Renaissance man that is, a man gifted with many talents and abilities he lived life to the fullest. Born to adventure, Raleigh parlayed a sharp mind and a yen for prestige and power into enough living for a dozen lesser men. As soldier, swashbuckler, writer, historian, poet, explorer, businessman, and more, he rose in favor at the court of Elizabeth I England's Good Queen Bess and made history as he wrote it. Raleigh fought courageously for England in France, Ireland, and elsewhere at sea. He founded the first American colony at Roanoke Island in the New World, introduced tobacco and the potato to Ireland, and searched for the golden city of El Dorado in South America. At the peak of his fame some say infamy he knelt down as a commoner and arose as a knight. When fortune failed him, and his star fizzled out, he showed brave men how to die.

John Cabot (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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John Cabot (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Earle, Jr. Rice
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584154519
Release Date: 2006-11-22

Product Description

On June 24, 1497, Italian navigator Giovanni Caboto better known as John Cabot became the first European of his day to record an official landing on the North American continent. Funded by British merchants and sailing under the English flag, Cabot claimed his discovery of the New founde land for England. His claim cleared the way for future English settlements in the New World. On his return voyage to Bristol, England, Cabot sailed his tiny ship Matthew through rich fishing grounds off the Newfoundland coast now known as the Grand Banks. His crew hauled in huge quantities of cod simply by lowering weighted baskets into the sea. This find led directly to the great rise of the Newfoundland cod fishery. Born around 1450, probably in Genoa, Italy, John Cabot lived at about the same time as Christopher Columbus. Like Columbus, Cabot sailed west to find a new route to China and Japan. He found the American continent instead.

Susan B. Anthony (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Susan B. Anthony (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Tamra Orr
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584154454
Release Date: 2006-12-18

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Voting is an important part of being an American. At one time, however, it was a right that only men enjoyed. That changed when a determined woman named Susan B. Anthony spoke up and acted on her beliefs. She was so sure of her cause that she was more than willing to go to court and state her case in front of everyone, regardless of the threat of imprisonment. Her passion showed the country that something was wrong. Women rallied behind her. Men came to see that women s voices were powerful and important not only in the home but also in the world at large. Anthony did not live long enough to see her vision for women realized. However, thanks to her years of countless speeches, writing, and hard work, along with the efforts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and many others, women finally achieved what they rightfully deserved: equal rights.

Nathan Hale (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Nathan Hale (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Kathleen Tracy
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
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Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 1584154470
Release Date: 2006-11-22

Product Description

The war was looking bleak for the American colonists. General George Washington and his army had just barely escaped destruction at the Battle of Brooklyn, and now the mighty British fleet was preparing another attack. Washington desperately needed to figure out the enemy s plan. The only way to get the information he needed was to send a spy behind British lines. The soldier who volunteered to take the assignment was a twenty-one-year-old former schoolteacher named Nathan Hale. He became the first American spy executed in the line of duty, and his last words, I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country, became a rallying cry for the Revolution. Nathan Hale s courage in the face of death has become an enduring symbol of American patriotism. His willingness to sacrifice his life for the greater good stands as a powerful testament to the selflessness that turns ordinary men into heroes.

Thomas Jefferson (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)

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Thomas Jefferson (Profiles in American History) (Profiles in American History)
Russell Roberts
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 158415439X
Release Date: 2006-12-18

Product Description

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most famous men in American history. The list of his political accomplishments, such as writing the Declaration of Independence, serving as Minister to France, becoming America s third President, and spearheading the Louisiana Purchase, is long indeed. But that describes Jefferson the public servant. What about Jefferson the private man? How was he affected by the untimely death of his wife? Where did he long to be above all other places in the world? What was his reaction to his fights with Alexander Hamilton under President George Washington? How did his passion for continually rebuilding his home lead to worry? While most people know of and about many of the political deeds he performed, fewer know much about his personal life. This biography tells not only the public accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson, but also reveals the private side of his remarkable life.

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