In the summer of 1972; with a presidential crisis stirring in the United States and the cold war at a pivotal point; the Soviet world chess champion; Boris Spassky;and his American challenger; Bobby Fischer; met in Reykjavik; Iceland; for the most notorious chess match of all time. Their showdown; played against the backdrop of superpower politics; held the world spellbound for two months with reports of psychological warfare; ultimatums; political intrigue; cliffhangers; and farce to rival a Marx Brothers film. Thirty years later; David Edmonds and John Eidinow have set out to reexamine the story we recollect as the quintessential cold war clash between a lone American star and the Soviet chess machine. A mesmerizing narrative of brilliance and triumph; hubris and despair; Bobby Fischer Goes to War is a biting deconstruction of the Bobby Fischer myth; a nuanced study on the art of brinkmanship; and a revelatory cold war tragicomedy.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book; including author interviews; recommended reading; and more.
#928205 in Books 1998-11-01 1998-10-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.75 x 6.75 x 1.25l; 1.23 #File Name: 0060173033324 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Amazingly insightfulBy Sanjay AgarwalJeffrey Paine has written an amazing book; which is both sophisticated in its analysis and insightful in its perspective. Yet; the narrative is racy and easy to read - possibly because of his background in journalism.Paine traces the careers and Indian adventure of eight well-known persons who were either Westerners or were Indians influenced by the West to begin with; but later became deeply influenced by India. Yet in the process; they also influenced India itself. The list includes Lord Curzon; Mahatma Gandhi; E. M. Forster; Shri Aurobindo; Mira Behn (Madeleine Slade); Mother (Mirra Richard); Carl Jung; V. S. Naipaul and Annie Besant; all well-known figures in India and outside.In the process he weaves a magical yet sophisticated tapestry showing why India exercised a near-fatal charm for these people and how it changed them. He also adds a lot of tid-bits about their personal lives; and idiosyncracies; their struggles; their failures and their successes. Surprisingly; and without noticing it; by the time you finish the book; you would have developed a pretty good perspective on how India has affected and deeply influenced Western world through these people. A remarkable intellectual feat indeed.His handling of each character in the drama is confident and skillful. He has a definite format to follow; and this adds rigour to a book; which could have become a maudling; sentimental journey otherwise. The connections he makes with other contemporary characters and happenings are simply astounding and marvellous.However; he becomes less sure of himself as he comes closer to the present; possibly because the processes are still going on; and the advantage of hindsight is not available. As a result; his handling of the chapter on Shri Aurobindo and his spiritual companion; the Mother; is less deft. He also fumbles with the conclusion; possibly because India is an incredibly complex phenomenon and Paine is after all a mere mortal.Notwithstanding this slight blemish; an excellent book; worth the time and money; for anyone interested in understanding India and the West.A paperback edition is also available in Penguin India.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Excellent book on IndiaBy Sanjeev manoharJeffrey Paine has done a masterful job in this refreshingly new and yet thought-provoking work. His insight into the "real" India is surprising given India's diversity and the propensity for even Indian authors to miss the subtleties of the subcontinent. What comes out clearly is Gandhi's lifetime of effort from a bird's eyeview; and what Gandhi was trying to accomplish in India and in the world in general. The effect India has had on "outsiders" in the form of invaders; visitors or missionaries has been to transform them into individuals who saw something greater in themselves than before. In effect India "converts" people more successfully than scripture thumping missionaires or cannon/sword-carrying members of the barbarian party. No small wonder that Gandhi; whose life exemplifed the principle of turning the other cheek and in loving one's neighbors rejected Christianity on moral grounds! This book also offers insight into why Christianity could not spread in India like it did in Latin America...India intoxicates its visitors; either with conversion to "Indianism" or into revulsion...either way you are transformed forever. Fundamentally; all approaches to the Truth have been tried in India; from hero (messiah) worship to heroin worship and even Heroin (drug) worship in the form of either Vedism or Tantrism. People just don't find anything new in foreign religions. And this fact is amply brought out in the authors examples of Aurobindo's effort in Pondicherry; Annie Beasant work in Madras; and in Gandhi's own "ashrams". A corrolary benefit of this book is that these facts are illuminated in a masterful manner.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A lively and entertaining collection of storiesBy Greg SampsonJeffery Paine is an engaging writer; and this book; Father India; is a nicely crafted set of stories about the the journeys to India taken by a half-dozen travelers. Each of these travelers had some expectations about Inidia and some goals aligned with those expectations. Paine tells us what the visitors found in India; and how the fact of India changed their lives. The reader should not expect a sober recital of history here. What we have instead (in large part) is a succession of stories in which the main characters experience in varying degrees transformations in their ways of seeing the world. The details of these changes are not documented; Paine's genius is in telling the story of the visitors' psychological progress (or regress) on the basis of what can be inferred from observed events. But again; it is not history -- that's not the genre in which Paine operates. What the author does is to masterfully paint pictures of these men and women who went to India to find X and emerged from the experience with Y. Paine handles prose so very well! I think I'll read more of his work. The only objection I would make of Father India is that his rather complete ignorance of Christianity; which defect was a bit unsettling. I think he has Christianity confused with some sort of New England Calvinistic cult.
