CAPABLANCA: A Compendium of Games, Notes, Articles, Correspondence, Illustrations and Other Rare Archival Materials on the Cuban Chess Genius José Raúl Capablanca, 1888-1942
Author: Edward Winter
McFarland (1989)
349 pages
$52.95 (Hardcover … available!)
$35.00 (paperback … not yet available in our store)
Review by John Donaldson
Few chess books receive universally positive reviews from players of all strengths but Edward Winter’s CAPABLANCA: A Compendium of Games, Notes, Articles, Correspondence, Illustrations and Other Rare Archival Materials on the Cuban Chess Genius José Raúl Capablanca, 1888-1942 is the rare example. First published in 1989 by McFarland & Company Inc., this 349-page volume quickly established itself as a classic for both its readability and scholarship. When Nigel Short says it is “undoubtedly one of the best chess books I have read,” and Yasser Seirawan describes it as “a magnificently researched work by the world’s most renowned chess historian,” you know this is a special book on a special player.
Twenty plus years after the publication of the original hardback edition the publishers have performed a valuable service and issued a paperback version that is an exact reprint (same font size and type face). This comes none too soon with the original going for $100 and up on E-Bay and Abebooks. The present $35 price tag is a bargain for a work that is certain to bring months of pleasure.
Typical of McFarland’s efforts to go the extra distance, special glossy paper has been used to ensure that the 26 rare photographs appear crisp and not muddy as is so often happens with paperback books.
