The aim of this book is to enable adults to teach chess to children, and in this it succeeds admirably. Although intended for one-to-one tuition (a mother teaching a son or daughter, say), the exercises and mini-games can quite easily be adapted for use in the classroom. And certainly the advice, insights and troubleshooting fixes are applicable to both contexts.
Lessons with a Grandmaster 2 by Boris Gulko and Dr. Joel R. Sneed
Picturesque pyrotechnics can be seen in many games, notably in the draws with Shirov and Vaganian and the two titanic encounters (resulting in a draw and a win for Gulko) with Bronstein. There are also two wonderful miniatures where Renet and Lputian (strong grandmasters both) succumb quickly, the games clocking in at just 19 and 20 moves apiece.
A review of M. Duchamp & V. Halberstadt: Spiel im Spiel / A Game in a Game / Jeu dans le jeu by Ernst Strouhal
Published in 1932, it is a book about those rare pawn endings where the distant opposition and the theory of coordinate squares plays a crucial role in determining the outcome. One can find helpful discussions of these sorts of positions in Pawn Endings, Maizelis and Averbakh’s classic text, and in one of Jon Speelman’s endgame books (I think, Endgame Preparation); and the Italian endgame theorist Rinaldo Bianchetti covered similar territory somewhat earlier.
Flash Gordon: On the Planet Mongo: The Complete Flash Gordon Library, Volume 1 by Alex Raymond
The full-colour comic strips (this was way before comic books, never mind graphic novels) have been beautifully restored by Peter Maresca, and for those who were introduced to Flash Gordon by watching black and white serials on a Saturday morning in the local cinema (it was The Rialto in Salford and Bury Odeon for me), Alex Raymond’s artwork will come as a revelation as well as a return to childhood.
A review of Sublime Planet by Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Sublime Planet includes a section called Sacred Lessons, Poems by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and one called Tipping Point with poems by Magdalena Ball. Two very different poets, very different styles of writing, have produced a collection united by their passion for environment, for the world that touches their skin and imbues them with its presence with every breath they take. This collection is their tribute to their world, both physical and mental; our world.
A review of Star Craving Mad by Fred Watson
Though all of the book is fascinating, uniting as it does, a travelogue with a history of science (and broader history as it moves through World War I and II – at one point even taking us into a fighter cockpit), scientific analysis, and a kind of New Scientist styled look at astronomy and astrobiology, the chapter titled “The Ultimate Journey” is one of the most beautifully written and poignant.
Interview with Phil Kenney
The author of Radiance talks about his novel, its premise, themes, inspiration, influences, how his writing career and career of a psychotherapist conflict and align, surprises, challenges, language, characters, on teaching poetry, and lots more.
A review of Radiance by Phil Kenny
Employing lyrical prose, Kenney narrates the poignantly observed story of a fictional family, the Brennans, as they voyage from poverty to comfort, from one era to the next during the latter half of the last century. Dividing his themes into separate chapters, the author focuses on different members of the Brennan household thus creating a complex oral history wherein time circles backwards and forwards around a series of family events and experiences.
A review of City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
City of Dark Magic is could be described as a psychedelic time traveling adventure. From the first chapter, it’s clear that this is no ordinary novel and the colorful cast of characters have their own agendas.
A review of Peace, Love and Khaki Socks by Kim Lock
The novel’s strength is the very personal journey the reader takes alongside Amy as she weighs up conventional First World medical procedures with the almost Cavewoman-style natural homebirthing. It is a suspenseful ride with her as she battles conventions, the expectations of others as well as a category three tropical cyclone to boot.