I just came across this wonderful book in a used book store here in Vermont in the town where I live. It’s in very good condition, no dust jacket, but no wear on the cover–just fading a little where it was exposed to light. The binding is in excellent condition, no marking in the book and all the plates are attached where they should be. This is the 1972 English translation from the Polish edition of 1960.
My cost was $8. I know nothing about the author. Might someone here provide some details? Thanks in advance.
Just mentioned to my Adult Fundamentals Chess class this book along with Murray and Davidson for chess history (and also to a lesser extent, Soltis’ World of Chess). IIRC he was a writer and a diplomat, and had a wide range of careers.
He was a film critic and television presenter. He was a chess bibliophile. His great passion was apparently chess. The book contains many stills from German, Soviet and Eastern Eurpoean films involving chess. A Polish poster on Facebook gave me the following link.
pzszach.org.pl/index.php?idm=1&idm2=39&idn=524
Anthony Saidy ?
Brain cramp, yes.
What I really like about the book is that it isn’t simply chronological. Rather, it is thematic with chapters like Chess In Poetry and Prose and Chess and Machines. I’ve put copies of two of the book’s plates up here,
vermontchessnews.blogspot.com/20 … -book.html