Rating: 
Summary: A New Standard
Review: This book sets a new standard in chess publishing. It is a candy store of the mind, with tons of interesting, entertaining, well written prose, analysis, history, and pictures. I stayed up last night from midnight till 4 AM, reading all the history and interviews. I'm finished, and haven't yet owned the book a whole day! Benko's autobiography is lighthearted but historically rich (his story of his initial failed attempt to defect in West Berlin, and his subsequent arrest, interrogation and concentration camp experience are brilliant, yet harrowing literature), while Silman's interviews are playful and insightful. The pictures themselves are a treasure trove; my favorite is the two page sequence of Fischer visiting Tal (with IV and surgical gown)in his hospital room, and the two of them playing chess on Tal's bed. Now I can start on the games, compositions, and Watson's essay. I can't wait to own this book for the rest of my life. This is a new kind of chess book, one which reflects, in practice, the richness of chess itself. Congratulations, and thank you for this generous charm of a book.
Rating:
Summary: 50 times better than Alburt's work...
Review: This is an impressive book, I think the size is equivalent to Polgar's book; but at a much better paper quality.
a) The organization is excellent, very easy to follow.
b) The explaination is rather clear.
c) Benko is a master in endgame, so the section of endgame will improve players at least 250 points.
d) Many many games of Benko's throughout his career so it helps to understand how a GM progresses.
e) The part about openings is very good.
f) Lots of pictures of quality prints show that Benko put much effort in it and cared for his product.One complain, the retail price is 45 USD! Are we chess-amateurs related to Donald Trump or what? I didn't buy it yet, but read about 20 minutes at Borders. Will include this book in my library by a used book at a better price. Now back to the title, maybe I'm too unexperienced to follow Alburt's books. I read three of Alburt's books and could not understand clearly any one them. (One about Pirc, one about Rule of Thumb, One about 3 days w/ Fischer; all three of them are comparable to Benko's, maybe 50 will do. My limited experiece anyway.) The last one sounds interesting, but after some tens pages, the subject seemed not relevant to the book's title. I might try Alburt's books again.
However, if you can (I can't) afford Benko's book, get it. It's hard to find quality chessbooks nowadays.
Rating: 
Summary: Too bad Benko didnt go to Gambit publishers instead
Review: This would have been a better book if Benko hadnt let Silman get his superficial hands all over the manuscript. Ive found weak analysis in Silman's Reassess Yer Chess Workbook and would be afraid to trust his analysis of Benko's games, who is a far stronger chess player than Silman will ever be.
So what you have here is a weaker player annotating a stronger player's games. Shouldnt it be the other way around? Shouldnt Benko be annotating Silman's games if he had any decent ones worth publishing?
Another thing- I could have done without Watson's section on opening novelties- Im beginning to come to the conclusion that I cant stand Watson and his superior intellectual approach. And whats with the 300 compositions by Benko? If Siles Press had put this book in double columns, gotten rid of the Watson stuff and reduced the number of compositions from 300 to 100 then they would have had a winner that they could have priced alot cheaper- as it is now I will need to rob a bank to pay for this chess book.
I have to do all I can to pump myself up to get interested in a "Pal Benko" who never competed for a world championship, when I can browse my Bronstein book and get closer to a would-be world champ. Pal could have been my pal by following my editorial suggestions and introducing to us a better smaller book with a lower list price.
Rating:
Summary: A truly amazing effort and a joy to read
Review: To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Benko... until I read this book! I must have more than 100 chess books in my collection, yet this volume stands out, head and shoulders above the rest. Why? For starters, it is a tremendous effort by two of the best writers in the business: Jeremy Silman and John Watson. They took 5 years to put this together - 5 years! Most chess books nowadays are written in a few months with the help of large databases and computer analysis. Not this one. Care was taken to find some amazing old photographs with lots of stories about legendary players. It was also a very enjoyable read, with stories woven into instructive games. Finally, the way it is presented is very pleasing - hardcover with lots of big diagrams and clear fonts. At $30, this is truly a bargain. Together with My Great Predecessors I and II, this book should be on every chessplayers
' bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: A truly amazing effort and a joy to read
Review: To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of Benko... until I read this book! I must have more than 100 chess books in my collection, yet this volume stands out, head and shoulders above the rest. Why? For starters, it is a tremendous effort by two of the best writers in the business: Jeremy Silman and John Watson. They took 5 years to put this together - 5 years! Most chess books nowadays are written in a few months with the help of large databases and computer analysis. Not this one. Care was taken to find some amazing old photographs with lots of stories about legendary players. It was also a very enjoyable read, with stories woven into instructive games. Finally, the way it is presented is very pleasing - hardcover with lots of big diagrams and clear fonts. At $30, this is truly a bargain. Together with My Great Predecessors I and II, this book should be on every chessplayers
' bookshelf.
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