The The Art Of Learning - Josh Waitzkin (from Searching For Bobby Fischer)

Josh Waitzkin was the child every parent wanted their kid to be; gifted beyond belief yet normal, a national champion chess player who liked playing with his friends. The fascinating take-away from The Art Of Learning is not that someone so brilliant exists, our television is full of such people, it's that young people can still find a balance between achieving great things in the public eye while remaining humble and likeable.

The theme of the book is not achieving greatness or winning championships. His achievements are just sub plots as Waitzkin explores his philosophy on childhood, purpose, influences, incremental growth, life lessons, martial arts and yes, chess. The narrative moves around a little, however there are three time periods around which he builds his tale; learning chess as a child, sudden fame after "Searching For Bobby Fischer" and finally walking away from chess to become a world champion at Tai Chi "Push Hands".

When I picked this book up I assumed it would be all about chess, which I am not interested in, but thankfully the story is about a very good chess player and his growth and philosophies in life. It is different from what I would normally read, which may explain why I liked it so much.