hey, these three strategy books ( which is very freaking famous and got good review ) , WHICH ONE IS THE BEST?!?! PLS HELP ME....... I HAVE NO TIME TO READ ALL :P
1)Silman Jeremy's- The Amatuer Minds then How to Reassess your chess  
2)Ludek Pachman- Modern Chess Strategy
3)Aron Nimzowitsch- My System
 
OK, 1st, 2nd or 3rd???? help me pls........ Now i have The Amatuer Minds , but i dont really like the IMBALANCES, I feel like it stops me from playing tactically ( im a tactical player ), so here i ask all the PROs and chess.com members to give me some adive.... PLS~~!!!!!!!

I would say "My system"

With limited time, I'd just go with Pachman.

erm..... is there any continuation after Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman....??? What i aim for is rating at least 1800 ( Now I am about 1300 ), and i dont like the IMBALANCES by Silman because of this also: I scared after reading his books, there is no continuation because of some other strategy books dont use the IMBALANCES to judge one's position. 
Erm....... and about the time i can spend on chess, that's not really a problem. At the end of this year  ( which is holidays ),  i could spend at least 8 hours a day ( probably 2 hours on strategy ) , so i can study quite many books ( but not all ). What i want is the books that can really improve my rating consistently ( not something like only can improve your rating to a CERTAIN LEVEL : like 1800,but then you cant find any other continuation for improvement) on strategy thinking yet doesnt effect my tactical play. 

so........What are you guys' ideas again....???  Help me pls......... espeacially those who have studied the 3 books ( either one) i mention above.....:P

Honestly, I'd say that the Silman books might be better as "My System" seems to be a bit complex. And they are not supposed to make you stop playing tactically. By all means go for the tactical shots when you see it, but you're going to need a good position if you want to increase your chances. You can also take a look at some other strategy books or some introduction to planning. Maybe something like "Understanding Chess Move by Move" by Irving Chernev might be good. You can also take a look at this website for some book ideas http://www.squidoo.com/chess-reference.

HTRYC

Probably My System, also check out Simple Chess by Micheal Stean (its short but considered to be a classic strategy book in Britain).

I say Pachman's book is a required reading for modern players.

Nimzo's My System is a bit outdated by today's standard. It doesn't mean that his methods no longer work. On the contrary, many of the Nimzo's ideas are still used till today. It is just that by today's standard his system is no longer complete.

Silman's book is good, but I like Pachman's better. 

Stein's Simple Chess is also good. If you haven't read many chess books before probably you should start with Stein's before moving on to Pachman's.

hey ChessisGood, you are a positional player or tactical player...??? erm.... no offense... just asking...:P 

Stein's Simple Chess is a good book, but newer ideas since My System aren't contrary to, or in conflict with, the concepts in the book. Its still a worthy read before moving on to more recent books on positional play, which will reinforce the ideas taught in My System while coupling them with the newer ideas on dynamic play.

I tried Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy years ago, and just could not get into it at all. A lot of that may be due to its being descriptive notation, and my difficulty in following in after so many years now of reading algebraic.

In any case, either Pachman's book or My System should provide a good foundation for more advanced study.

As I side note, I recently read that much of the difficulty with the proper handling of positional chess is usually not due to a lack of knowledge about positional concepts, but rather a problem with the application of them in our games.

Unfortunately, I didn't read what the solution to that problem is, but I expect its repeated exposure to them through continuous reading of material that addresses these ideas. Which makes it, in a way, kind of like learning tactics: an explanation and a couple of examples of tactical motifs isn't going to help in the same way that continually studying many examples of tactics everyday will.

Pachman is a very good instructor.

"i dont really like the IMBALANCES, I feel like it stops me from playing tactically ( im a tactical player )"

How? that doesn't make snese...

I can't speak for the other two books, but I really like "The Amateur's Mind" so far; it's nice to see other beginners make the same mistakes I do, and have an international master explain why those are mistakes.  Though I am definitely still a beginner player (and not a good one at that), at least it's nice to know that I can understand what's happening on the board.  Whether I succeed in exploiting the imbalances to improve my position and win is definitely something I still need to work on, but it's much better than having no idea what I should be doing and just playing reactionary chess.

Definitely go with silman's books.  Silman is a great chess author and his books are very easy to read and follow along.  The amateur's mind is an amazing book.  It gives an amateur's flawed way of thinking and Silman corrects it by using many instructive examples.  It highlights important rules to follow in bold and makes it easy to go back through the book and reinforce these key ideas.  I never read pachman's book so I'm not going to knock it.  Ive attempted to read my system but the literature is very outdated and can be difficult to follow.  If you want an easy read start with amateur's mind.  Then once you star to improve dive into HTRYC.  It's a doozy though.  It took me months to read its very dense, but its easy to follow along.  Lately I've been studying mostly tactics as most of my games are won or lost because of a tactic so I am really trying to improve my tactical vision and calculation.  But if you wanna study positional play you can't go wrong with silman.

I put the emphasis on tactics as well; not only because they tend to be decisive in my games (one way or the other), but also because I believe they are the building blocks for a full understanding of strategic concepts ("full" meaning that you not only know what the concepts mean, but apply them in your games as easily as you employ tactical shots).

I am an advocate of imbalances/schematic thinking, and it does not stop me from playing tactics.

If you truly strive to reach 1800, you cannot ignore strategic imbalances.

My two cents on the books of which I have all: 

1) Nimzowitsch provides deep strategical insights, but I have always found this book, viewed by many as a classic, as more of a smorgasborg than a system and harder to digest. His treatment of how to play with IQP is outdated. Still valuable material, but maybe for later!

2) Pachman's book is an abridged version of the originals; I acquired the Greman editions, and was amazed at what was left out. I found his work more user-friendly than Nimzo's.

3) Silman remains my favorite. Many readers seem to either love or hate his writing style (it is amazing how polarizing he seems to be), and there are those who put him down for "only" being an IM, but I suggest many of the top players are not necessarily competent teachers. Silman breaks things down to "our" level, and covers the material that many of us need to build or reinforce. Definitely obtain his 4th edition of Reasess, but consider obtaining the 3rd edition on the cheap, as teh many new examples avoid duplication.

Good luck with your studies.

And I know you won't leave out the frequent tactics practice, and you won't get any argument from me there!