Evaluating Positions

I am looking for a great chess book for learning how to evaluate positions.  Perhaps this is an acquired thing, but I think that there must be some book out there for this.  I am looking to acquire the ability to read a position and make a determination of the pluses and minuses and determine what needs to be done.  Perhaps this isn't something that can be put in one book.

A real good book on pawn theory is highly desired as well.  Any help please?  Thanks.

As far as pawn theory goes Hans Kmoch and Andy Soltis wrote highly-acclaimed books on the subject. I've read Kmoch's book and some players criticize it because he uses a lot of clumsy "propietary" chess terms that no one else has ever used before or after him. I've read that Soltis' book is better, but it aint cheaper at amazon. Read the reviews there on both books and see what you think.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=pawn+power+in+chess&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1105243901&ref=pd_sl_828pwz6ctp_e

Join the club...

At any rate, neither Soltis nor Kmoch are really for players who are just starting out.

So everyone who's ever read that book is a master?...hm.

Yeah, you "could" be...just as I thought... 

If you check out the power chess series by Nigel Davies...that is essentially all the books do; present positions, ask you for your evaluations, which you can then check against the GM's answers.

Yeah, there's lot of stuff out there like that (and always has been)...

When I was new I knew all about pluses and minuses... except what the hell to do with them and why they weren't totally arbitrary

I was clueless on what move to make once and a stronger player suggested I try to exploit his doubled pawns to which I responded "if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't be rated 1100!"

This is what a positional book would read like to a new player.  The author is going to assume a certain level of ability.

Really what you need as a beginner is to work on fundamental skills.  Things like visualizing your intended move.  Noticing all the new squares your opponent's last move affected.  Basic tactical patterns.  And actually looking at tactics helps you practice all of this in one.  Just be sure you're not guessing when you solve a tactical puzzle... which means your confident that you have a good reply for your opponent's most annoying response.

Which is another basic skill to learn... don't calculate moves for your opponent that help you!  All you need to know about evaluating a position is to keep your pieces mobile (thus the importance of the center) and keep your king safe.  Oh, and I guess the different classifications of pawns, e.g. chains, isolated, backward, islands, etc.

No book leaps to mind, apart from Maybe Dvoretsky's book on positional play, but have you considered a short course specifically on developing your evaluation skills? For example, http://blog.chess.com/Rakhmanator/online-training-understanding is great value

Ah yes, Dvoretsky's books.  Reminds me of the time I picked up Rudin's "Principles of Mathematical Analysis" for a 4th grader working on his multiplication tables.

I think his mom sold it at a garage sale without him ever reading it... too bad.

And actually, if we're talking about Dvoretsky's Analytical Manual, I made a very appropriate comparison

hehe, cute, although my suggestion is actually Rakhmanov's couse on Evaluation, which i don't believe to be too much of a stretch... perhaps i should have been more clear... I blame lack of caffeine.

Okay, I knew he did "The Thinker" (didn't know he wrote any books though).

Indeed, I look forward to being able to enjoy that book one day myself :B

Maybe sad to say, but a player who is good enough and dedicated enough to make good use of that book is better than the player I aspire to be

Rakhmanov also wrote four damned fine piano concertos. A very talented guy.

I think he's also the one who killed the old lady (in that novel by Feodor Dvoretsky).

and that Cardinal that was fighting the Mousketeers.

Ouch! Don't be so positive. ;) I think it is easier when you remove time frames from the equation. I realized some time back that as I'm no master, it is going to take me longer to understand some things, so I must be patient and take things as they come. Mind you, I'm still tackling Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. C: