Here's the "Most Favorable Review" on Amazon.com for Silman's most recent book, How to Reassess Your Chess, Fourth edition (Paperback)
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"This review is for the FOURTH AND FINAL EDITION of this book. I do have an older third edition as well, and I will compare the two. There are plenty of reviews written about the quality of this book (older editions included), and I rate the book 5 stars for its content. However, I am not here to go into detail about that, but rather focus on the differences between editions.
The book contents are made up of the following parts: The Concept of Imbalances. Minor Pieces, Rooks, Psychological Meanderings, Target Consciousness, Statics vs. Dynamics, Space, Passed Pawns, and Other Imbalances. Each part is further broken down into specifics and is concluded with a summary and test questions.
The big differences between editions...This is an oversized book, much larger and 250 pages longer than the 3rd edition. The layout and size is just like Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master. Larger print and more white space - I find this makes it much easier to read. The graphic designer should be commended. The 4th edition goes much more in depth (!!) about the concept of imbalances and guiding you to the correct plan. The main theme is the same as the older editions, but Silman gives it a new feel with updated ideas and ALL NEW examples. Silman writes it himself, he "literally wrote this fourth edition from scratch". Another huge change is the addition of Chess Psychology, 90 pages long! Silman claims many of these ideas have never been seen in any chess book before. The 4th edition does not include a Basic Endgames section like his 3rd edition. I believe it has no place in this book anyway and is covered in more detail in the previously mentioned work! He chopped this section and other parts that "distracted from the book's main purpose: mastering the imbalances". The 4th edition is more humorous! From drunken knights to passed bananas, he will keep you interested with some laughs along the way. Again, similar to his endgame course!
In the rear....
Silman added 33 pages of instructive articles where he takes some important pieces of writing from his Q&A column on chess.com. Some articles are Creating a Study Program, Proper Tournament Diet, Offering a Draw, and Is Chess a Gentleman's Game? This is a little bit odd considering he wanted to cut out any distractions. Unnecessary, but interesting nevertheless. Perhaps Silman wanted to give his column a shout out. On the other hand, the Index of Concepts is a great addition. If one of your games has a Rook for Minor Piece or Isolated Pawn, you can look up this concept in the index and find the listed pages to learn more about it. Bibliography and Index of Players/Games are included as well.
Silman recommends this book for USCF rated 1400-2100. And I agree! Being about 1900 USCF rated, I am reviewing and learning plenty.
I listened to IM John Watson's interview with IM Jeremy Silman on the Internet Chess Club. Great interview! I won't take away too much from it but I will add that Silman says, "If I am going to be known for one book, I wanted something I was really pleased with, and I am pleased with this." I am too! If you don't have a copy of Reassess Your Chess, then this is a great buy. If you have an older edition, there is enough new material and ideas with fresh examples to reassess all over again.
---- I think it would be great if amazon let you read the introduction online. Silman sums up the differences there as well."
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