Books on Chess History

Are there any other books like Schonberg's 'Grandmasters of Chess' or Soltis' 'The Great Tournaments And Their Stories' which give historical background to players/tournaments with just a few illustrative games?

Schonberg's book was the first one I ever read about chess and really got me interested in the game. Even though he's not a specialist chess writer the pen portraits of the great players and stylistic changes in different eras of chess is perfect for anybody wanting an introduction to the history of the game.

Other than encyclopedias or biographies of individual players I haven't found anything similar to those books I mentioned..

Send batgirl a message.  She knows more about chess history than anyone else on the forums.  Bet she would have some recommendations.....

@Whaleeyeman

Schonberg's book was also written for a general audience and even though I now have a fair grasp of Chess history from the late 19th century on I still re-read it occasionally for the sheer pleasure of it!

There was a reissue of Reti's Masters of the Chessboard in 2002, its 20 years since I read that so I may try and get hold of a copy, I don't mind books in descriptive notation, thats how I learned the game 30 years ago.

Yep, thats exactly the sort of anecdote I was on about. Schonberg was music critic for The New York Times (I wonder if he came across Philidor's music and then found out he was the greatest chess player in the world in the 18th century?) so he couldn't have been more than an enthusiastic amateur but 'Grandmasters' is still a great book.

I have this massive book called History of Chess, edited by B. H Wood.