Good chess books with no chess in them?

I'm looking for books on chess that are about the history of chess, the psychology of chess, even the philosophy of chess stuff like that. If it contains chess analysis I am not interested in it for this purpose.  

It should also be for someone already familiar with the basic players and history of chess and needs something more detailed and comprehensive. One massive textbook might be what's in order, but I searched and couldn't find any.    

This may seem slightly contradictory but I also don't really care too much for single biographies or autobiographies. I realize that a large amount of chess knowledge can be found from them, but at the same time focusing on a single player from a single author for a whole book a little superflous for me, I don't have the time or interest to read the dozens or hundreds of these books written over the years. 

H. J. R. Murray's A History of Chess is a true classic. Highly commended.

Are you sure?  Edward Winter and Dale Brandreth both intimated that Murray's tome is unreadable.

I quite enjoyed " The Immortal Game" by David Shenk. it uses that famous game as a framework for exploring a variety of ideas. There is some analysis of that specific game, but it's not a book on theory or tactics.

"Psychology of Chess Player" by Reuben Fine.

Thanks for all replies. I was thinking of getting The Immortal Game, but after reading the reviews on Amazon it seems like it doesn't assume anything so it can't be that comprehensive. I got excited about Fine for a while, but then I read that his writings are full of... well nonsense. Freudian types of analysis based on repressed sexuality and the like that have since been discredited. 

Non-fiction only please. 

"Russian silhouettes" by Sosonko is a great book IMHO.

Despite my earlier comment, Murray's book is one of my favorite books.  It covers the develoment of chess with almost painful tedium, but leaves few stones unturned. It's considered the gold stanard for chess history, but it pretty much ignores most of anything past the end of the 18th century. 

The Immortal Game is a very good book.  Shenk is an author, not a chess author, but he took great care to be accurate and his missteps were few; It's quite readable and unique in its approach.  Probably the very best book on general chess history is Richard Eales' "Chess: A History of a Game."

Chess is vast and to learn about all areas of its history is a monumental undertaking.  Some people mentioned Genna Sosonko and if the history of Russian chess in the second half of the 20th century is your interest, his three books are a must.  I think focusing on individual players is good and bad. No one lives or plays chess in a vacuum, but bios are generally a bit skewed. 

Fine's 1967 Psychology of Chess Player" is a booklet form of a lengthy article, "Psychoanalytic Observations on Chess and Chess Masters," published in the profeesional journal "Psychoanalysis" in 1956.  Fine understands chess and lived through an exciting era, so whether that booklet would be valuable to you depends in part on your views on Freudian ideas.

General histories are the easiest, and besides Shenk and Eales, you can also check Golombek's "Chess: A History." 

Besides books there are several consisent and good sites on chess and it's history.... which are usually more succinct and definitely less expensive.

Bat Girl here is a thought:

The Classical Era of Modern Chess by Monte  a McFarland book o bit pricey but very nice and it will remain a collectable 20 years from now.

The King by Donner is great, so are Sosonko's books.

Wismike, that particular book is one I've been wanting to read but, as you said, it's not cheap. The days of Paolo Boi, Ruy Lopez, Polerio, Salvio, Greco and the early development of modern chess is a time in which I'm very interested.  I'm not sure a casual reader might like such a book, but you never know.

Pal Benko wrote a book called "Winning with Chess Psychology."  It tries to look into the elements that give players intangible advantages or disadvantages.  I really wasn't very impressed with it when I read it a dozen years ago (I found Benko a bit self-serving), but since then I've heard others say they thought it was good. At any rate, Benko's book may be something you are looking for.

bat Girl, As in the past McFarland will produce a run of paperback for less once they are out of hardbacks. Then the hardbacks usually double and triple in price. The paperbacks are not all that much cheaper,maybe $10 to $20 less.  If you bought the HB you can easily turn around and sell it when they are out of stock for more than what you paid for it. The same can't be said with the paperback that will eventually come out. Collectors fo nuts over what they call the "library binding".

Personally I'm not interested in resale value. Thanks to everyone for their knowledgeable recommendations and help, hugely appreciated.