Interesting Chess Books

I'm looking for an interesting book I can read in my spare time, maybe on the train or something.
I dont care what the topic is, whether its a collection of games, a biography or anything else.

Please share your experience on any great books you have enjoyed reading. 

"The Art of Chess Combination" by Eugene Znosko-Borovsky.  I read the english translation.  It's very instructive and explains simple to moderately difficult combinational themes such as the Bishop sacrifice on h7, the double Bisop Sacrifice, the pawn on h4, pawn on the sixth rank, using threats to encourage the enemy to advance his pawns around the castled King, and also general attacking "building blocks" such as opening or closing diagonals.  My rating went up 100 points, easy, after reading this book twice.

The biography of Fischer called endgame is à great read

If you'd like to read not a chess book, but a book about chess, I reccomend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Game-Kings-Oddballs-Geniuses-HighSchool/dp/1592403387 

Pretty cool, great story, great carachters.

Oh yes, I second the recommendation of "Endgame." 

I recommend the Chess Training Pocket book by Lev Alburt. I train calculations with it when on the train. You don't need to use a chess set this way, even though that would be good with some of the puzzles.

Most puzzles in that book are from real games. You don't get clues what the topic of the puzzle is and most opponent moves are not forced moves.

If you're not a fan of Fischer or can't get a copy of 'endgame' (which I haven't read, so I'm neither for or against), I would suggest the book Tigran Petrosian: His Life and Games by Vasiliev. The book is quite old (back in the days when Petrosian was still a possibility for a world championship comeback, so I guess it's around the time of the Fischer-Spassky match), but I'm get to talk to someone who has read it and hasn't come away with a soft spot for a player who was not only incredibly interesting, but whose playstyle is often somewhat misunderstood.

As the title suggests, the book also contains some of his games at the end of each chapter, the annotations for which I found quite adequate, though I guess now in the time of computer analysis it mich be shown to be slightly inaccurate in places. Highly Reccommended.

What you mean exactly ?! A novel ? Or practical books.

Confessions of a chess grand master by soltis is the best one I have seen so far , and it covers both fields.

You can try and look at http://www.squidoo.com/chess-reference

I think he's just looking for any book on chess that would be an interesting read, not so much to directly learn about any particular thing.

If you don't have a chess set on your train, then this book, on the Fischer-Spassky match is worth considering.

There is both a comment and a diagram after every single move, of all twenty games, so it's easy to follow the entire game, even when a chess set is not handy.

A novel about chess that I enjoyed reading called "The Queen's Gambit" is also worthwhile.  A young eight-year-old orphan turns out to be a chess prodigy.  The janitor of her school taught her the moves.  It's witten by Walter Tevis.

101 Endgame tips by Giddins

Another vote for Genna Sosonko's books. As well as the two Paul mentioned, there is "Smart Chip from St. Petersburg: And Other Tales of a Bygone Chess Era", along similar lines. All are great reads, imo.

Another suggestion: "Linares! Linares! A Journey into the Heart of Chess" by Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam, who is Editor of "New in Chess" magazine. It evokes the atmosphere of the famous chess tournaments held there annually, and contains some nice personal insights too. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the translation into English from the original Dutch.

Here is six books that should keep you entertained. Four bottom ones is a series by Lev Alburt that covers all the chess subjects.

thx, will look for those!

like bartleby73's book to train calculation... i recomend the book WINNING CHESS by Chernev and Reinfeld.. it's a book on tactics and the many example's  are simple enough to do without a board... the writing is funny and clear...

i think it's usefull to put many patterns in your head so you will see them without thinking

I find that Silman and Soltis both have writing styles that are much more interesting and engaging than most other authors... and if Reassess your Chess is half as helpful as The Amateur's Mind, I would highly recommend both as instructional books.

One book not mentioned is an older book called "Chess Secrets" by Edward Lasker.  It is essentially a biography of Emanual Lasker and is good reading.  It does contain a number of games but you can read around the games and come back to them later if you like.