Caro Kann book recommendation?

Anyone have a recommendation for a good book to start playing the Caro Kann as black? I can find moves in a database, but I'm looking for something that explains the ideas in the main lines.

Caro-Kann Move by Move

It's the best book I ever read about a opening. It doesn't give you a complete repertoire, where you can see what to play in move 15 in a sideline. However, it takes you through alot of IM/GM games, where the author asks some questions, for example: What do you think is the compensation for the pawn sacrificed? It will give you a general idea about the Caro-Kann, worth more than a 1000 of memorized lines.

The repertoire is:

1: e4 c6! 2: d4 d5 3: Nc3(d2) dxe4 4: Nxe4 Nd7!? Alot of Karpov games, since he played this variation alot.

1: e4 c6! 2: d4 d5 3: e5 Bf5, followed by Nd7 and instead of c5, the f6 break.

If you don't like the complete games, I think Play the Caro-Kann is best, with a 4. ... Bf5 repertoire.

Does the Caro need a book at class level? Play e5 if you can, c5 if you can't, sorted.

Yes:

"Starting Out: Caro Kann" 

Source: I am a caro-kann player.

I thought you were a French defense player?

Anyway, you might want to check out the Caro book by Peter Wells... quite interesting!

Why be so restricted in choice?

Yeah, I mostly play the French right now, or sometimes e5, but I've been thinking of making a change. And I'm thinking of taking up the Caro Kann for the same reason I originally started playing the French - to learn how to play against it as white.

I used to hate playing against the French as white. I tried a couple of lines against it, and never really got used to playing any of them. But once I started playing it as black, I learned it so well that now it's one of my favorite openings to play against as white. I'm figuring the same approach should work on the CK, where learning bits and pieces of different lines in the past has failed.

Anyway, thanks for the recommendations. I was looking at the Move by Move book and Play the CK on Amazon. Those seem like the most descriptive, and highly recommended. The Wells book seems well recommended too, but it seems to be more master level theory than explanations of the basics, from the descriptions I've seen.

Houska's book explains a lot of ideas well. I don't agree with some of the recommendations (I think she suggests some trash Nb6 idea against the Panov that is close to losing) but overall it is a good instructional work.

I would recommend getting a very broad knowledge of the opening.  Pick up all 3 books mentioned (I have them all) and then follow that up with Grandmaster Repertoire: The Caro-Kann, which recommends the best lines for Black, but they are more complicated.  So go with the simpler lines first from the lower-level books, but don't stop there.

I own all 4 books mentioned thus far in this thread, and speak as a "former" Caro-Kann player.

I am balencing both the caro-kann and french currently. Honestly, both are pretty combative in their own way. From what I have seen in the caro, white definitely has ways to interesting play, but the ways for an advantage are not so clear. In the french, the lines are obvious, but play can be tough unless you play the tarrasch (the moves speak themselves for white), but here black has many paths for that word every player is tired of hearing: "equality".

anyways thats my off-topic stuff, back to the caro

houska's book and shankland's videos on the caro are very nice overviews.

Jovanka Houska wrote a book on the caro-kann. I haven't read it. Got good reviews though.

Houska's book does indeed recommend 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 Nb6?! which is dubious and probably close to losing (at the very least White gets a clear edge)

okay expertise, i got the point after the 8th time.

I own The NID Move by Move and it's excellent, so I'm guessing (or at least hoping) that books on other openings in this "Move by Move" series would also be very good. Click on the link below to read a review of it by our very own Jeremy SIlman:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Caro-Kann-Move-Cyrus-Lakdawala/product-reviews/1857446879/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

? I mentioned it once then posted the actual line

You might try Pawn Structure Chess by Soltis. First chapter is the Caro-Slav family of pawn structures which Includes the Caro-Kann but also Scandinavian, some French lines and a few others.

Someone mentioned Caro-kann Move by Move on the earlier posts. I love that book!!!!

Sorry, I could have been clearer. I didn't mean 1...e5 or c5, but those breaks. I think studying Caro structures is more useful than Caro Kann preparation.

I definitely don't want to pick up 3 or 4 books. At my level, I need to focus more on other areas of chess, rather than spending all my time reading opening books. I want to pick one to buy and read in its entirety, and if I keep playing the CK for a long time, I'll probably pick up others for reference (not to actually read) later.

I'm leaning towards the "Move by Move" one, just because the format seems like exactly the type of description that would be good for me.