... The lazy mans Sicilian sounds like my kind of book. I will never take time to really learn all the theory, looking at general ideas and a couple of main lines will have to suffice. ...
If the lazy book doesn't work out, it isn't necessarily the end of the story. In a 2002 book, GM John Emms wrote, "... the Kan is one of the easiest variations of the Sicilian to learn, ..., the onus is not on the player with the black pieces to memorise reams of opening theory simply to stay on the board. ..."
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627033203/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen46.pdf
Alas, in the subsequent decade or so, the Kan seems to have become one of the most popular Sicilian choices with the rated-over-2400 crowd. Perhaps one could get a more up-to-date view of what Sicilian variations require the least study by looking at the 2009 book, Starting Out: The Sicilian also by GM John Emms.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf
The 2009 Emms book might also be helpful as an introduction to those pesky "anti-Sicilians" that Black might have to face when trying to go for something like 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 etc.
Thanks, ylblai2. The lazy mans Sicilian sounds like my kind of book. I will never take time to really learn all the theory, looking at general ideas and a couple of main lines will have to suffice.
I did play Sicilian yesterday against my old Mephisto Master chess computer set on one of the normal playing levels. It became an Alapin, and it went pretty well!
It wasn't the best game the computer ever produced! But the Mephisto isn't set to make stupid mistakes on purpose unless you pick some "fun" level.