{"product_id":"endgame-bobby-fischers-remarkable-rise-and-fall-from-americas-brightest-prodigy-to-the-edge-of-madness-9780307463913","title":"Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall: From America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness","description":"\u003ci\u003eEndgame \u003c\/i\u003eis acclaimed biographer Frank Brady's decades-in-the-making tracing of the meteoric ascent--and confounding \u003ci\u003edescent\u003c\/i\u003e--of enigmatic genius Bobby Fischer. Only Brady, who met Fischer when the prodigy was only 10 and shared with him some of his most dramatic triumphs, could have written this book, which has much to say about the nature of American celebrity and the distorting effects of fame. Drawing from Fischer family archives, recently released FBI files, and Bobby's own emails, this account is unique in that it limns Fischer's \u003ci\u003eentire\u003c\/i\u003e life--an odyssey that took the Brooklyn-raised chess champion from an impoverished childhood to the covers of \u003ci\u003eTime, Life \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eNewsweek \u003c\/i\u003eto recognition as \"the most famous man in the world\" to notorious recluse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt first all one noticed was how gifted Fischer was. Possessing a 181 I.Q. and remarkable powers of concentration, Bobby memorized\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ehundreds of chess books in several languages, and he was only 13 when he became the youngest chess master in U.S. history. But his strange behavior started early. In 1972, at the historic Cold War showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he faced Soviet champion Boris Spassky, Fischer made headlines with hundreds of petty demands that nearly ended the competition. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt was merely a prelude to what was to come. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eArriving back in the United States to a hero's welcome, Bobby was mobbed wherever he went--a figure as exotic and improbable as any American pop culture had yet produced. No player of a mere \"board game\" had ever ascended to such heights. Commercial sponsorship offers poured in, ultimately topping $10 million--but Bobby demurred. Instead, he began tithing his limited money to an apocalyptic religion and devouring anti-Semitic literature. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter years of poverty and a stint living on Los Angeles' Skid Row, Bobby remerged in 1992 to play Spassky in a multi-million dollar rematch--but the experience only \u003ci\u003edeepened \u003c\/i\u003ea paranoia that had formed years earlier when he came to believe that the Soviets wanted him dead for taking away \"their\" title. When the dust settled, Bobby was a wanted man--transformed into an international fugitive because of his decision to play in Montenegro despite U.S. sanctions. Fearing for his life, traveling with bodyguards, and wearing a long leather coat to ward off knife attacks, Bobby lived the life of a celebrity fugitive - one drawn increasingly to the bizarre. Mafiosi, Nazis, odd attempts to breed an heir who could perpetuate his chess-genius DNA--all are woven into his late-life tapestry. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd yet, as Brady shows, the most notable irony of Bobby Fischer's strange descent - which had reached full plummet by 2005 when he turned down yet \u003ci\u003eanother \u003c\/i\u003emulti-million dollar payday--is that despite his incomprehensible behavior, there were many who remained fiercely loyal to him. Why that was so is at least partly the subject of this book--one that at last answers the question: \"Who \u003ci\u003ewas \u003c\/i\u003eBobby Fischer?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Broadway Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/17\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780307463913\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 411\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/26\/2012 pg. 24\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Frank Brady","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36635583348892,"sku":"9780307463913","price":14.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_269d7737-bbab-4e62-ae7d-782fb12f98a9.jpg?v=1603839971","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/endgame-bobby-fischers-remarkable-rise-and-fall-from-americas-brightest-prodigy-to-the-edge-of-madness-9780307463913","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}