06.03.08 Hitting the beach this summer? Maybe a hike in the mountains or just relaxing on the hammock. Either way you'll want to bring along some books from our Summer Reading List. Ten captivating books have been selected for your reading pleasure along with in-depth reviews from our friends at ChessCafe.com.

Silman's Complete Endgame Course by Jeremy Silman. "A revolutionary book on chess endgames, designed to ensure that players understand everything they need to know at their rating levels, and prepare them to advance to the next."

Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman. "Tactics is almost undoubtedly the most productive single area that beginners and intermediates can study to improve their game--the more practice, the better."

The King by J. H. Donner. ChessCafe book reviewer Taylor Kingston refers to the first edition of this book as, "perhaps the best book we ever reveiwed here."

Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions by Pal Benko, Jeremy Silman and John Watson. "The book is simply outstanding on all levels: as a memior, as a game collection, as chess instruction, as chess artistry, as a physically impressive product, even as a photo album."

The Chess Exam and Training Guide by Igor Khmelnitsky. "If you are in the Under-2200 category and would like to know how to economize your limited training time, then Chess Exam and Training Guide is for you. It's simply one of the best instructional books I've read in years."

King's Gambit: A Son, a Father and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman. "The text is well written and extremely well reachered and documented. There are two primary story lines to the book--Paul Hoffman's rocky relationship with his father, and the deceitful, possibly psychotic, sometimes homicidal or suicidal chess players throughout the history of the game he loves deeply. This is not a feel-good story."

Tony Miles: "It's Only Me" compiled by Geoff Lawton. "Miles' friend and colleague IM Geoff Lawson, assisted by Leonard Barden, Mike Fox, Malcolm Hunt and other British Journalists, has crafted a selection of Miles' chess, writings and interviews into a combination games collection, biography and memorial tribute. The result is a bittersweet book provoking both laughter and sadness in its portrait of a very human person."

A Parent's Guide to Chess by Dan Heisman. "This book fills a definite crying need occasioned by the tremendous growth of scholastic tournament chess during the last decade. It is very fortunate that a real chess teacher and coach, with many years experience dealing with children, parents and tournament directors, has decided to share his valuable knowledge and insights with us."

The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team by Michael Weinreb. "Michael Weinreb paints a masterful portrait of the vibrant scholastic chess world as it exists in the twenty-first century."

Understanding the Gruenfeld by Jonathan Rowson. "I am certain that this book will be welcomed by those who already play this popular opening and those who plan to add it to their repertoire."