Kahn Books

What's the point of writing yet another review for this book? Well, I couldn't help it! This book is fantastic. Two features I really enjoy: the patterns are mostly explained through entire game miniatures and the authors give extensive historical notes on the players.

I have bought and sold hundred's of chess books over the years, this one is a keeper . My copy is well worn from heavy use. It is the best book of its type I have ever come across! Teaches ALL the basic mateing patterns, and how to apply them, in a very simple, but USEFUL way.

Art of the Checkmate is an awesome book. I've read it, put the patterns and quizzes into "Chess Workbook" software, and I've drilled through it at least 5-6 times. If there is one thing that you need to learn how to do in chess, is to checkmate your opponent. Each form of the mating patterns should be memorized. I found that after drilling through this book a couple of times, I am far more dangerous than before. I instantly, recognize and operate my pieces toward checkmating the king. It became effortless for me to become a dangerous player. After I read this book the guys at my club were suddenly shocked to find their king so often in my cross-hairs for potential checkmates. Against good players, these threats rarely lead to checkmates, but they lead to bad trades, bad sacrifices, loss of tempi, and bad moves by my opponent which ultimately weaken my opponent.

Get this book and become a dangerous chess player. It's for beginners, but the only problem is the descriptive notation.

The Art of the Checkmate is a book I purchased about 10 years ago and feel this book deserves to be an essential part of any chess players library. The book focuses on checkmates (no surprise) that at some point you will face as a chess player. Don't think that these moves are just a novelty and not played in todays games, many examples in the book show GM's being defeated from these moves. With smothered mates, corridor mates, Boden's mate, pseudo-sacrifice, and double checks, as well as a host of others you will benefit from knowing these moves. The book can be purchased for less than a few days lunch so there's no reason to skip this one. Overall I think this book is required reading by all ratings from novice to GM.

i own this book for 15 years now and it is as good as new, very good binding and paper quality. it was my firts book on chess and i think it was good choice .

Its an excellence choice for beginners who whant to improve pattern recognition and mate understanting .

The book was first puplished in 1953 its a classic .it really doesnt matter that its half a century old dont forget that mate patterns dont change and that this book manage to survive the test of time.

An excellence choice !

followed by several days flipping through again and again, searching for my favorites...beautiful pictures. I could have done with more "on the road" pics and less (what I would refer to as) "normal" houses...I can see those kinds when I look out the window...but that's just a personal preference....I wish he'd take all the extra stuff he said he had and put it on a website or publish another book. I'd buy it!

this book is even better then the other books by Lloyd Kahn, and i didnt think that was possible. The photographs are outstanding, the text interesting, informative, and captures thoughts, people, homes and places of times past, present and some that look futuristic! This book is for anyone who has a passion for architecture, and culture. a great coffee table book.

MUST HAVE FOR ALL couchpotatoe MALES, and anyone who has dreams! This is such a fantastic book: inspiring and creative and so marvelous to see so many passionate people out their DOING THEIR THING! Get up from your desktops, ladies and gentlemen, stop the online dating circus and do something satisfying: BUILD YOUR OWN SHELTER. Lord knows I want to after pouring through every inch of every page and these great photos and life stories. Thanks, Mr. Lloyd!

This book has been sitting on my toilet for about a month. its one of those. you can reread it and look at those photos many times before you get tired of it. plus this book gives you many links to other sources or information. which really is its strongest point. you look, find a style you like, and then can look up more books on the subject.

This book is absolutely stunning. I spent hours poring over the pictures. It's mostly pictures of creative, unique houses people have built, with a few stories about builders' experiences and techniques.
It will put into perspective the amount to which we have limited ourselves when it comes to traditional housing. It shows how a house is not just shelter, but art, expression, and passion as well.
This will inspire you!

This is a good reference book to have available whenever your pet becomes ill or for review after a veternarian visit.

Lots of good information on the stuff that can usually go wrong. Won't replace a vet for really serious things, but helps with peace of mind (and care info) for run-of-the-mill problems.

Sometimes the vet does not have time to explain in detail the medications they are prescribing and sometimes you just for get to ask or think of someting after the fact. The book is a good source of information and it its written in plain enlish so you dont have to be a DVM to understand it.

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS BOOK FOR ANY PET OWNER OR LOVER. VERY INSIGHTFUL AND EASY TO FOLLOW FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON WITHOUT A CARRIER IN THE MEDICAL FIELD.

A book that should be in the library of every pet owner and pet lover: The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is an outstanding resource. Written by veterinarians and animal health specialists, the book is still aimed at the public at large. It's easy to understand and also easy to find information quickly.

The book covers health issues in common and exotic pets, but there are also some unusual and interesting special subjects. I found the chapter on diseases spread from animals to people (zoonoses) fascinating because I like this sort of off the wall stuff.

Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is a book I will keep handy and will refer to often for the well being of my pets.

This is an exciting look into the arcane world of espionage, secret writing and the life and death struggles of spies to remain undetected. It is balanced by the equally intense technical struggle to detect them and interpret what they are sending. It is one of the classics of cryptography, and serves as a wonderful introduction to that all time classic "The Code Breakers" by David Kahn.

This book is a true tell all book. Written by the head of MI-8 (the US Army signals intelligence agency in WWI) and later the Black Chamber from 1918-1929, this book gives a glimpse of what goes on behind the scene and shapes the actions and re-actions of governments that don't make it to the newspaper headlines. A must read.

Aside from the subject of codes and ciphers, which this book does very well, The American Black Chamber also discusses how U.S. codebreaking affected the post-WWI naval disarmament conference which led to the famous 5-5-3 ratio of heavy warships amongst the British, American and Japanese navies. American negotiators knew in advance what the Japanese and British were willing to settle for and managed to get the best deal possible for the U.S.

Very much an eye-opener.

Yardley could sight-read the encrypted messages of the time. This and "Education of a Poker Player" are informative and entertaining.

I read this book some 50 years ago, having borrowed it from a friend.
Since then I have looking for this book.
When I found it on Amazon, I immediately bought it.

About 10,000 same-sex couples have wed in Massachusetts since 2003, when that state's Supreme Court handed down a decision that made such unions legal in the state. Since then, the state legislature has rejected several attempts to reinstate a ban. This wonderful book is about the civil-rights struggle waged by LGBT activists in Massachusetts and the celebrations that followed the court decision, beautifully told and illustrated.

This book chronicles the struggle for marriage equality brilliantly! The authors tell the back story of how activists built on other court cases branching back to the seventies to make it possible for marriage equality to happen in Massachusetts. It is filled with touching stories of real families and their reactions to the news that their rights would finally be protected! They put a human face to this issue and prove without a doubt that all families should have the same legal protections. This book is a must-read for GLBT right supporters and historians alike.

Gozemba, Patricia A. and Karen Kahn. "Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America's First Legal Same-Sex Marriages", Beacon Press, 2007.



"Going to the Chapel"



Amos Lassen and Literary Pride



May 17, 2004 is an important date for us. On that day at midnight close to 10.000 people came together in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the lawn of the City Hall. They were waiting for history to be made. When the building opened, the first legal same-sex marriage licenses in the United States were issued and Susan Shepherd and Marcia Hams, who had been together for 27 years, were not officially granted the right to marry. From that day forward, thousands of gay and lesbian couples from across the state followed the lead. Meanwhile, other couples in other places are fighting for the same right.

"Courting Equality" follows the experience with wonderful text by Patricia A. Gozemba and Karen Kahn and extraordinary photographs (more than 100 in all). We are given a front row center seat to see the battle for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. There entire story is here--the early efforts of activists and the celebrations that followed the decision and the protests following the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court in the case of "Goodridge vs. The Department of Public Health. What a joyous book this is.

The photographs illustrate the text beautifully and further demonstrate the dignity of the issue. The faces in the photographs are elated and proud and exemplify the importance of everything that went on in front of and behind the scenes. Some of the photographs are so touching that it is difficult to look at then with dry eyes. Others make you smile and grin with pride. They represent what the struggle for equality is all about and what it looks like. The text writers have documented an important part of American history and show the efforts to end discrimination and we read and see how our own legislators and fellow citizens got to know us and our families and helped us gain the justice we so deserve.

Here is testimony to the power of commitment. The stories of the people involved are beautifully related and we see humanity at its finest hour. What makes this book important is that it is not only a chronicle the events that led up to Massachusetts allowing same-sex marriage but it shows how political support grew as we witnessed the reality of the demolition of prejudices against us. Most of all, I feel, it reinforces our worth and that we do, indeed, gain equal treatment under the laws of our country. The look at the way social change occurs is beautifully expressed in this beautiful coffee-table sized book. It is an album of our lives and a picture of freedom.

I'm a long-time admirer of the photography of Marilyn Humphries, whose political conscience and capacity to connect deeply and unobtrusively with her subjects place her in a very special class of her art. I'm also a heterosexual male who had quietly been part of the majority of Americans who favor, in principle, the right of every adult couple to marry. But this magnificent book has turned me into an activist who will stand up at every proper opportunity and fight for that right alongside the many courageous individuals who have worked for it by themselves until now. The concrete story of that fight (superbly written by Ms. Gozemba and Ms. Kahn) sweeps away a merely abstract understanding of what has been happening. A detailed history of the legal fight in Massachusetts is riveting. But if that isn't enough for some who still question the right of an adult to marry, then they will have to search their feelings as they look at Marilyn Humphries' photographs of the seven couples who won Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, photographs that often include their children, neighbors and pets. I was profoundly moved and inspired by these individuals (whom I will certainly never meet in person). I was reminded that everything we call a "human right" is the result of great struggle, and I was also encouraged that those who persevere do so for all of us. And yes--this book is magnificently produced! It should be owned and circulated by every American who believes our country needs to continue its self-examination and willingness to advance.

Lavish in prose and photography, COURTING EQUALITY presents the struggle to equal rights in marriage by Massachusetts' gay and lesbian community. Beyond the obvious, and above the gloss of Marilyn Humphries' stunning photo journal, Patricia A. Gozemba and Karen Kahn offer the reader a journey through worldwide discrimination which bends a bit as same sex couples arrive on the page grasping that one little piece of paper that unbars so many doors. These couples are sometimes both in wedding gowns or both in tuxedoes or anything else that expresses the joy of the moment, and Humphries, Gozemba, and Kahn order the rise of this movement in a powerful narrative that's hard to put down. I am happy to see Kahn and Humphries working again together for I so fondly remember their collaborations at Sojourner The Women's Forum during that publication's heyday late last century. I assume Gozemba has rallied this writer and this artist and added her own pizzazz to the endeavor. Huzzah!!! Good reading for anyone.

This is the true story about the girls who had the good fortune to spend their summers in the most idylic settings to be had. The specific camp didn't matter, for all of them share the same values. I have sent this book to many of my camp friends and all have been most enthusiastic!

This book is a beautiful creation that will deeply touch any woman with wonderful camp memories. I couldn't put it down until I had studied every photo, read every caption, and ordered a copy for my best camp friends. I felt like a recognized the face of each and every girl in this timeless tribute. Kahn has complied a scrapbook for all of us to remember suntanned summers swimming in the lake and joyously eating burnt food from the fire.

I have had a copy of this book for three years now - and it the favored book by our CITs at resident camp. Several have received it as a graduation gift and they pass it around and around and around the unit. No matter what camp you go to - some things are universal.

I went to a camp in the Pocanoes for 12 years, my daughter now goes to this very same camp! 90 years!! This summer, while spending a week with other alum from my camp, "Sleepaway" was recommended to me. This book, from cover to cover, perfectly summed up all our camp experiences. There are many, many pictues of campers all the way back to the early 1900's...very neat to see what camps looked like back then! We were excited to see our camp in there!

I am 15 years old right now, and i have been going to sleepaway camp for 3 years now. I went to camp not knowing many people, mabye 3 girls and now camp is something i can't live without! For four weeks, and starting summer '04 it will be eight weeks-i have thought about camp all year round. Camp is one magical place where you can get away, and this book captures that special feeling that camp gives you. For any camper old or new this book is amazing!!!

A great book with much of interest to anyone interested in outdoor skills and woodsman ship in an age that has mostly vanished. The illustrations are great and some are humorous as well.

I first read this book in my High School Library in 1955.
The best outdoor survival book ever.
Buy it at least a month before you go camping.
Must read for campers.

All outdoorsmen should own a copy of this book. Highly entertaining and a wealth of knowledge.

THE BEST OUTDOOR/SURVIVAL BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. LOADED WITH INFORMATION, AND AT A GIVE AWAY PRICE OF ABOUT 10 BUCKS. ITS A NO BRAINER, BUY THIS BOOK.

This book was my introduction to outdoor skills. I thought I'd order myself a copy after all these years for sentimental reasons, for some reason I remembered it being kinda hokey.

Well I got it and it isn't hokey at all. I love this book. Taught me many things back when, taught me more things just now.

All of Michael Kahn's books have been favorites of mine, but his newest, Bearing Witness is outstanding. Anyone looking for a thrilling mystery should definately check out this book!

Just finished reading this Rachel Gold mystery. This is my fourth one and I have enjoyed them all. However, in this one, Michael Kahn kicks it up a few notches. In this book he tells the tale of Ruth Alpert. Her case evolves from an age discrimination suit to a qui tam case. Michael Kahn does a good job of explaining what a qui tam case is. He also re-educates us on Kristallnacht, die spinne and April 20, 1898 which are events none of us should forget. I live in the area of St. Louis and I loved the descriptions of Union Station (the Arch of Whispers)and the restaurants he names in the book. I can picture everything. Keep on writing.

a legal thriller worthy of the name. an age discrimination case evolves into a multi-million dollar whistle-blowing expose. narrative flow is steady if occasionally ponderous. nice balance of trial prep,personal travails and courtroom squirmishes- all fueled by an inescapable desire to root for the good guys.

Michael Kahn's books seem to just keep getting better and better. This is an absorbing and sobering adventure with Rachel, Benny and the rest of the crew. Rachel's relationship is progressing nicely with the "Wolf Man" and I hope it continues in future books. Keep writing PLEASE -- when you are sitting at your computer late into the night, be assured your fans are eagerly awaiting your next Rachel Gold adventure!

I discovered Rachel Gold through a short story in EQMM - thank heaven, as I don't think I would have found them otherwise; for anyone who is looking for a terrific mystery, interesting characters and courtroom drama - run don't walk to buy one of Michael Kahn's Rachel Gold books.

This is, by far, the best of the lot; full of history (Nazi treasure), present day issues(age discrimination and excellent sleuthing. The plotting and the characters are so well drawn that I find I have re-read this book several times even though I know "who dun it" and enjoyed it all over again.

I work at a proctor care agency. This book has been a great tool for helping children who are in Foster Care feel normal again. It's also been great to help the foster parents stop and realize all the different emotions and feelings their foster children are working through.

Maybe Days provided my 8 year old foster child with some comforting words. In language a young child can understand, it gives the "big" picture of the foster care sysytem. It acknowledges the fact that many aspects are unknown for the child as well as for the foster parents. My foster child has asked me to read it over and over again.

This book is just wonderful! It addresses the reasons why children enter foster care in a realistic but age-appropriate manner. It lets kids know that their feelings are normal...and that it is normal have a hard time adjusting. Maybe Days also addresses the uncertaintly that is such a big part of foster care...will the child live with his siblings again?...will he have visits with his parents?...will he go back to live with them?

Reading this book together is a good way to start conversations with children about their feelings and concerns. There is also an excellent guide at the end of the book for Foster Parents and other adults.

Christine Mitchell
author and illustrator of Welcome Home, Forever Child: A Celebration of Children Adopted as Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Beyond

Wish there were more books like this. Very nice and helpful for children. Good buy!

I work for and adoption agency with children in the foster care system and I LOVE this book. I have not found a better book to explain why to a child why they are in foster care and what is happening around them. This book explains complex topics in a very simple and easy to understand language.

Kenny spoke at the high school I work at this past fall and what the students saw was that no matter how far down the ladder of life you are there is always the possibilty of making it out. I did not see this so much as the story of the only jewish family living in Ramona Gardens as much as the story of a determin young man who dealt with his surroundings, made friends and did what most other children of families living in the projects do, try and get ahead.

What struck me as ironic is the section that tells of how he and his mother going to the the Jewish relief agency for help and being turned down because, as they said, " your to needy." I wish Kenny had named that agency.

I would hope that he has kept in touch with the Delgado's who opened their home, even in the projects one can find solace and warmth and that is what I saw that he received from this family. The friends you make when growing up are forever family and Kenny will always be a part of East Los Angeles family.

This book is enjoyable to read because the author as a kid is very likeable with an indomitable spirit. Imagine growing up the only jewish family in a mostly hispanic housing project. Kenneth ended up with this predicament because both parents were drug addicts who supported their habit by running crooked games during the summers on traveling carnivals. It seems like Kenneth was born with a survival instinct that can not be denied. Aside from trying to survive living in the projects, he also had to deal with constant poverty since the money went to his parents viens. When things seem to be looking up for Kenneth, being a football player, honor student and sorrounded by great friends, he contacts Polio and spend months recovering at a Children's hospital. It is amazing how this kid just keeps on going without so much a whine, just a sense of humour and wit that is infectious. The book is chock full of neat details about how these Midway carnival games are run and the characters around them. I thought the funniest part was when Ken gets home to his ramschackle abode in the projects during Christmas and finds it full of beautiful college girls. Apparently, it was a Jewish Sister Sorority that collected food and money to distribute among poor jewish families in the projects and seeing that Ken and his family were the only Jews living in Ramona Gardens they got to keep all the food, money and the warm wishes of a dozen college girls. Ken and his book keeps you glued and rooting for him in the next page. A really enjoyable book and to think this is a true story.

The Carny Kid: Survival of a Young Thief is the true-life memoir of a young Jewish boy forced to grow up in a multi-ethnic ghetto with parents who are drug users and drug dealers. One summer the father leads the family on a vagabond life as thieves traveling the carnival circuit. Yet in spite of adversity, young Kenneth Kahn develops his people skills, befriends black and Hispanic ghetto residents, uses the library as his safe haven and draws upon the advice of teachers and coaches to excel, eventually becoming a successful Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. Kahn sees no need to condemn or moralize about most facets of the gang life he grew up around; he just tells his experiences as they happened, and lets the reader judge for himself or herself. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate the author's tenacious and amazing journey from struggling to survive to penthouse prosperity.

The human spirit is alive and well and living in Kenny Kahn! I had no expectations for the journey I would be taking when I opened this book, but while reading it, I was rapt in each step of the journey.

Kahn's travels through his early years and especially his carnival "education" became my awakening from the Midwest values with which I was raised (though I will admit I have not just fallen off a turnip truck). I kept thinking how Dickensian this life appeared. I kept asking asking myself, do people really do these things? Do people really believe that it is okay to cheat and that it helps balance the world between the haves and have nots? I will never walk down the rows of carnival games and believe that I can actually win one of those adorable stuffed animals; but, I will probably still try.

Though the book has a lot about carnival life and the story about Shorty is captivating; it is the life and the thoughts of the young man growing up in his challenging environment that is the intriguing story. Kahn is so touching in relaying his experiences and thoughts that at times I felt like a voyeur in a therapy session. Acts of kindness and small, incidental good deeds are remembered in detail.

For those of us in education, we need to recognize how important even small details and actions are when we relate to students. Sometimes a simple smile and good morning at a classroom door may be the one shining moment in some of our students' days. Dedication and bringing all you can to support learning into the classroom is recognized by students. Kahn dedicates his book to Raymond V. Lopez, the teacher who made the difference in his life and career. Sometimes we forget that school is more than a place for learning--it is the safe haven from a threatening or uncaring outside world. Kahn reminds us of this in his book.

Art Buchwald, upon being questioned about what makes a person like him funny, responded, "a very unhappy childhood". After reading Kahn's book, I know why he does stand up comedy and has a comedy routine he takes to law schools. Forget Kahn's being a highly successful and high-powered lawyer when you read this book as the only important thing you need to know about Kahn is what he shows us about the indomitable human spirit that is in all of us and how we all have the ability to impact others' lives, not necessarily with great deeds such as the cure for cancer, but with kindness that feeds the human soul.

I will never take an orange and break it into its segments without thinking of Kahn and his inspiring book. You need to read the book to understand.

I met the author on a flight coming back from Brazil at the beginning of this year. He was an interesting person with a great sense of humor. He sent us his book to read. I was surprised when I read his book at the horrible things he had to go through - living in the LA slums, having parents that used drugs, and finally having polio. He makes his life story very interesting and keeps you engaged throughout the story. I was very fascinated with his carnival life. We had a carnival that came though the town where I grew up on the east coast, and I enjoyed going to it. My friends told me that there had to be some scam if you could win some big prizes for just a dollar. According to Ken, this is the least of it. His life in the carnival is a great story. However, this book is much more than just carnival life. It is book about kid who had many challenges growing up and has become very successful. I can't wait for the sequel to come out.

One more thing - This book should be a must read for all the kids that go to Inner city schools. Sometimes in those schools it seems like there is very little hope of ever getting to prosperity. The carnival kid should give those kids hope that if Ken could do this so can they. I am surprised that I have not heard of other people (other than sport stars) that have made it out of the slums and into success.

Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.