BOOK REVIEW
In 1972, Billie Jean King met Evonne Goolagong in the Wimbledon Tennis finals.
Lee Travino faced Jack Nicklaus at the British Open of golf. Olga Korbut prepared for a gold medal in the Munich Olympics. President Nixon was attempting to conceal the White House’s role in the Watergate break-in… and Bobby Fischer went to war.
In the book Bobby Fischer Goes To War, released 2004 by authors Edmonds and Eidinow, a three-dimensional account of the 1972 Chess World Championship Match in Reykjavic, Iceland is given. Several accounts of this Fischer-Spassky match have been published before, but they were only two-dimensional. They included only the actual play and public events in Iceland, along with the inside processes of the American side before, during and after the match. Now, with the end of the Cold War, this new release includes details before unknown regarding the USSR’s team.
The book relies on facts from meetings, letters, phone calls and recent interviews with those involved. Great detail is given about the path to qualifying for the World Championship, and how such events are set up. Insight is also offered about how the US and USSR approached this West v. East match: and the lives of the actual players (inextricable from this historic event) are followed into the 21st century.
Since waiting for the “After the Nightly News” update of this match during my summer of 1972, I have avidly attempted to read subsequent accounts of this ‘Match of the Century.’ This book at last quenched my thirst. I invite you to read it. It’s available at the Nelson County Library. To reserve it, call 502.348.3714.
-Stan Mullins