The Art of Learning

Great bio and guide to living a successful life from the ex world chess and tai chi champion.

arguably a must read

The only problem with this book is Josh Waitzkin is so clearly a superfreak it makes his advice that little bit less relatable. He has definitely made me appreciate the complexity of chess on a whole other level.

Having said that, there's some great stuff here and it's a nice read.

If only I applied it.

I found ‘The Art of Learning' to be a pretty interesting read, especially getting into the head of someone who went from being a chess whiz kid to a martial arts champ. The book's got some cool stories about his life in both arenas. But if you're looking for a step-by-step guide to self-improvement or something, this might not hit the mark. The author's super competitive, and that's just not me, so I couldn't really connect with a lot of his advice. That said, as a story, it's well-written and engaging. Plus, there's this neat bit about his Slovenian girlfriend, which added a personal touch to his story.

I was bracing for a bombastic, self-centered, shallow book. There is a lot of that, but I also found honesty, analysis, weaknesses, and some introspection.