This is a great book, but not one that you should read, this is a book that should be studied. Many of the ideas are in algebraic chess notation, and unless you are particularly good at visualizing the board, you should probably have one handy. Personally, I suck at visualization of the board, but I digress.

Silman has split this particular edition that I have into sixteen parts, each of which is thematically connected. Most of these parts are further subdivided into chapters. For instance, the first part is all about endgames. The first chapter talks about the King, the idea of Opposition and Outflanking. The second chapter of the first part is about King and Pawn endgames and the third chapter of the first part is about King and Rook endgames. It isn't exhaustive by any means, but it does cover the basics.

As I said, each part covers a theme. The first part covers endgames, the second part covers Silman's Thinking Technique and the list of Imbalances, the third covers Calculation and Combinations, the Fourth covers Minor Pieces in the middle game and so on. The fifteenth part covers solutions to problems in the book and the Sixteenth is a Recommended Reading List.

Since this is a book that must be studied if you hope for improvement, it isn't something that you read cover to cover mindlessly. It would probably be best to have some kind of board handy so you can play through the games, since all of the possible lines that are mentioned get confusing for me. It has scenarios from actual games and attempts to peer into the mind of the master at crucial points, so it is also helpful in that regard. ( )

I decided to give Silman a second chance, largely because of this book's rep. It would be great if it had been written by any even slightly less annoying. Try to read it while ignoring the text entirely. You'll hate yourself less for having bought it. ( )