The Art of Learning

By: Josh Waitzkin   

Pages: 266

Biography, Sports

My recommendation: 8 / 10

Date read: 29th Apr'18

Brief review: It's a remarkable story of Josh Waitzkin won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994 and also went on to become the world champion in Tai Chi Push Hands within two years of starting to learn martial arts. While many top athlete struggle to be on top of their game consistently, Waitzkin achieved excellence by his sheer dedication and practice. The book is about his art of learning. One of the things he talks about is 'investment in loss' meaning to learn by 'going down first and knowing your weakness' as an effective way to master new skills. The book is a journey of an extraordinary champion and his constant introspection and search for peace. The movie 'Searching for Bobby Fischer' is based on the book written by his father on his life as a chess player.