From an author who wrote one of the bestselling Bobby Fischer books ever, and who was himself a friend of Fischer's, comes an impressively researched biography that for the first time captures the complete, remarkable arc of Bobby Fischer's life. When Bobby Fischer passed away in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Many people know the basics of his life - he was a child prodigy who became the pride of American chess. In 1972 his World Champion win against the Russians represented the apex of Bobby’s success. But his life took a sharp turn as he struggled with fame, paranoia and mental illness.
What motivated him from such a young age and what was the source of his remarkable intellect? How could a man so ambivalent about money and fame be so driven to succeed? What drew this man of Jewish descent to fulminate against Jews, and how was it that a mind so famously disciplined could unravel so completely?
From his meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime unequalled by any American chess player, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings, and numerous first-hand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best, to paint, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of America's most enigmatic icons. This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer's deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question: "Who was Bobby Fischer?"